Truth B Told 6.19.08: Well Shake It Up Baby Now…

Posted by Bayani Domingo on 06.19.2008

Draft and Shout. Sneaking in one last WWE Draft Preview before the big night. I’m a lemming…so sue me.


I'm actually excited for next week's RAW. I haven't said that in probably two or three months, or whenever it was that Ric Flair had his final farewell. I'm usually pretty excited leading up to the draft, and then pretty disappointed coming out of it. Not to say that there haven't been surprises, the 2005 draft was pretty much the best draft there ever was and it really made for some great TV moments to see the champions change brands. Last year's draft had some big names, but ultimately it left little impression on the brands as King Booker was jobbed out before leaving, Lashley got hurt and then left, Flair hardly ever was seen on Smackdown before his retirement tour, Kennedy was caught up in ‘Wellness', and Khali…just sucked. That's really all you can say about that. This year however I have lowered expectations, meaning that hopefully this time around I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Its basically a double edge sword, the draft is. There is a great anticipation for what may happen on "Draft Night" and yet with the bastardizing of the "Branding" concept there really is no reason that any superstar at any time couldn't just show up on any show they choose. HBK, Jericho, Batista, Flair, Cena, etc. basically break the whole "Brand Extension" concept every time they take their feuds or matches to a different night. The Smackdown/ECW "Talent Exchange" is an even bigger farce to "Brand Extension" and that makes drafting a talent from either show to the other basically useless. In essence only a RAW to SD/ECW or visa versa swap would make any real difference, and in the end it really doesn't. The one thing the draft does do is "shake up" the rosters a bit. But from what I would wager, "a bit" is the operative phrase. So far there have been rumors of big changes but I can't foresee any on the horizon.

Let's get this out of the way right now, the following wrestlers are NOT changing brands: Undertaker, Edge, Cena, HHH, Big Show, and HBK. Those are really the top tier of "Superstar" that the "e" has to offer. I only added Big Show because no one has a clue who the hell he actually signed with when he came back, the man is on every damn show, I think he was actually working a match with Johnny Devine on Impact and I swear I saw him teaming with Gran Apache while I was flipping past Telemundo. If you are happy to settle for mid-carders and upper mid-carders then you have the chance at being very pleased with the possibility of the following wrestlers moving from the Blue to the Red or visa versa: Umaga, Khali, Matt Hardy, Chris Jericho, JBL, MVP, CM Punk, Mr. Kennedy, Carlito, Santino Marella, Finlay (what brand is he on anyways?), or Rey Mysterio. The biggest problem I have with the draft is that very few real main event guys seem poised to move, the biggest hope I have is that a fresh new start for a mid-carder on a new show may lead to them moving up the ladder to "main event status".

When you look at the title scene for the "Big Blue" and EC-Dub you will see how stale it's fast becoming. Smackdown has long been known for creating new stars that RAW eventually drafts over and steals. With ‘Taker on the shelf and Big Dave eventually using up his title chances it looks like Edge could be in line for a new feud, there are a ton of possibilities which start with HBK and Kennedy, and end with CM Punk as obvious choices. The problem with Punk is that he still has that briefcase and technically if he is brought over to a brand he could merely challenge and win another brand's title and simply jump ship whenever he pleases. Drafting Punk to Smackdown is useless since he is part of the "talent swap" anyways and moving him to RAW is useless with HHH, Cena, and HBK already the top "faces". Punk is in a bit of a quandary and if they move him to RAW I wouldn't be surprised to see him take on Edge for his title almost immediately. I know people are psyched about Punk possibly moving to RAW but…couldn't the guy technically get himself on any brand he wanted to by just using his title shot? Too bad the guy has been booked so poorly since that big win that if he does cash it in it seems like it will be one of the more anti-climactic title wins in a long time.

RAW seems to be almost too stacked at this point and this might finally be the year that they give back to the other brands. Right now you have HHH and Cena at the top, Jericho and HBK just under them, Jeff Hardy and his feud with sobriety taking up the mid-card and the most thrown together tag division in years on a treadmill till they decide when to let Teddy DiBiase finally debut. RAW is overloaded with talent right now and guys like Kennedy, Carlito, Hardy, and Jericho are going to need to be moved out just to break through the Cena/HHH glass ceiling. The Draft is a salvation for some, but a curse for others. Just because you get moved out from under the weight of the "Top Shelf" doesn't mean you're going to thrive. The fact is that while Smackdown used to be the better locker room morale, I haven't heard the same sentiment lately. Also you have to realize that some wrestlers might prefer being on the "A show" as a mid-carder than an upper mid-carder or main event guy on the "B" or "C show". I guess this really is where the tough decisions are made. Not that a wrestler gets the option of deciding where they'll end up. Unless of course you have a capital "H" in your acronym.

The WWE really needs this draft to come off well and they need to make some big changes in their rosters. I think that the proof is in the ratings. The problem is that it's not as big of a deal to see a Cena/HHH/HBK show up on Fridays since we've seen it so many times before in the past year. When you look at the last 3 big returns that was aimed at "shaking things up", they all failed pretty miserably. Jericho came back and for a brief time Jerichoholics everywhere ran mild, JBL came back to battle Jericho and got jobbed out time and time again, and then Big Show came back to take on Mayweather and took the loss and now is stuck back on ECW. Not exactly earth shattering, which is the reason why the "e" really needs to step up and delivery some solid surprises as well as cut down on the "brand hopping" that has been taking place so rampantly the past year. I think it's pretty damn obvious that the chance at winning $2 or $200,000 isn't going to put asses in front of the TV to the degree McMahonagement thought it would, they might as well try something new and exciting with the feuds and storylines. WWE: Book Fresh.

The Truth

You don't need me telling you that stuff is getting stale. The WWE owes us some good will by giving us some fresh match-ups. They've created the need for a Draft by refusing to change up the main event scene unless injury or "wellness" comes a calling. Then again the "Good ol' Boys Network" seems to have cleared up more than a few spots all by themselves. Hey, I hate to call a Spade a Spade, but I never bet on Black in the WWE. I'm sure more than a few of you are going to be glued to your TV sets in a couple days, hoping, wishing, and waiting for your favorite mid-carder to be freed from the shackles of jobbing to "celebrities" and "jobbers", but don't be surprised if the biggest name you hear called is…The Great Khali!! Yeah…get your Jaeger and your shot glass, we're pounding one after ever main eventer RAW steals from someone. I'm getting DRUNK tonight!!

Coming Up Short

Speed Muscle vs MCMGs was the best free TV match of the year thus far. It was fast, innovative, exciting, and really got me amped for the World X-Cup. Kozlov vs Curry Man was fun, but just too damn short, then again I think that was due in part more to TNA wanting to just give us another face to recognize once the tourney starts rather than a full on exhibition of Kozlov's skill. What worries me most is that I still don't know who is involved in Team Mexico as well as there not being any confirmation on who is actually showing up. Not to say it wouldn't be awesome to see Los Ice Creams end up taking the place of Rey Bucanero and Averno if they aren't available, but I just don't see that happening. The World X-Cup could be TNA's ticket back into the good graces of their fans and the IWC at large if they don't blow it and if they don't end up coming up short of decent match times during the PPV they could finally be well on their way to revitalizing the X-Division that served them so well over the years. Let's hope Russo doesn't fuck this one up. Go Team PHILIPPINES!! Oh wait…damn it.

6 Degrees of…



No one claimed the prize last week so I decided to go with the man responsible for putting my city into a deep dark depression, from which there is no recovery...until next season. Paul Pierce

The MVP of this near's NBA Finals and the man who helped bring about one of the single most dominating teams in NBA history...well "team" is a loose term, "mercenaries" seems more appropriate. Either way it's time to link this "Champion" to another one...



"Scrap Daddy" Adam Pearce. The man can become a double champion with a big win over Nigel for the RoH World title...okay it'll be a draw, but you never know. Okay, you do know. Damn it...someone just throw in an entry already.

Whatchu talkin' bout readers?

Two "Comments" caught my attention this week:

First - I love equating the RoH fans to Scientologists. Drink the Kool-aid and blindly believe in it - and everyone else is wrong.

That said - I think you need to chart WWE success backwards rather than try to project current wrestlers forward into WWE.

Who are the top 3 wrestlers in WWE that have come into wrestling in the past 10 years - Randy Orton, John Cena, Edge.

Each took a somewhat different path. Yes, there was development in the indy scene - but how they became stars was much different.

Orton - 2nd gen wretler, pre-destined to be a superstar.

Cena - Indy worker who was in the right place at the right time.

Edge - worked his way up from within WWE.

The one similarity between these 3 is frankly their size. They have larger frames, well defined muscularity - and somewhat limited high flying repetoire.

That will be your mold. The high fliers and smaller sized guys will always be (at best) upper mid carders as long as Vince is in charge of the WWE. And maybe that - more than anything else - will define who becomes the next Superstar.

Posted By: BobbyC

Damn, I thought the Kool Aid remark was under the radar. Orton was a 2nd Generation guy and we all know that Vince has a hard on for those kinds of guys, Edge was actually pretty well traveled around the Indy scene and he actually spent a great deal less time in "Development" then the guys who get signed now do, he just happened to have had a unique look and some good height working in his favor. The one thing about Cena is that he wasn't an Indy worker, he was Indy TRAINED, mainly in UPW, but hardly worked any real Indy shows at all before being snatched up by the "e" because he had a good wrestlers's physique from all the body building and had some good trainers. For the most part it seems like Vince likes building up his guys from scratch as most of the Indy workers who have had significant success prior to being signed seem to not be able to duplicate that when they get called up.

So glad you know what's best for Danielson. He himself has said going to WWE is not a career goal of his & he hates their backstage politics. Moreover, he had reason to be in California Monday night. Two of them. He works with students at the LA Dojo, and he was on his way to Mexico the next day to do an AAA show.

Get a grip.

Posted By: nomark

You know, funny, but I don't remember hearing anything about Danielson being at the LA Dojo last weekend and I LIVE in LA. I know he was working some AAA shows, but I can't imagine that if Danielson had NO interest in the "e" that he'd still be working a Dark Match. That's like telling a girl, "Look…I'm just going to lay it between your butt cheeks…I promise not to try anything funny though...by the way…where's the lube?" If you never plan on getting married, then maybe you shouldn't be taking your girl to look for rings. Same, same.

6 Degrees Results

We'll give this another week, but I'm starting to think that 6DO needs a bit of a "shake up".

Left Overs…

Ashley will be returning to WWE TV soon with a new full body tattoo of a Dragon on her rib cage and abdomen. For a sneak peak of the tattoo CLICK HERE.

Chris Harris is in FCW getting ready for his WWE debut and is said to be even "heavier" than his TNA days. For a picture of what the "Wild Cat" looks like now CLICK HERE.

I don't know what the big deal about that WWE Developmental guy striking a police officer is. They are training the guys to become WWE Superstars. They're learning to talk like Cena, wrestle like HHH, and have the arrest record of mid-carder. MVP and Santino certainly know how to put on a "clinic".

Hogan's new Grill is being recalled because it apparently causes cooking oil to burst into flames. In related news Vince McMahon has now signed the Hogan Ultimate Grill to tag with Carlito in hopes of keeping the crybaby happy and finally garnering some heat for the poor lad. The team will be known as "That's not Cool".

Mike Mondo, of Spirit Squad fame, was recently released. Into the wild. Where he was shot by hunters mistaking him for a dear in headlights. They only discovered their mistake after butchering him and grilling him on the spot saying…"Blech….still tastes like squash".

In case you hadn't noticed I had no time to write this column this week due to work…everything you are reading has been done in the span of 2 hours. Meaning I've spent roughly 30 minutes longer than "creative" usually does on RAW each week. "Um…couple of matches…HHH talks, Cena talks, Jericho looks like a bitch…and….Vince gets an hour to call folks. Done. So, Chinese for lunch?"

TNA is planning a big 2nd tour of the UK in January. This means that Eric Young will either be doing a weekly "EuroTrip" type vignette to tape for future episodes of Impact! each week or he'll be doing a weekly "Hostel" skit. We won't know until the spoilers in February to see if Eric's mouth and ear holes have been sewn up to find out which.

Abyss looks like he pub on a few LB's. I don't know which psych ward he was locked up in but I don't think it was Betty Ford…more like Betty Crocker.

Reports from House Shows say that Elijah Burke is planning to debut a new gimmick for himself soon where he refers to himself as the "Black Pope". Actually this had been in the planning phases since before Michael Hayes was "suspended" as he was personally overseeing the gimmick change for Burke. To see pictures of Burke's new "Black Pope" gimmick from Hayes' storyboards CLICK HERE.

The Great Booty Debate 2008

I think I might have to just start opening this contest up to "reader participation" because I'm running out of Latinas quick. But not this week. This week we pit...um...some random Latina I found against Katherine Thom:

Random Asian Bitch Lookin' Good Pic of the Week



The phrase Thom, Dick, and Harry sounds more like a porno here.

Random Latina Bitch Lookin' Good Pic of the Week



No idea who this is...but she's hot...right?

Pimpin' In High Places

No links this week, lack of sleep and actually having to do work during the work week is making this job (non paying of course) more difficult than usual. But if you need a suggestion, you know the usual suspects I usually suggest, why not go check out the Sports Zone as well...I hear I'm on this week's "Sports Fact or Fiction" in the big Tourney in fact against Sean Garmer. No clue what the result is...but if I lose I blame Tim Donaghy.

It's been a hell of a week. ever want to just win the damn lotto already and quit your job? Oh, it's not just me then? I wonder how many aliases I can sign up for under at WWE.com. I'm only a cool $300,000 from making my dreams happen. No, not being set for life and quitting my job, just buying enough weed to not give a shit for 2 and a half years. Lord, give me bandwidth.

Till then, the Truth will set you free.

-B