High Road/Low Road 06.20.08: The Draft

Posted by Sat & Uncletrunx on 06.20.2008

The Draft will take place on Raw this coming Monday. Will it be exciting? Do you care who moves? Do the potential new matches the draft brings excite you? Has the disregard for the brand extension made the draft irrelevant? All of this will be discussed inside one of 411's most interactive column. Plus, a whole lot of feedback. come on in. You know you want to!

Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!

A brief explanation of the column: Uncletrunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related "stuff" while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).

Be sure to check out our appearance on Fact or Fiction here

The Results for the Santino/Cousin Sal:

High Road: 11%
Low Road: 78%
Both Roads: 11%

The Draft

High Road:
The main purpose of the draft is to shake things up and the draft can definitely do that. If you look at the Intercontinental Title and United State Title picture, you see that it is stagnant. Even the World Title picture on SmackDown is not looking that good. The draft has the potential to fix these problems.

Low Road:
The stagnancy of the title picture is more to do with thoughtless and lazy booking. The IC and US titles are worthless because there are too many belts; with three supposed "world" titles, nobody is going to care about the IC or US titles whatever they do. None of these problems can be solved through the draft.


High Road:
One of the main problems with the draft every year is that SmackDown gets robbed of all of their talent. Now, it could happen again this year, but it is less likely. First, there is not a whole lot to take from SmackDown. I would say that the two main guys that SmackDown could lose are Batista and MVP. Plus, it would not be a big loss because these guys have done everything that they can on SmackDown. And even if these lose these two guys, I think that SmackDown will be able to get more back in return.

Low Road:
Why will it be different this year? WWE has consistently shown us that Raw is the show which matters and I can't foresee a change this year. I'd not be surprised if some of the more entertaining Smackdown and ECW wrestlers found themselves on Raw, where they could be shown to be at the level below HHH. In return, I expect some guys whose time has passed or who are not yet hitting their stride to go the other way. I'm amazed they've not openly made their shows into "divisions", with Raw at the top and Smackdown beneath, then ECW then the developmentals. Having promotion and relegation might just make this more interesting!


High Road:
The draft is always the perfect opportunity to move some of the younger guys around because they really have the most to benefit from a change of scenery. Some of the names that come to mind that could be moved and would benefit from a move are DH Smith, Lance Cade (note: written before RAW, so now it seems unlikely), and others.

Low Road:
That very much depends on what happens to them when they get moved. To be honest, the draft would be far more exciting if the brand extension mattered in any way whatsoever. At present, wrestlers appear on other brands all the time with no explanation given and no logical reason provided. How is the draft supposed to appear exciting under such circumstances?


High Road:
There are only a few things that I look forward to each year in terms of the WWE and they are pretty easy to predict. They are the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, and the draft. I think that I am not the only one that thinks this and the draft is definitely one of the things that the fans are looking forward to each year.

Low Road:
I look forward to the Rumble and Wrestlemania. I watch the draft more out of a need to see who is going where than genuine interest; perhaps if the brand extension meant more and it was conducted in a way which had some logic, I might care more. Doing it like the NFL draft, using developmental talents who are ready to move onto TV might work; that way, it could be a real launching pad for some careers.


High Road:
The WWE could have done a better job in advertising the draft, but the fact is that there has been four weeks of build up to this draft. I feel that the WWE has dropped in the ball in promoting the draft. They could have easily shown highlights from the previous drafts and that would have helped to draw interest in this year's draft. Still, the WWE has been showing multiple commercials for the draft and it has gotten numerous mentions throughout the show and it will definitely draw a good rating for the WWE.

Low Road:
I agree that they've dropped the ball somewhat; some form of announcement about how it would work, weaving it into storylines might have helped. As it is, I'm going in not quite sure of how things will work. If champs move, do the belts go with them? What about tag teams, if one half of the tag champs goes, do the belts get vacated or do we ignore the brand extension to get them defended? Little details like this need explaining, in my view and sadly, WWE never seems to bother anymore.


High Road:
One of the highlights of the draft is that it always gets fan talking before and after the show. The majority of the stuff the WWE does nowadays does not having the fans talking before and after. With the draft, this is always true. First, the fans are talking about who should be drafted to what show and who should not be drafted. After the show, they will talk about the outcomes and why it was a good thing that person was drafted and why it was a bad idea to move that person. The draft is an excellent thing for the WWE because it gets people talking about their product.

Low Road:
It does, and if one believes that no publicity is bad publicity, it works well. Unfortunately, the conversations I always seem to have after the draft are along the lines of "who are Smackdown going to turn to now X wrestler has gone" and "how long will it be before the guys moving to Raw are buried?"


High Road:
Now, I know that this High Road is a stretch, but I am going to mention it anyway. The WWE could use the draft has an opportunity to reinforce the brand extension.

Low Road:
I think we all know that's a pipe dream. They've ignored it for three years or more, they're unlikely to start caring about it now.

Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?

High Road
Low Road
Both Roads
OR

Simply write "High Road", "Low Road", or "Both Roads" in the comment section.

E-Mails:

These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.

Davis Showalter Writes:

It's bad enough that Santino can hardly beat other Wrestlers, but if he can get defeated by a person with only a few weeks of training, It not only makes Santino look week but completely buries the few men he has beaten.

Sat: But, the thing to note is that he was outnumbered 3-1 and he lost because of interferences from Kimmel.

Uncletrunx: I remember Roddy Piper refusing to get punched out by Mr T because Mr T wasn't a wrestler. These days, it seems any 2 bit "celebrity" in need of a quick payday and publicity can come in and pick up a win over a wrestler. It's one of the reasons wrestlers get very little respect and in my view it's completely wrong.

Comments:

411 has added a new feature. Below are the comments for last week's columns and our responses. The comments that will be included will be the ones that pertain to this week's column. Also, your comment will not be included if you are commenting on another reader's comment. The comments are as of Sunday Afternoon.

M:-X Writes:

High road:

1- Nobody REALLY cares about the brand expansion.

2- You can whine about 'rasslin on a wrestling show all you want: Santino is terrific and I don't care if he NEVER wrestles.

3- This just adds to the list of people Santino has worked with but not wrestled: Snoopy the Dog, Rodney the Piper, Cold Stone Steve Austin... and while I probably wouldn't PAY to see these bits-- I'll certainly ENJOY them on free tv.

Watching WWE & complaining about the lack of wrestling is like watching "Sports Night" and complaining about the lack of sports.

had to get in here before the SEA of idiotic "epic fail" comments started.

Sat: Have to agree with all of your points. We had stayed clear of the epic fail comments, but guess I spoke to soon because just as I am writing this somebody had to get epic fail in there.

Uncletrunx: I feel I ought to answer, as these seem mostly aimed at my viewpoint:
1. They don't because WWE give them no reason to care. This is to their own detriment and the detriment of their product.
2. Really? Are you one of those people who won't care when Raw features no wrestling at all? Can I ask what on earth you watch wrestling for, if not the wrestling? Complaining about a lack of wrestling on Raw is entirely legitimate, as it's supposed to be a wrestling show; the analogy with Sports Night doesn't work. It would be more like watching Monday Night Football (Or Match of the day in the UK) and seeing no football.
3. I'll also enjoy them on free TV but as I said above, having every two bit celebrity in need of a payday come in to get a win over a wrestler is seriously bad for wrestling's credibility, in my opinion.
You may be one of those who really doesn't care about wrestling. You're probably in WWE's current target audience in that case. My view is, it seems, increasingly old fashioned, but I sare it with JR; from his latest blog:
"…one suggestion could be to always go back to having a kick-ass or two wrestling match with as fresh opponents as possible on every show to give the fans who still like actual wrestling something in which to emotionally invest. That's probably a crazy concept but give me a break….I am sleep deprived as I write this."
I think I know how he feels.

I agree about the "Epic Fail" comments though. It's not funny anymore folks!

Michael Writes:

Low Road, easiest one ever since the Adamle high road/low road. Seriously has WWE not learned that bringing in celebrities does not work? The match was a joke just like this week's raw, and with the talk about piper bringing in a new guy to guide, well we all know what happened to the last guy he guided.

Couldn't you guys have picked a better one like the Angle/Styles feud for this issue?

Sat: I didn't want to do Angle/Styles just because I feel that it is too soon for Angle to be in the ring and if I had written, you guys would have known that I was not really into it. I think that Piper can do a good job with a protege. I thought his run with O'Haire was good. Give him somebody that the WWE wants to push and I expect great things.

Uncletrunx: I think there's a role for Piper in wrestling as a mouthpiece for someone; he's possibly the best talker of all time and I'd love to see him there. I'm not 100% convinced that he'd boost ratings, but he's certain to bring an increase in entertainment levels.

JLAJRC Writes:

This is a definite Low Road for many reasons.

1.) I seriously doubt this brought in new viewers for either show.

2.) Cousin Sal? Was Ross the Intern from "Jay Leno" or Biff from "Letterman" busy? Also, I think more people would've wanted to see Jimmy Kimmel in the ring instead if they were gonna do something like this.

3.) Roddy Piper must be desperate for money to be doing this. People want to see Piper in the ring, even in a crappy match with Santino. Although I will admit that Piper is still one of the best talkers in the business, I'd would love to have seen him commentating. They could get rid of Adamle, move Foley to ECW, and have Piper do mackdown.

4.) This is embarrassing for Santino. How is anyone supposed to take im seriously again? Granted, he is now a low-card comedy wrestler ow, but even he shouldn't be losing to someone like Sal. I'd be surprised if Santino is still employed in the WWE a year from now, because what is left for him to do? He's not a threat as a wrestler anymore to anyone and good, funny promos can only go so far.

5.) Worst of all, it's just not entertaining in a funny way.

Sat: I just think that it had to have drawn some new fans in. Not enough to make a noticeable difference, but a few more of these and it becomes noticeable. I have no interest in seeing Piper in the ring, he is in bad shape and he should just stay manage. Santino was outnumbered 3-1 and he lost on interference. He'll be okay.

Uncletrunx: I agree with this poster on just about all counts. I like the idea of Piper on commentary again, and having Foley on ECW could work very well.

MC42 Writes:

It was a short match between a lowcard comedy heel jobber and a c-list celebrity. I won't give this a Low or High Road, just ignore it and be thankful it only lasted a few minutes.

Sat: That works for me.

Uncletrunx: I'd agree if it wasn't another C list celebrity coming in, winning despite not being a wrestler, then leaving a weakened wrestler behind. It's killing the whole damn product! Am I the only one who sees this?

Save ECW 222 Writes:

this was absolute garbage. C-list celebs don't belong in a wrestling ring. And Vince wonders why ratings are down...

Sat: I'd be surprised if they paid Cousin Sal a ton of money and it was probably worth it just for the exposure on Kimmel's show.

Uncletrunx: Killing your own product for a bit of exposure can't be worth it, long term. Couldn't they have just had Cousin Sal lose?

Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at [e-mail] or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week's column.