Thought From the Top Rope 2.12.08: The Fill-In Edition

Posted by Michael Bauer on 02.12.2008

I get to write a real column!

Hello all, I'm Michael Bauer, normally your ECW Recapper on this Tuesday, but today I am here to do a very special edition of Thoughts from the Top Rope. Wilcox will be back next week to talk about John Cena and his Top 100 Favorite Matches of all time. Don't forget, he is being generous by running a competition. Just name the 5 people who you think will appear the most times in his 100 Favorite Matches. You get 1 point for a correct name and 2 points for getting that name in the right place. The person with the most points wins his spare ECW One Night Stand 2006 DVD. All of those entries should go straight to Wilcox.

As for this week, I want to focus on the following press release that came out last week from the WWE:

After a successful decade of "SmackDown" on both UPN and The CW, World Wrestling Entertainment and The CW have agreed to conclude our partnership. Since The CW's exclusive negotiation period ran out as of last Thursday, January 31, we have been contacted and have been in negotiations with other networks. "WWE SmackDown" will continue to air on The CW until the conclusion of the 2007-08 broadcast season. We are grateful to Les Moonves, Dawn Ostroff, and their entire organization for bringing "WWE SmackDown" to millions of viewers for so many years.

For months, if not years, you have heard many of us on 411 talking about ending the brand extension, as the WWE continues to use it as a joke by pushing guys from one place to another. With this announcement, it got me thinking… what if this meant the end of the brand extension? What if the WWE doesn't find another taker for SmackDown and they are forced to pull the brand extension because of it. I can already see Larry popping the cork on his champagne bottle and planning the biggest party in wrestling history. Now, understanding that the agreement with CW means that SmackDown will keep airing until the end of the summer, I am going to take a look at what I could expect to see coming from the end of Smackdown. It would mean ECW being the secondary show for the WWE and the WWE losing two hours of programming every week. In terms, it would mean one of the biggest roster cuts the WWE has ever been involved with. So allow me to play the prognosticator and take a look at what the WWE would look like after the cuts are made in the summer of 2008.

First, let's look at the current rosters for the WWE, according to WWE.com and the Superstar Pages there as of the morning of last Friday. Please note that for the sake of this discussion, I am only looking at the wrestlers. All ring announcers, backstage people, and commentary teams have been left off intentionally for this purpose. If I had to guess I'd say that Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler would stay on RAW and the second team would go back to being Michael Cole and Tazz. Joey Styles would probably be done and Coachman I could see going back to doing something on screen with Mr. McMahon. Lilian Garcia would still be on RAW and Tony Chimel would either do the secondary show or need a new job. Also, Mr. McMahon will not be part of the discussion, because you know he will be around in some capacity, even if not on screen. Lastly, Stone Cold is not part of the discussion, since he is no longer on television consistently.

Current RAW Roster:
Ashley, Beth Phoenix, Brian Kendrick, Candice, Carlito, Charlie Haas, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, DH Smith, Drew McIntyre, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Hardcore Holly, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Jillian, John Cena, Lance Cade, Lilian Garcia, Maria, Melina, Mickie James, Mr. Kennedy, Paul London, Randy Orton, Robbie McAllister, Ron Simmons, Rory McAllister, Santino Marella, Shawn Michaels, Snitsky, Super Crazy, Trevor Murdoch, Triple H, Umaga, Val Venis, William Regal

Current SmackDown Roster:
Batista, Chavo Guerrero, Cherry, Chuck Palumbo, Curt Hawkins, Dave Taylor, Deuce, Domino, Edge, Eve Torres, Festus, Finlay, Funaki, Gregory Helms, Hornswoggle, Jamie Noble, Jesse, Jimmy Wang Yang, Kane, Kenny Dykstra, Mark Henry, Maryse, Matt Hardy, Michelle McCool, MVP, Ranjin Singh, Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Shannon Moore, The Great Khali, Theodore Long, Torrie Wilson, Undertaker, Vickie Guerrero, Victoria, Zack Ryder

Current ECW Roster:
Armando Estrada, Balls Mahoney, Big Daddy V, Boogeyman, CM Punk, Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Kelly Kelly, Kevin Thorn, Kofi Kingston, Layla, Lena Yada, Matt Striker, Mike Knox, Nunzio, Shelton Benjamin, Stevie Richards, The Miz, Tommy Dreamer

Next, what I will do is looking at the steps for trimming the roster to a manageable size, because there are ninety names on that list above. At the end of this exercise, I figure to have the list down to somewhere in the 55 to 60 member range. Of course, every assumption I make here does not take into account if the WWE will bring The Big Show, Ron Killings or Chris Harris into the fold, since they have been recently signed. It also doesn't take into account anyone else the WWE releases or brings up from development in the interim. And also, I will start with the most obvious person not to be around…

Step 0: Ric Flair's Retirement
I don't think I'm insulting anyone's intelligence by even thinking Ric Flair will not be having his last match in about a month and a half at Wrestlemania 24. Ric Flair will have his one last moment under the hot Orlando sun and ride off into the sunset. The bright side is that it is not a move the WWE needs to make, but it is still a roster cut from today's world.

Now that we took are of that bit of housekeeping, here are the six steps I would recommend to getting the WWE roster to a manageable size.

Step 1: Other oldies need to go
Cuts: Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Ron Simmons

I think this should be self explanatory, but both of these guys are way past their prime and shouldn't be in a wrestling ring anymore. Duggan is not as over as he used to be, which doesn't help, because that is all he had before. Ron Simmons has been great for the past year for saying one damn word (Pun Intended), but he looked horrible for the one or two matches he had. Hopefully Ron could stay on board as a road agent or something, because unlike old Hacksaw, the old APA member still has plenty to teach the younger guys.

Step 2: Looks are one thing, but we need wrestlers
Cuts: Maryse, Eve Torres, Lena Yada, Kelly Kelly, Layla

The Divas of the WWE that are just around for show are simply a waste of time. Kelly and Layla have had matches and have looked horrible. Lena Yada and Eve Torres are nothing more than Diva search winners who have no talent and were voted in by fans because of their looks. Maryse is just another pretty face who got in because she was once in Playboy. Removing these five women would still allow for a 10 Diva Women's Division, with the worst of them from a wrestling standpoint being Michelle McCool or Ashley. Then you have Jillian Hall and Torrie also just there as decent, but not good. All the other ladies have either improved greatly recently (Maria) or been a former Women's Champion. The only exceptions would be Vickie Guerrero and Cherry, who would still be around but not be part of this division. I'll get to those two later.

Step 3: Gutting the ECW
Cuts: Balls Mahoney, Boogeyman, Kevin Thorn, Mike Knox, Nunzio, Stevie Richards

The ECW brand has been treated like a minor league system where ECW Originals and those who couldn't make it in the WWE go to perform and pretty much do nothing. I think Tommy Dreamer is too valuable to get rid of, but Nunzio, Balls, and Stevie are all easily expendable. Stevie's recent story is nothing short of heartfelt and remarkable, but in the end, I can't see the guy being worth while for the WWE to keep due to his age and fragile neck/throat. Nunzio has been treated as a jobber since day one and even after the next set of cuts, he wouldn't make it anyway. Boogeyman was a great concept and, at times, it looked like a success. But the WWE dropped the ball by using the gimmick on a guy in his forties with two bad legs. Kevin Thorn and Mike Knox both had great chances, but the WWE also dropped the ball on them. Thorn is currently being repackaged, but it's way too soon for that anyway. Ball Mahoney is the toughest cut. Outside of one deal with Kelly, he never did much to help the ECW as he was hurt for the New Breed feud.

Step 4: This land is not for Lightweights
Cuts: Super Crazy, Funaki, Gregory Helms, Jamie Noble, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore

The WWE can't keep lying to themselves and to the fans. They just don't have room to let the Cruiserweight Division be anything more than jobbers. Under a one brand stigma, you would have two or three singles titles, the Tag Team Titles, and the Women's Division. There is just no room for the little man anymore. First, why aren't Rey Mysterio, London, and Kendrick on this list? Rey Mysterio has always been better than this division, that's a fact and the reason he is not being cut with the rest of them. As for London and Kendrick, they are on board because of the tag team division, which should get some life with the two different titles being unified. As for the cuts, I will start by saying this. It is about time that Funaki's time ended. I can't remember the last time I or anyone cared about him. Yes, Helms has been an after thought due to injury, but he has never been successful since dumping his super hero days outside of this division. Super Crazy just seems like a waste of space now and Jamie Noble can be tons better than he is now. Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore are not in that tag team mind set for me because they still feel like a thrown together tag team, no matter how many times they team up. Jimmy I also feel could do tons better if they just take the reigns off of him.

Step 5: Some people are just not ready yet
Before I say the cuts, I would imagine having all of these people just sent back to developmental to sharpen their skills and abilities. None of these guys are horrible, but they need some work for one reason or another.

Cuts: Cody Rhodes, DH Smith, Drew McIntyre, Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston

I'll start with Santino Marella, because it is probably the biggest shock after how much I put him over in the 2007 Awards. Santino is golden when speaking; there is no question about that. The problem is that I could probably out wrestle Santino if asked to. If Santino gets his ability up just a notch or two, he could have a fantastic career. For now, he's The Rock with no crackle behind his pop.

Drew, DH, and Cody all fall into the same category. They are all very young, have some talent, but need to sharpen something in their games. Harry (DH) Smith most of all needs to get his head straightened out. He has already been suspended one for performance enhancers and has the legacy behind him to become a known name for years to come. Out of this group, he is the one person who doesn't need "it" to have his place. Drew and Cody just need time. Cody Rhodes still looks a little raw in the ring and while working with Hardcore Holly has helped, being against Carlito and Santino hasn't.

Kofi Kingston is a lot like any of Vince McMahon's pet projects. His style and demeanor is a great concept, but it isn't getting over as much as it should. Maybe he needs the right opponent, but I can't figure out exactly who that would be.

Step 6: Trimming the rest of the fat
This final set of cuts is all about making the roster more nimble. Think of it like corporate restructuring in the business world, where less is sometimes more. For this, I will go person by person, because each person has their own reason unlike before, where they could be grouped together.

Cut #1: Carlito
And I will start with the dream of much of the IWC by giving Carlito his walking papers. His laziness in the ring has been becoming more and more apparent as he just does not seem motivated. Losing Carlito would have been a huge loss if he was still involved in a real singles title picture, but he's not, nor should he be anymore.

Cut #2: The Highlanders (Robbie and Rory McAllister)
While having solid teams would be important, you also need teams that aren't just there. The Highlanders are brothers from Scotland and that's the only thing that separates them. They have no personality, no really special abilities, and no natural charisma. Every other tag team at least has one of these qualities.

Cut #3: Snitsky
Somewhere, I can see Larry smiling. As he would say before this past week… "I do not give a flying fuck about Snitsky." He's not even using the catch phrase that got him even half way over anymore. So what's the point of having another generic big man around? We already have Kane and The Great Khali, who are more than generic.

Cut #4: Mark Henry
Think of exactly what I said for Snitsky, except that we don't need Umaga, Big Daddy V, and Mark Henry. Mark Henry has never been anything more than a big man who was also in the 1996 Olympics. I'm still trying to understand how they gave him a title shot at the Royal Rumble, in the main event no less.

Cut #5: Val Venis
He probably should be grouped with the oldies that need to go, except that he has never retired and come back before. Val has always been a decent talent and moderately over, but it is time to face the facts and realize that his time has come.

Cut #6: Dave Taylor
I am of those who have never seen much of Dave Taylor due to SmackDown being on Fridays and his multiple injuries, but he doesn't seem like a huge loss for the WWE. He is getting up there is age and really hasn't had a chance since Regal moved to Raw to be McMahon's stooge.

Cut #7: Theodore Long
I am a huge fan of Teddy's, but you will run into the problem of one too many figureheads with only two shows around, especially if it just one brand. William Regal could always go back to fighting if need be and Armando Estrada is just too good to not be a man in charge. Like Ron Simmons, I'm sure Teddy can stay on board behind the scenes.

So now that all of the cuts are out of the way, what are we left with?

Tag Team Division
John Morrison and The Miz
Brian Kendrick and Paul London
Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch
Deuce and Domino (with Cherry)
Jesse and Festus
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder

That's six teams right there before any random grouping is put together or you even think about the possibility or reuniting the Hardy Boys or Haas and Benjamin. On two separate programs it looks really weak, but putting them actually makes a new Tag Team Division look feasible. Most likely, you are looking at a title unification match, but depending on who are the champions, you might not need one. Deuce and Domino keep their manager instead of her joining the Women's Division, keeping one less girl out of harm's way.

Women's Division
From Raw: Ashley, Beth Phoenix, Candice, Jillian, Maria, Melina, Mickie James
From Smackdown: Torrie Wilson, Victoria, Michelle McCool

Assuming you keep Beth Phoenix as champion until this point, you keep the same real challengers as she always had, but add the wildcard of Victoria to the mix. If the belt would shift over to Mickie or Candice, Victoria would be an excellent second heel to go against them. Plus, you still keep your hotter commodities with Ashley, Maria, Torrie, and Michelle for when the heels need to go over someone without risking serious injury from lack of ring knowledge.

The Heavyweight/IC Title Division:
From Raw: Charlie Haas, Chris Jericho, Hardcore Holly, JBL, Jeff Hardy, John Cena, Mr. Kennedy, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Umaga, William Regal
From SmackDown: Batista, Chavo Guerrero (with Vickie Guerrero), Chuck Palumbo, Edge, Finlay (with Hornswoggle), Kane, Kenny Dykstra, MVP, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali (with Ranjin Singh), Undertaker
From ECW: Armando Estrada, Big Daddy V (with Matt Striker), CM Punk, Elijah Burke, Shelton Benjamin, Tommy Dreamer

So while twelve wrestlers form the Tag Team Division, you have 28 wrestlers (not including Estrada) in this new Heavyweight/IC Title Division. You will definitely see some bleeding between the two, but most of time it will be a random team forming and joining the Tag Team Division on an interim basis. Obviously, the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles will once again be merged together into an Undisputed Champion. But what about the ECW Title? Since we all know it is a lesser title; why not merge it with the Intercontinental and United States Titles to have just one champion, keeping the Intercontinental Championship active. In today's world, it would give you an interesting match up between Edge and Randy Orton, but by then it could be Taker and Triple H for all we know. The other unification match would be Jeff Hardy vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. MVP today, but I'm praying that somehow we get Jeff Hardy taking on Matt Hardy and CM Punk. All in all, the roster is shrunk from 90 superstars to a total of 41 men, 10 women, and 5 managers for a very reasonable 56 superstars.

That has been my fantasy trip through the possibility of a dead brand extension. I'll catch you all tonight on the ECW.