The light are off, the fans are gone, the arena is empty. It is now a full day later and hopefully, the reality has set in that the sun has set on ECW once and for all. While the brand itself may have died years ago (as Chris Jericho tweeted today "Goodbye WWECW. But as those of us who were there know, ECW really died in 99."), the superstars that performed on the WWE version of ECW are still employed by the WWE and are now "homeless". All these men and women will be looking for a spot on Raw or Smackdown, and thus, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring with predictions on where everyone ends up:
ECW Champion Ezekiel Jackson and William Regal - This team is going to stay together. Having Regal has been the best thing to happen to Jackson and he could legitimately walk onto another show and look formidable in this way. I predict that they will start showing up on both Raw and Smackdown claiming Zeke is a better champion than what they already have. Eventually, they'll settle on Smackdown where Zeke will get a shot at an upper mid carder like R-Truth or something. He'll beat him and look like a title contender but eventually his push will fade and he will settle into the midcard. By this time next year, if he still has a manager of sorts, we might be talking about Big Zeke as a main eventer though.
Christian - This guy is already the hottest free agent. He has appeared on both Raw and Smackdown, and I have a feeling you'll see Captain Charisma on both shows for a couple of more weeks before he settles on Raw. Look for Christian to be a favorite in the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania (if it happens) and either that win or the draft could move him to Smackdown. I actually hope he stays on Raw and Punk and his Society get drafted over. Christan/Punk and Christian/Miz sound like excellent feuds to me.
Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust - I also think these two will stay together and will start by going to Smackdown and having matches with the Hart Dynasty. The draft might see Goldust head to Raw or Cody Rhodes head to Smackdown as I think with Cody looking to be breaking away from Legacy, it might be interesting to see how he interacts with his brother. I'd love to see Goldust lose the gimmick and be Dustin Rhodes and finally make piece with his little half-brother and feud with Ted and his brother Brett. That could be fun stuff. Yoshi will find a niche similar to Evan Bourne in that he could be a contender for a midcard belt but mostly he'll be there to make others look good. It'll take a while for him to get a true push I think, though he might get a short midcard belt run within the next year.
Shelton Benjamin - Can't you just see either Miz or McIntyre bragging about how great of a champion they are and Benjamin crashing the party? I can, and the recent victory over Archer gives him credibility to go ahead and feud with either. I think you'll see him challenge the Miz on Raw with Koslov having his back. He might use that to gain the title, but it has to be done right so Miz won't lose credibility since he's clearly on to bigger and better things. After a short run, I could see Shelton over on Smackdown fueding with Ziggler and McIntyre and a heel Morrison.
Vance Archer - He's the person I'm least sure about. He'll probably end up on Raw as a jobber to the stars for a while as he's big but not all that credible. He'll destroy your Primos and Bournes before losing to people like Kofi and the main eventers. If Cody and/or Ted turn face, this is a good guy for them to beat to gain credibility.
Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft - I really enjoy these guys and I like that they are a legitimate tag team. Unfortunately, they are heels, which summarizes most of the top teams at this point. With that in mind, I'm predicting them to Raw to feud with........
Vladimir Koslov - After helping his new friend Shelton for a little bit, he'll have an encounter with Santino and the two will start teaming together, perhaps having some matches against Baretta and Croft. Since Koslov and Santino have their sitcom on the horizon, teaming them together is a good idea and could really give Koslov some personality and help get him over as a face.
Zack Ryder and Rosa Mendes - I expect them to stay together and Zach to go to Smackdown to feud with R-Truth and Morrison while Morrison is still a face. I actually think a heel team of Morrison and Ryder would be pretty entertaining down the road, but for now, the "heart and soul superhero of ECW" will have to find a new nickname and a new niche on Smackdown.
Tiffany - She's going to become a competitor. The best place for her at the moment is on Smackdown taking the side of Mickie James against Laycool and Beth Phoenix. Imagine a 3 on 1 beatdown on Mickie a week after they "injure" Maria (so she can be written off TV for the Celebrity Apprentice), and just when it seems like Mickie has no hope, out comes Tiffany to save the day! She might bring Savannah too, but I expect he to go back to developmental or to still do ring intros for NXT. Give Tiffany some time, I think she has real potential as an in ring competitor.
Josh Matthews and Byron Saxton - Unfortunately, these guys might be screwed. If there's commentary for NXT, they'll do it, but if not, who knows? I think Josh is a lot better behind the desk than getting interviews so I hope he finds a place doing that. As for Byron, who cares?
It should be interesting to see how these "free agents" finding homes fit in with shows that are fully entrenched with Wrestlemania, but hopefully it'll be an added storyline that makes things better, not worse. It is certainly a time of transition, which should make for a lot of fun. I leave you tonight with the image I eluded to earlier, the end of ECW. Here are the last couple of minute of the lastt ever, ECW broadcast. Enjoy!
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