Monday, April 26, 2010

WWE Draft LIVE thoughts

11:00 - Well I guess that explains why Edge wasn't in the match. As Kyle noted, WWE may not have felt like they had any choice but to turn Edge heel, but I'm not sure I necessarily agree. I thought there was still some fuel in that fire. Plus, having Edge and Jericho on the same roster, evidently both as heels, is a tad awkward.

Then again, we've never really seen an extended Edge vs. Orton feud, so this is at least SOMETHING relatively new. Unfortunately, bitter, angry Edge is not.

Sometime tomorrow, after the Supplemental Draft, I'll give my full thoughts on the new rosters.

10:49 - I am legitimately trying to figure out the lesser of three evils right now. How ironic -- the draft is designed to "shake things up," yet the next PPV's main event is guaranteed to be something we've seen countless times before.

10:43 - Heh, I was expecting Edge to enter into the match.

10:42 - Orton, in fairness, your character was the one who always complained. Batista was the silent assassin.

10:33 - Well, I was half right. I still expect Finlay and Hornswoggle to reunite, though. I'm a bit disappointed that they're depriving Smackdown of Jericho, but honestly he's found a way to succeed on the flagship program (amazingly). But with Cena, Triple H, Edge, Jericho, Orton, and possibly Batista all on Raw now....something's gotta give. And I was hoping it would be Orton. Talk about somebody needing a change of environment!

10:29 - Mark my words. Hornswoggle finds a way to win. Finlay's drafted to Raw.

10:14 - I love the idea of Christian going to Smackdown for all the reasons I stated in my predictions post -- feuds with Jericho and Punk, an increased chance of winning a World title -- but I'm disappointed that he's going to be separated from Edge again. Why not do what they did a couple years ago with the Hardys and have Edge & Christiain reunite, only to be divided mometns later due to the next draft pick?

10:07 - I noticed Steve Austin talking about TNA on his Twitter page, so I decided to check out their website (the show is already over). And after all the hype over this new ranking system, it basically just ends up being the Power 25 -- an (unofficial) system WWE has been using since 2005.

10:02 - Gotta love when Lawler makes fun of Striker for putting effort into his job. Has it really been that long, Jerry?

9:50 - Kofi Kingston moving to Smackdown is nothing but a potentially great thing. It has become clear over the past few months that he wasn't going to break the proverbial glass ceiling on Raw. Maybe he'll get a second shot on Smackdown.

9:33 - Just a sidenote. I like the yellow ring ropes on NXT.

9:27 - Three latest draft picks - R-Truth, which I predicted, John Morrison, which surprised me, and Edge, which I had suspected might happen. R-Truth is a fine move based on my predictions post. John Morrison, I'm not sure about honestly. I just don't know if they'll be able to resist the temptation to revolve him around Miz. And at this stage, I'm not sure that'll help either.

Edge, as I said a moment ago....I had a feeling. He's been on Smackdown for a few years now, and arguably he's achieved all he could there. I'm a bit disappointed only because he was the star of that show, and I don't think he will be on Raw. Although he is my favorite wrestler, and I watch Raw more than Smackdown, so this could be a good thing. Although my suspicions that Orton will be moving to Smackdown now increases.

9:16 - Good news - Mark Henry is no longer wearing that terrible bright red singlet. Bad news - he's now wearing a bright red Raw shirt instead.

9:13 - Odd that the Raw and Smackdown teams are coming down to an individual Superstar's theme instead of the show's team. Although I previously predicted Raw taking, surprisingly Smackdown has the name power.

9:08 - While I commend WWE for already planning their next main event, this is one instance where I think they should hold off a week. Even if one of them does get drafted, by scheduling this match they send the perception that neither of them will, and that no potential title contenders from Smackdown will be traded over either. By the way, I'm guessing Raw wins the battle royal. It'll be the first time in years that Edge hasn't won it for the blue team!

8:58 - I have nothing against Big Show moving to Smackdown, except for the fact that he seems to switch brands every single draft. It's a bit curious though, because it seems he's turned face, and the brand is a bit face-heavy.

8:51 - I would just like to note that Matt Striker is doing a MUCH better job defending the Straight Edge Society than Lawler and Cole are doing arguing against it. Oh, and GO PUNK!

8:42 - Okay, Kelly Kelly is moving to Smackdown. I can live with that, but I hope Tiffany isn't traded to Raw now. Like I said, I WANT THESE TWO ON THE SAME BRAND!!!

8:38 - Sorry for the late arrival, I had to watch my nephew, but I'm now here to provide my streaming thoughts on tonight's WWE Draft. But before getting into this, let me just discuss how silly I thought it was that last night they inexplicably moved Batista to Raw's Superstar page on WWE.com. Sure, the guy has wrestled almost exclusively on Raw since the build to WrestleMania (and I believe they filmed, but ultimately didn't air, a segment where Batista officially announced he was returning to Raw), but why not hold off a day and have him drafted to Raw at the draft? I mean, it just gives them an excuse to make a "big move," even if it doesn't technically count.


8 comments:

Kyle Litke said...

I actually thought they were heel heavy on Smackdown even before the draft. With Taker taking time off, they pretty much had Rey, Edge, and Morrison. Edge and Morrison got drafted, so...actually Raw is really, really face heavy. Cena, Orton (who I expect to go to Smackdown), HHH...now add Edge and Morrison. And who do they have for heels? Well...Sheamus is apparently the #1 heel on Raw (well, maybe Batista, but the rumor is he's at best taking time off and at worst leaving the company), with Miz being #2. They need heels. I expect the Edge as a face experiment ends soon.

By the way, I REALLY have zero interest in seeing either Sheamus or Orton face Cena for the title. Zero.

Kyle Litke said...

I figured that would happen, although I expected them to do it after his match with Jericho.

I wish Edge and Christian weren't split up again, but Christian clearly needs to be on Smackdown. He's not going to go anywhere on Raw. I could actually see him contending for the world title on Smackdown, but he'll NEVER be allowed to look good against Cena on Raw.

Kyle Litke said...

Great minds think alike I guess.

Matt Basilo said...

Actually, you're right. I think in the midst of typing so quickly I got my own views mixed up. Raw has been traditionally face heavy -- Cena, Triple H, Orton, Michaels, Kofi -- while Smackdown has been heel heavy -- Batista, Jericho, Punk. Maybe things will balance out now.

Will the Edge face experiment end soon? I hope not. If he turns heel, the only result will be what we've seen before -- feuds with Cena and Triple H as a heel.

I think it will be very telling if Orton/Sheamus happens before the end of the draft. If it does, I suspect the winner to be drafted to Smackdown to become THEIR top contender.

Kyle Litke said...

Could very well be. As far as Edge goes, I think he has to. Let's assume Batista is gone (if not they can maybe do another month of Batista/Cena). What do you do? You can do Sheamus VS Edge, but then what? Who does Cena face? I dunno, they need another heel bad.

Also, I liked the Truth/DiBiase interaction. Thought that was pretty funny. They should do more of that humor instead of the stupid guest host jokes, or HHH insulting gay people, or Hornswaggle running around.

Kyle Litke said...

Umm...wow. Didn't see that coming. Smackdown just got KILLED. So assuming Taker misses a few more months, you have...what? Swagger VS...I don't even know because Punk should get another match with Rey? And what do Christian and Kofi do? And Show for that matter who appears to have turned face?

Matt Basilo said...

Kyle, I agree with you man. I think Swagger is fine and good, but Chris Jericho he ain't. I don't think he can carry the heel end of things. The BEST thing, at this point, would be for Punk to regain the championship and feud with the likes of Christian, Kofi, and Mysterio.

I'd like to say that the Supplemental Draft will bring us some big changes, but let's be honest -- if it was going to be a big change, they'd do it on Raw.

Kyle Litke said...

I feel like this is coming from the Sci Fi move. I mean, usually they at least TRY to even things out. No disrespect to Christian, Show, and Kingston, I like all three, but Show is better as a tag wrestler, and Kingston and Christian haven't even been treated as upper midcarders lately, let alone main eventers. Nor has Swagger, although beating Orton was helpful. It's Punk, Rey, Taker when he shows up, and a bunch of guys with potential but who are far from proven main eventers. Yikes. Raw meanwhile is stacked. Seven "main eventers" who have held world titles within the past two years (Cena, Sheamus, Batista, HHH, Edge, Jericho, Orton), and that's if you don't count Morrison or Miz who could take the next step.

I wonder if they'd actually send a big name over via the supplemental draft. Last year was all crap and I assumed this year would be too, but man, Smackdown needs SOMETHING.