This isn't your typical HOT or NOT folks! If you watched Raw tonight (and I'm not sure why you'd be here if you didn't), you'd know that this show was all about the draft. The livlihood of performers was at stake as NO ONE was safe from the draft. Hell, they still aren't safe as the draft will continue online tomorrow at noon on WWE.com. If you are interested, I will be tweeting live during that draft and will provide some analysis here once it's over. If you don't already, you can follow me at @FanVsFanMotSS to see those tweets.
For now, we must talk about how the Raw portion of the draft went and all I can say is WOW. If nothing else, the WWE kept us guessing and threw some major curveballs at us. Anyone you thought was safe wasn't and it really had that unpredictable feel that us fans want to see for every show. No new matches were made for Extreme Rules, but the existing ones were furthered in varying degrees. Were any affected by the draft? Let's get to talking about that.
Before I start though, be aware that I'm going to do so as I felt when the picks were made. Given the way it turned out, it's going to make sense to do so and I will give a complete analysis at the end to tie it all together. Let's do it.
Pick 1: John Cena to SMACKDOWN - WHAT? You've got to be kidding me! The one thing I said couldn't happen! With Rock coming next week for his birthday and the impending Wrestlemania match next year, how could they build such a monumentous feud on Smackdown? This is insane! I suppose they could push the idea of Cena going to "The Rock's show" and this certainly opens up Orton and Morrison for more prominent roles on Raw. What a shocker to begin the show and I literally am floored. People were asking for it and I guess tonight it's "ask an ye shall receive". Does that mean I can ask for a date with Layla?
Pick 2: Rey Mysterio to RAW - Another WOW! It didn't dawn on me that this could ever happen. After all, the last time Rey went to Raw, he wasn't very happy and was quickly shipped back to Smackdown the next year. At this point, I figured the reasoning though is that Sin Cara needs Smackdown's pre-taped atmosphere to work on adapting to the WWE ring style and despite what some fans might think, Rey and Cara need to be on different shows. They provide the same thing to their respective brand as high flying faces. Rey didn't look too happy about this move, but he's not going to be around much longer anyway. Let Smackdown get used to Sin Cara as he's going to be around a whole lot longer.
Pick 3: Randy Orton to SMACKDOWN! - Talk about a panic move! I know Smackdown just lost Edge, but really? BOTH of your biggest stars on the blue brand? This is insane? At this point, I really had no idea what they WWE was thinking and was literallly stunned. Immediately I thought that Christian could come to Raw so that he and Morrison could carry the main event face side of things. It would be a risk but it might pay off. Certainly this move had to mean that the WWE REALLY trusts The Miz. I was literally stunned after this pick and I my mind was racing in 1000 directions as to where the WWE will go moving forward. The one move that HAD to be made though was Christian to Raw, it just had to happen.
Pick 4: Mark Henry to SMACKDOWN - Ok, this is getting ridiculous! When will Raw get a pick? Granted, getting Mark Henry isn't a big loss. He's a monster guy that's old and can job out to rising talent. It really doesn't mean much more than that. Of all the picks tonight, this probably meant the least and I figured it meant that Raw would pick up either Kane or Big Show later on. I would be right, but we'll get to that soon.
Pick 5: Sin Cara to SMACKDOWN - The second half of the two picks that Smackdown won and it makes a lot of sense. He needs to be over there as I said before in hopes that the large Mexican audience that Rey Mysterio built for the WWE on Smackdown will move forward with Sin Cara as their new hero. That's why they brought him in and he now needs to capitalize. To move Rey means they believe in him off the bat, he now has to deliver. Less botchy, more wowwing! It's 4-1 at this point in Smackdown's favor, so Raw needs to gain something back now.
Pick 6: Big Show to RAW - Yup, just as I suspected. I actually thought it would be Kane, but I'm fine with it being Big Show. They do the same job and they'll be on both brands for a while anyway as Unified Tag Champions. I hope two stars holding those belts will make them worthwhile again but I'm not betting my life on it. Once they do lose, Big Show can pretend he's relevant again with the main eventers, working with all of Raw's top heels. It's always good to get a victory over a giant and there is no one more fitting of that title than Big Show. I'm pretty sure this is an upgrade for Raw over Mizark (name that reference and I'm your friend forever!) Henry.
Pick 7: Alberto Del Rio to RAW - Nooooooooo!!!!! I do not like this guy. No, not in a "he's a heel so I don't like him way", but in a "why is he main eventing so quickly when he has no clue how to build a feud" sort of way. I know he has potential, but he's not there yet and it's bothered me how hard they've pushed the guy. Now I have to watch him on Mondays? OY! On top of that, Raw is now very heel heavy with Miz, Punk, Del Rio, R-Truth and Sheamus lurking while the top faces are Morrison, Rey, and Big Show? That seems uneven to me and I'm not feeling this draft at this point. That pick ruined it for me. It should have been Christian!
Pick 8: John Cena to Raw - HA! You got us WWE! I know people are going to complain about this, but I loved it. It made people think that the draft is unpredictable and this is the first time that a superstar was drafted twice in one night. It was creative and it got people buzzing. This is also does what I suggested the WWE do. It makes Orton the face of Smackdown with Cena being the face of Raw. Now you do have a legitimate top face on each show and I think that could be a very good thing for Orton as we'll truly see if he can take the ball and run with it. On another note, this mean that Del Rio is on Raw and Christian is on Smackdown, so the liklihood of Christian obtaining his first major title went way up! Peeps rejoice!
Ok, it was quite the roller coaster ride, but let's examine this in full. As it stands right now, Raw's top face is still Cena but Morrison moves up to the 2 spot. That is huge for him as he's really going to get a chance to do big things this year, possibly even a title reign. Rey and Big Show bring some credibility to the upper midcard with Rey a possibility to feud with Sheamus for the U.S. title. On the heel side, you now have R-Truth and Del Rio to add to Miz, Punk and Ziggler so there should definitely be enough ammo to build some new feuds in the next year. The one I most want to see is Morrison/Punk though. It was great on ECW and it would be great now I think.
As for Smackdown, they got their top babyface. Orton brings a ton of credibility to the top spot and is a great replacement for Edge. Still, Orton might have to wait a while for the title since Christian could win it Sunday and a face/face feud is unlikely. Sin Cara and Kofi Kingston currently are next in line as far as babyfaces go and this could be a very good thing for Kofi. He might have a chance to get involved with bigger things now, but I'm still not sure of that. On the heel side, it's all up and comers at the moment. You'll have Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, and Mark Henry who turned heel at the end of Raw. Yea, I didn't like it or care either but it happened. Don't forget about Wade Barrett as he'll undoubtedly move up with Ezekiel Jackson being a possibility as well. The heel field is wide open on Smackdown at the moment and I truly don't know who will take the ball and run with it. If I was a betting man (which I'm not), I wouldn't bet against Cody Rhodes though. That kid has been on fire lately and I'd love to see him feud for the title.
I won't speculate too much on the supplemental draft as we'll talk more about that tomorrow, but I'd like to see Daniel Bryan on Smackdown so that he can showcase his wrestling more and with that, maybe Tyson Kidd as well (if he doesn't get released). For Raw, maybe ship Chris Masters over to go up against Sheamus as he could be a decent midcard guy if given the chance. We'll worry more about that tomorrow but for now, I can say that through the whirlwind of a night, I'm pretty happy with how the draft turned out. The rosters feel pretty even as far as babyfaces go and I think that bodes well for the company. Both Christian and Morrison will have chances to shine this year and I expect both to do so.
There was certainly all sorts of emotion felt throughout the night and maybe a little profanity that I might have slipped out (I get into these things! Just wait until Thursday when my Jets are drafting!), but all in all, I'd say it was a successful night. I'm excited to see how this all plays out and I'm glad the WWE played with our heads a little bit. I like unpredictability and I had fun tonight. Did you? Let me know what you thought of this draft and remember to follow me on Twitter at @FanVsFanMotSS tomorrow at noon for supplemental draft coverage!
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