Evolution Schematic 05.30.07: WWE Drafting (Part 1)
Posted by Mathew Sforcina on 05.30.2007
So a new wave of drafting is coming. Well then, let us examine the past ones to prepare!
Overview
Professional Wrestling is, in many respects, a very strange jigsaw puzzle.
That is, it's a sometimes perplexing mix of aspects and components from a whole variety of places, as if to form this picture, you don't assemble the pieces out of the box, but rather by taking pieces from other puzzles and putting them together in a new, different way.
It shares similarities to the world of Professional Boxing, the obvious, two guys fighting for title belts, and the subtler, the role of the referee, the status of women. But it's in many respects different. Less barbaric for starters.
It shares similarities to the business world, in having to climb the corporate ladder, negotiate constantly, contracts, and all the paperwork involved in becoming a truly successful star. But then, rarely do you see in the business world a man be fired only to have The Masked Accountant take his job the following week.
It's like high school. Except with less cheerleaders and more hot chicks.
But recently, after the WWE nee WWF took control of the global wrestling scene, it has seen a major part of football, basketball and most any team sport taken, adapted and stuck in to form a new corner for the grand scale.
For if one has separate pools, one has to have a way to swap the fish in them. And thus the WWE Draft is born.
Origins- No, I will not bore you with the history of team sport.
One could indeed spend many hours going over the origins, basis and development of drafts in the major sport leagues around the world, but it is many hours I do not wish to write and you probably do not wish to read. Suffice to say, as long as sport has been played by teams in a structured form, people have been drafted to form and then supplement teams. Hence, by the time the WWF needed it, the idea was refined and perfected. Sort of.
Debut- It's all Undertaker's fault.
You see, Vince McMahon and Ric Flair, both owning 50% of the major voting stock (there are two types of stock in WWF/WWE. The normal, lowly plebs style, with no voting power, and the super duper McMahon Family stock, which does have voting power. It tends to end up with 25% per member, Vince/Linda/Steph/Shane, despite their many ups and downs, probably due to some obscure tax rule which gives Vince a really big tax return every year), and thus partners, could not get along. Nope, not at all. Ric was obsessed with The Undertaker's making his life a misery, and Vince…well, he just wanted his damm company back.
So, after Wrestlemania 18, the decision was made by the WWF Board Of Directors (who had say over Vince only in matters pertaining to Vince or when the stability or survival of the company was at stake) to split the company in two. Ric would have Raw, Vince Smackdown. To facilitate this, each owner would get half the roster, allowed to pick 10 superstars alternately (Vince winning a coin toss to go first, and to name the first #1 contender for the Undisputed World Title), and then the rest of the contracted WWF superstars being chosen at random. HHH as Undisputed Champion and Jazz as Women's Champion were exempt since as champions they were on both brands, they would become whatever brand they lost the title too. Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon, since they were in a 3 way match for the Undisputed Title, were unable to be chosen, but were slotted into the random choice pool afterwards (although Stephanie was not drafted due to her saying she would leave upon failing to win the title), and Stone Cold Steve Austin could not be drafted due to a stipulation in his contract allowing him to choose his brand, a stipulation that proves there is a psychic lawyer somewhere in Texas. Announcers were exempt from drafting (which, by an unusual quirk, included Funaki, given his status as Smackdown's #1 Reporter!, but NOT Tazz, since he was still technically a wrestler who happened to commentate, as opposed to Funaki who was a announcer to happened to wrestle), and to ensure the belts were not split, Billy & Chuck, as Tag Team Champions, were a unit, as were the New World Order, a move by McMahon to ensure he got them as his boys.
And thus, in Penn State, the company was cleft in twain.
Phase 1b- The Chosen Ones.
Smackdown Pick #1- The Rock.
Well duh. Charismatic, wildly popular, great in the ring, one of the foundations of the company. Of course Vince would choose him first. Smackdown was his show after all, and so it made sense that he would go there. But again…it's The Rock. Wouldn't you draft him first off?
Raw Pick #1- The Undertaker.
This one was a shocker. Not that taking The Undertaker was a bad move, far from it. Another building block of the company, one of, perhaps the biggest, certainly the longest running star of the company, The Undertaker is far from a bad guy to take. But Flair had been hounded and hounded by Taker for so long, it seemed seemingly incongruous that he'd take him. But then, Flair wanted to hurt Taker, just like Taker hurt him. That, and Taker asked Flair to draft him, not actually expecting him to do it. But too late, Taker had realised he had misplayed his hand.
Smackdown Pick #2- Kurt Angle.
Vince never actually planned on taking Angle so high. It's just that Angle was upset at not being drafted first, and thus plead his case rather strongly while Vince was annoyed at Flair getting Taker, as was Taker. Hence, Vince was distracted, and after Angle sold himself very, very well, Vince, realizing Angle was the sort of guy Flair would probably take, one great wrestler to another, drafted Angle was his second pick. While Kurt was happy (although slightly miffed that he wasn't first), Ric's second pick blew everyone out of the water.
Raw Pick #2- The New World Order (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & X-Pac).
The nWo were brought in for the specific purpose of getting Flair out. Why the hell would he draft them?
Because he got 3 world class superstars in one pick, as well as a known money making name in one pick, that's why. That, and he knew that if he was to work hard and get Austin on his brand, he'd need a way to control Austin, and the nWo could do that.
Smackdown Pick #3- Chris Benoit.
By this time, Vince was in a tailspin. Two of his main picks, 4 men who had trusted him to draft them and give them an easy ride were stuck on the other brand. What the hell could he do? Kurt then gave him a brilliant idea. Fight fire with fire. Flair takes his guys? Then take his. Hence, Vince drafted as #3, despite him still being on the injured reserve list, Chris Benoit. That must have really irked Flair.
Raw Pick #3- Kane.
So he took fighting fire with fire literally, and took Kane as his #3. While a solid pick, you could argue he was more a spur of the moment pick to get the nWo out of his face, as they were hassling Flair and then quickly left after Flair told him of his new draftee.
Smackdown Pick #4- Hulk Hogan.
Vince had certainly recovered quickly from his shock, and was back to making solid, logical picks. While Hogan was no spring chicken, he was still insanely popular, a money making cash cow, and was a nice balance to Benoit. When Benoit came back, he could draw both the serious athletic fans and the showmanship ones, with 2 picks. A very smart game plan.
Raw Pick #4- Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam.
This, arguably, was smarter. RVD was, by himself, a good pick. But he was IC champ as well and thus, according to the rules of the draft, the IC belt was thus Raw property given RVD's drafting. Kurt Angle had something to say about that (‘Gimme RVD tonight Vince, I'll beat him, and thus the IC belt will come to SD' ‘Kurt…That's Brilliant!' ‘Thanks, that's why I was drafted second…although maybe I should have been drafted first'), but in the end Kurt failed to get the belt and thus it headed to Raw, Flair picking the right horse.
Smackdown Pick #5- World Tag Team Champions Billy & Chuck, with Rico.
Vince then retaliated, taking the Tag Team Champions, getting a belt to match Flair's and two wrestlers (three if you count Rico). Hence, while Flair had gone second, he had regained the momentum, forcing Vince to play catch up, not lead.
Raw Pick #5- Booker T.
This lead to the two men coming out at the same time and arguing, leading to several rapid fire picks, starting with Flair taking Booker T, a fellow WCW stalwart and seemingly as yet untapped potential superstar.
Smackdown Pick #6- Edge.
Vince replied by taking an even more untapped potential megastar, Edge, given that Edge and Booker had fought at Wrestlemania over a shampoo commercial.
Raw Pick #6- The Big Show.
Flair then took Big Show, seemingly surprising Vince, who, flustered, made what seemed like a very large mistake.
Smackdown Pick #7- Rikishi.
You can understand his thinking, Flair takes the biggest guy on the roster, so Vince, to prove a point, takes the near biggest. But when you look at it, Big Show, former WCW and WWF World Champion, biggest athlete on the planet, funny, marketable, all round good guy, vs. a guy who's best known for shoving his ass in people's faces. Not exactly the most balanced of trade-offs. But then Vince would finally get a victory back over Flair with the next round of picks.
Raw Pick #7- Bubba Ray Dudley.
It was such a simple idea. Get the most destructive, most decorated, arguably best tag team in the WWF onto Raw. Start by drafting one member, in this case, Bubba, going alphabetically.
Smackdown Pick #8- D-Von Dudley.
So Vince responded by immediately taking D-Von, purely for spite, thus breaking the Dudleys up. However, Vince, while satisfied, clearly didn't have his mind on the job, since a short while later he came out to make his next draft, without Flair having made one. So when he announced that he was taking rookie sensation Brock Lesnar as his next pick, along with his agent Paul Heyman, Flair pointed out to Vince it wasn't his turn.
Raw Pick #8- Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman.
And then promptly took Brock as HIS pick. This really, REALLY ticked off Vince, and thus he made possibly the biggest mistake of the draft.
Smackdown Pick #9- Mark Henry.
You can understand the argument, in that Mark Henry was at one point a rookie sensation, fresh off the 96 Olympics, and he had just won the World's Strongest Man competition. But then again, Mark Henry. MARK HENRY. When Championships were still up for grabs, hot women, the Hardys, lots of options, he took Henry. And paid for it.
Raw Pick #9- European Champion William Regal.
For Flair scooped up another title belt, this time round the European Title, at that point around the waist of William Regal, a wrestler that was certainly a fit for what people assumed Flair would go for but in the end shied away from, the technically superior grappler. Vince then responded again, instead of taking the initiative, and this time, backed totally the wrong horse.
Smackdown Pick #10- Hardcore Champion Maven.
Sure, it was a good idea, in theory. SD needed titles, so draft a title holder. Problem was, the 24/7 rule was still well in effect at this time. Hence, there was no guarantee the title belt would stay on Maven before the split went into effect the following week on Raw. The belt often changed hands several times at house shows. How could Vince ensure the belt would stay on a SD guy? In the end he didn't, as Raven won it on Smackdown and thus it became a Raw belt, but that's getting ahead of ourselves. Flair thus had the last pick, and went slightly left field for his final choice pick.
Raw Pick #10- Lita.
It seemed odd, with a Cruiserweight Title still on the market, to go with Lita. But then, Lita was one of the two main divas in the company, her and Trish were the girls, and she was very much popular and a name. Plus, it helped make sure that Raw would be the home of Women's wrestling and thus, hopefully, get yet another belt mostly to itself. After all, if Jazz was a floater, and you had Lita, if you got 2 out of Trish, Molly and Ivory, you had the heart of the division under your control.
Phase 1c- The Lucky Ones
And thus ended the chosen picks, and after Raw finished, the random draft was conducted, to decide where the rest of the roster went. Some big names were left, but none bigger than Chris Jericho, who, having failed to win the Undisputed World Title, was now placed into contention, and thus was the lucky golden ball, so to speak, in the barrel. Some draws fit, some didn't, but it was by this point, pure chance.
Smackdown Pick #11- Billy Kidman.
This was a pick that was borderline until it was clear where Tajiri, and thus the Cruiserweight title ended up. Had it ended up on Raw, this would have been a bad start for Smackdown, overall. But, it turned out well, as Kidman was able to both shine in the Cruiser and the Tag divisions, and thus he was mostly positives for Smackdown.
Raw Pick #11- Bradshaw.
This one was a mixed bag, given that his mental changeover to the JBL mindset was a few years off. Had Raw gotten Faarooq, then this would have been better. Had Raw not ended up with the Hardcore title, this would have been worse. As it was, it was a fairly average pick, at the time. Solid, but nothing spectacular.
Jericho, clearly, was the big one. But there were a few other choice prizes left in the bag. This was one of them, the only belt not ‘decided' in the top 10s, this was a great gain for Smackdown, ensuring they would have another belt and thus would attract the major Cruiserweight names, since the belt would be on Smackdown. Tajiri was just a bonus.
Raw Pick #12- Stevie Richards.
This, arguably, was the first real dud of the whole process. Stevie? Eh. In retrospect his drafting led to the Stevie Hardcore Title reigns and the Stevie/Victoria union, but at the time, this was a bad blow for Raw. Every pick that wasn't Jericho was a bad thing. But Flair didn't have to wait long for the shoe to drop
Smackdown Pick #13- Chris Jericho.
Bingo. Vince, despite making some large blunders in the draft, got lucky. He got Jericho. While by no means a brand maker by himself, he was fair and away the best guy in the pool, and thus Vince lucked out by getting him. It seemed things were coming up Vince.
Raw Pick #13- Matt Hardy.
Sure, Matt Hardy was a bit of a blow. It meant Flair was one away from getting all of Team Extreme, and that would suck. And Matt was certainly a workhorse. But hey, Smackdown got Jericho, they'd be fine, right?
Smackdown Pick #14- Ivory.
See! They got one of the mainstays of the Women's division! The oldest…least known…marginally less attractive…certainly slightly less marketable member of the heart of the division… But hey, we got Jericho!
Raw Pick #14- Raven.
This was a pick that was hard to quantify, at the time. We got Raven. Is that good or bad? A few days later, after Smackdown, it was very, VERY good, as he was the guy who managed to nab the Hardcore title off Maven and bring it to Raw. Doesn't matter that he lost it on the first Raw of the new era, the fact remained that when the Draft officially took hold, Raven held the belt, and thus Raw got the belt. That led to Maven's punishment by Vince for failing him, and Raven's fall from grace, oddly enough.
Smackdown Pick #15- Albert.
Smackdown's first dud, sorry, arguably marginally useful pick not chosen by Vince, Albert was a big guy, but wasn't exactly setting the world on fire before or after being drafted. He'd need a trip to Japan to awaken the beast inside, at the time he was just another body.
Raw Pick #15- Jeff Hardy.
And Team Extreme was a unit, Flair was pleased, Vince was pissed, and the world kept on spinning. Another example of a pick that by itself, in isolation, was marginal to good, when taken with other picks turned out to be very, very good for Raw. Suddenly Smackdown getting Jericho was losing more and more luster.
Smackdown Pick #16- The Hurricane.
Vince had to feel this was a positive. While Helms was kooky, insane and generally insane, he sold lots of merchandise and was popular. Vince, for all his faults, knows how to milk a good thing. He knew he would get as much cash out of The Hurricane as he could, even if that meant giving Hurricane some more too. Small price to pay. Vince once again swung back in the lead, at least in his mind.
Raw Pick #16- Mr. Perfect.
Curt Hennig was certainly one of the more appealing picks, despite losing to Tazz on the night. A veteran in the ring, a guy who could wrestle, manage, announce, the works, and a guy who knew and on some level respected Flair (despite the whole ‘turning on the Horsemen to join the nWo' thing), Mr. Perfect was the perfect #16 pick.
Oh come on. It's a legal obligation to use that sort of line somewhere.
Smackdown Pick #17- Al Snow.
Vince viewed this as a low point, at least after Maven lost the Hardcore title he did, given Al's relationship with Maven, given that he trained him and then teamed with him. While Al was a solid guy to have, Vince didn't really see it that way.
Raw Pick #17- Spike Dudley.
Well, once Bubba and D-Von parted company, it was obvious as least one version of the Dudley clan would survive. After all, Spike had to go somewhere. Somewhere ended up as Raw, so he and Bubba could, theoretically, keep the family alive in some form. So that was a plus.
Smackdown Pick #18- Lance Storm.
Lance was surely a guy Flair wanted. Like Benoit, Storm was a technically brilliant wrestler who wrestled, and Flair, surely, wanted him. So Vince almost certainly felt smug about getting him, despite any personal feelings, one way or the other, for him.
Raw Pick #18- D-Lo Brown.
The definition of a sleeper pick, this was the sort of pick that easily slipped under the radar, partly due to D-Lo's low profile at the time. D-Lo's career was in a bit of a rut, but he was still the first Euro-Continental Champion, and could, at any time, step up and make an impact. Flair probably felt pleased with this one.
Smackdown Pick #19- Diamond Dallas Page.
A few months beforehand, this would have been a major, MAJOR acquisition for Vince. But by the time Undertaker, Kane and Sara had gotten through with him, DDP was a shell of his former self in terms of his worth, at least in Vince's eyes. So while it seemed a good pick, Vince was probably upset with this one.
Raw Pick #19- Shawn Stasiak.
If Vince was probably upset with DDP, Flair was almost certainly upset with Shawn. While there was nothing wrong with the man, there was certainly little right about him. This was, depending on your point of view about some other people, the low point of Raw's eventual roster.
Smackdown Pick #20- Torrie Wilson.
Given that at the time Torrie was dating Tajiri, this was a happy pick for her and him. It meant that they could continue dating, and Vince got some eye candy and a somewhat competent women's wrestler. Somewhat. But if she and Tajiri were happy, that was good, because happy workers are productive workers.
Raw Pick #20- Terri.
Flair was shrewd, and soon after Terri was drawn she became Raw's backstage interviewer, thus giving her a prominent role so she could still move her Diva merchandise but she could stay away from the ring. Everyone won.
Smackdown Pick #21- Scotty 2 Hotty.
Vince surely seized on this one as proof he was a genius. That's why he got Rikishi, he made sure that Too Cool were still together, and got a perfectly acceptable cruiserweight wrestler too. He's damm near psychic!
Raw Pick #21- Jacqueline.
By this point, it was clear that unless Smackdown got every other diva, Raw would probably be where the Women's title would be most fought over. They certainly had the deepest roster of talented women's wrestlers.
Smackdown Pick #22- Stacy Keibler.
This gave Smackdown, barely, a chance at maybe ending up with the bigger share of the Divas. Certainly, with Torrie and Stacy, they had the blonde market sewn up, with buxom and leggy on the same show. But if they could only get Trish as well…
Raw Pick #22- Goldust.
Like Mr. Perfect, a very solid guy to have, a veteran second generation star, Goldust, despite his unusual behaviour at times was still a solid performer to have on your brand. Flair had to be quite pleased to gain him.
Smackdown Pick #23- Christian.
While Vince must have been ecstatic to get Christian. Outside of maybe Trish Stratus, depending on your viewpoint, Christian was the biggest name not yet drafted, and thus was the best ball left to pick. Images of Edge & Christian fighting, be it together or against each other must have been dancing in Vince's head.
Raw Pick #23- Trish Stratus.
This was the moment Raw pretty much had the Women's Division sown up. Certainly with all the rest, Trish as a Raw superstar meant Smackdown would have to fight very, very hard to win over the Diva fans, a fight Vince almost immediately gave up on, focusing instead on what got him there, titillation and sleaze. But it was a little bit harder without Trish there.
Smackdown Pick #24- Test.
The immune to being fired Test was a contradictory pick. While sure, he was big, mean, tough, nasty, etc, he was also immune to being fired. And that sort of thing can lead to guys getting too big for their tights, and being a nuisance. So this was a pick Vince took quickly, but warily.
Raw Pick #24- Justin Credible.
Flair probably didn't care much for Justin. So few people did.
Smackdown Pick #25- Faarooq.
And thus The Dudleys were not the sole team broken up. The APA was forced to close its doors, at least for a while, as the two men were on different brands. Thus wasn't good for anyone, except spiteful Vince, since if Raw got Bradshaw, he damm sure wanted Faarooq, just to Ric wouldn't get him.
Raw Pick #25- Big Boss Man.
Yet another vet of the ring, Flair building up quite the collection. While this arguably could have backfired, having too many old names, it did give him a solid base to start. After all, both brands were entering uncharted territory, and better to have experienced men who knew about fighting in unstable waters than fresh faced men who didn't.
Smackdown Pick #26- Tazz.
This was a very lucky pick for both Tazz and Smackdown, as it allowed him to continue his ‘part time' announcing on Smackdown, while still wrestling freely, without conflict of interest. Sure, wrestling on Raw would mean that he wouldn't have to step out of the booth if he wanted to fight, but with the Owners at each others throats, it was better not to get between them.
Raw Pick #26- Tommy Dreamer.
If anyone knew about wrestling in a rocky company, it was Tommy. The heart of ECW, could he be the new heart of Raw? Flair surely must have hoped so. The Hardcore title's coming over only added to the benefit of Dreamer's pick.
Smackdown Pick #27- Hardcore Holly.
The same thing that made Dreamer's pick more valuable made Hardcore's less so. Sure, he was a decent wrestler, but he was still Hardcore Holly. Him being opposite the Hardcore title just felt…weird. Especially as…
Raw Pick #27- Crash Holly.
His cousin ended up on the opposite side. The Holly family splitting, while not a huge loss, was still a negative for both sides. While both men had their good points, they had more when their cousin was around.
Smackdown Pick #28- Val Venis.
The Big Valbowski, as he was referring to himself at the time, rose uncharacteristically late, although peaking near the end is a trademark of his.
Raw Pick #28- Molly Holly.
Raw's last pick (each roster was to get 30 wrestlers, Raw got 3 with the nWo, Smackdown 2 with Billy & Chuck) was Mighty Molly, although she quickly went back to Molly Holly once she was separated from The Hurricane. Despite her late placement, she did give Raw that final push over the top, Raw fairly comfortably being able to claim it was the place for Women's Wrestling.
Smackdown Pick #29- Perry Saturn.
And hence, the dubious honor of being the last guy picked was Perry Saturn, an unfair accolade, as he was talented, if used properly, although Vince showed little interest in using him properly.
And thus, the battle lines were drawn. The two brands set out for a brand new world, of unknown waters and seas. But eventually, the two brands felt the need for change. And a draft was just the way to get it…
