Getting Drafty In Here...(No, Not THAT Draft.)
I've been watching wrestling for most of my natural born existence. At least 22 years that I've been breathing in and out, I've been a wrestling mark. I was a mark for the likes of Flair at an early age and before anyone asks, I was NOT a Hulkamaniac growing up. Come to think of it, I think his heel turn in 1996 is one of the most overrated things in wrestling history. (Someone remind me to divulge more on that at a later date.) Anyway, as most know, ten years ago right about this time we were in the middle of the Monday Night Wars which by this point, WCW was on the verge of losing. The WWE had started hitting its stride and WCW was starting to gas. Back then, I don't think anyone believed that ten years later, there'd be no ECW or WCW and that the WWE would be the only game in town. (Yes, they're the only game in town until TNA gets out of the boonies and gets into the town limits. And yes, I just went Mercury Morris because that's how sick I am of TNA pussyfooting after five damn years of existence.) In any event, last night marked the annual "Draft" that the WWE holds to shuffle around its talent and in most years, it's fairly ho-hum. Move one stale piece in place of another, but last night dare I say, I was genuinely shocked with what went down. Oh and I'm not going there with the Vince crap, because that's what it was for anyone who saw it. Crap. I get that he's done giving away money to folks who care to the sum of zero about his product and that it was a bad idea to begin with (never mind the fact I didn't get called to begin with, bastico). Anyway, let's get to things, shall we?
Raw has been predominantly referred to since the brand split as the "flagship show" of the WWE. Now, after last night, it's without its best announcer in Jim Ross and its franchise player Triple H. Okay, so now what? Well, gonna cross this up for a bit here with something I think fits this to a tee. Remember back in 1993 when the 49ers did the unimaginable trading away Joe Cool to KC to see if Young could keep the Niners afloat? Well, this was something of the same thing. Cena in this instance, is Young. Most likely after Sunday, he'll be WWE Champion and he'll have the mantle of keeping Raw afloat while HHH tries to bring up Smackdown as it were. Raw now has CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Batista, Kane and Michael Cole on its roster while losing Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy and Jim Ross to Smackdown. Okay, so who got the 'raw' end of it so to speak? The majority in the know will say that developmental brand with the ECW name did. Right? Wrong. Okay, for future reference, let me clear something up so that when I write future columns and bring this up...there's no confusion on what I'm talking about. I grew up liking ECW a LOT. I loved the brand and hate that I wasn't able to follow it as much as I had hoped (shitty time slots and stuff will keep ya from doing that on the regular) when it was on. Let me be clear, when word broke that it was coming back, I was thrilled. But by around August of 2006 after its Hammerstein show when that crowd shat all over it, I was done with it. Ironically in case anyone remembers what I'm talking about, CM Punk was the only person who actually got a pop all night that WASN'T WWE or old school E-C-F'N-W. In any event, that show on Tuesdays is nothing more than a developmental brand pure and simple. Its "World" title hasn't had any real stand alone feuds since its inception, no more than a total of maybe 5, 10 maximum PPV cards have had an "ECW World Title" match as part of its card. It has been for the most part, an afterthought much like the brand itself. Why do you think its roll call as of late reads like Lashley, Big Show, Kane and the topper...Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself. Vince brought the thing back to drag it through the mud and bury it once and for all. Why? Because he grew sick of hearing those letters chanted at his events and he had nothing to do with it. Sure, he might have funded it, but it wasn't HIS creation. It was Paul Heyman's. So I no longer refer to it by name, because it's not ECW. It's a developmental brand full of developmental talent. Period.
Ahem, that aside, let's move along. The Developmental Brand got Matt Hardy and for the time being, is still using most of Smackdown's mid to lower carders. Within the next week or two, expect there to be an announcement that their GM Theodore Long (best known for managing Doom in the early 90s, one of my favorite tag teams of all time) is severing ties with Vickie and he's going with Raw. (Non kayfabe speak, they're touring with Raw over the summer. The in-character stuff with Long and Vickie while Long was her assistant will most likely be why the talent merger will be severed.) In any event, I'm glad Smackdown got what they got out of this. I know most have all but started a clock for how soon Edge will be dethroned and it'll be the HHH Show, but for all those who are going there...stop. Seriously. HHH's wifey is expecting in a few months and most likely, I'm of the thinking HHH will be looking for some time off to spend with his family. So all you Edgeheads putting pins into your HHH voodoo doll, stop. I think HHH probably welcomes the change of scenery more than most believe. The lighter load will allow him time to be around his wife and kids, I guess the older you get the more you start to put things into perspective. Besides, Edge is the best heel on that brand (even though his present act is sickening me and I'm as big an Edgehead as you'll find all things being equal) and his present feud with Taker is most likely going to be wrapepd up by Summerslam if not at next month's Great American Bash. (Oh, by the by, when WWE bought out WCW they got all of WCW's trademarks too.) In any event, a new crop of faces for him to feud with I believe will do him some good and the show has to think about the future now since Taker's most likely the next major star to ride off in the sunset. Like with any sports team, you build for the future now when you know your vets are on their way out before it's too late.
All in all, I liked last night's draft and I think it's going to set up some really great stuff on Smackdown and Raw for the months to come. I believe that the mantle's going to be passed back to Cena on Sunday and the WWE Championship will be back on him next Monday night. HHH is most likely going to take a bit of a reduced role for the time being, more or less marking time while building up other talent on Smackdown until he takes some time off and returns probably by the end of the year. As for the Draft on Thursday night, I'll be back this weekend with my take on that and it will surprise many of you. :-) Trust me...as Jake "The Snake" Roberts would say.
Posted 06/24/08 by Len | Filed under: Pro Wrestling
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