Does the Draft this Monday really matter?

[mont3818]

I ask this because of reasons like:

Miz & Morrison on ECW roster who won the World Tag Team Champions from RAW. Then they feuded with Carlito & Primo from... SMACKDOWN.

The few weeks leading up to WM25 on every show there has been practically an orgy of 6-man tag matches and special tag matches from all the members in the MITB match (including athletes from all three brands).

Nobody has asked why Kofi Kingston has made TWO Smackdown appearences for no reason at all only to lose in those matches.

I'm not even sure where the World Heavyweight Title "belongs" anymore. It's been defended on Raw and Smackdown (this Friday) recently.

...just the name a few reasons.


So whats the point really? How is this very much different from having three brands? Seems like one big illusion to me. I'm not complaining, just pointing it out. ^_^

[showstoppermike87]

thats truee
its annoying when we have to see people from ECW on RAW and people from Smackdown on raw because people who watch raw just wanna see people on the raw roster
and those tag matches get really annoying what they do it they figure ok this guy is feuding with this guy and this guy is feuding with this guy so lets put them together and make a tag match and fans will love it even though its stupid
they always do this
look at the late 90s i dont think we ever well maybe VERY rarely saw this happen
because we had tag teams and actual tag team division
with teams like New Age Outlaws, Legion Of Doom, Kane and Mankind (yes they were actually a team and held the tag belts, Owen hart and Jeff Jarrett, Acolytes (farooq and bradshaw), Hardyz, Edge and Christian and as time went on we got teams like the Dudleyz.
Today we have... miz and morrison, cryme time, and the colons.... thats really it
wow
some tag division they should just get rid of the tag belts because thats the only teams they have
wwe (wwf) was much better back in the late 90s early 2000s they should just get rid of this whole brand extension its pointless
and another thing stop having so many shows a week raw, ecw, smackdown, and now superstars just have like 2 shows
raw and superstars get rid of ecw it sucks and get rid of smackdown its boringggggg
when was the last time something exciting actually even happened on a smackdown can you remember? i cant
I just wish if they're gonna have a draft just stick with it and stop having everyone jump around from show to show and say OOO REPRESENTING SMACKDOWN TONIGHT WE HAVE Vladimir Kozlov.. nobody caresss kozlovs match can wait for friday night on smackdown where he belongs
:bringit:

[Jersey Wannabe]

It only matters if they make a point to keep the brands seperated.
Like Mont said Miz and Morrison are ECW and they wrestle more on the other 2 shows than they do on their home brand.
Keeping the brands seperated gives the illusion of the old WCW,WWF,ECW era.

So to answer the question if it matters?
Only if the wrestlers become brand exclusives.

[Cekjr77]

Yeah I totally agree. I liked it better when the roster split 1st happened. The champions went to both shows. (Before ECW was remade). Then they give us 2 tag belts, just to take 1 away. Then a Divas belt so that anorexic bite in the ass McCool could act like a champion for a minute. And now 2 world titles. I understand that 1 though. I think people would get tired of HHH vs. Cena for the title 36 months in a row! LOL. 1 world title would put so much more meaning to the IC and US titles anyway. ECW could stay like an upstart type thing I guess. Just take it off Sthwagger. He SUCKS. I seen him in Champaign vs. Dreamer at a house show. Dreamer actually looked good and carried the match. Hard to believe but true. I don't think there's many more matches they can come up with we haven't really seen before anyway with the draft. I don't know, we'll have to wait and see.

[ImpactPlayer27]

All that's been said is true. Another problem is injuries. You get guys on one brand, key players to the roster, they get hurt and it screws up everything. Batista, Umaga, Cena, Triple H. Lose them and you're screwed. And this thing really stopped being fresh a long time ago. And there are way too many belts. Most of them don't even mean anything more. ECW belt, nobody recognizes it as a belt. The IC title and US title are barely hanging on. And the Divas title, only two have held it and neither one of them are that great in the ring in the first place. At least with the Women's Championship, you have some legitimate wrestlers with Melina and Beth and Mickie. Kelly is slowly but surely coming around too. And as far as the world titles, I can't take seeing Edge vs Cena anymore. Edge keeps seeming to fight Cena and Taker more than anybody else. With the tag titles unified, lets just end the roster split already.

[muzzerman]

In my opinion, the draft is just an excuse for better ratings,
for a 3 hour show and to confuse us. When people who go to new brands have feuds with people who are on that brand, the feud gets spoiled.
But, despite that, the draft is still in my eyes, pointless.

[Y 2 Jake]

It doesn't matter. Everybody changes shows like my parents did partners in to 70s'. They;'ll have a draft on Monday and they'll have a new Raw wrestler appear on the next Smackdown.

The process is pointless, but tha actual show isn't. It's usually a very intresting show. And the mid week draft is often intresting as well.

[HBK-aholic]

Basically, as has been said for ages, they should stop the brand split. Anyone can feud with anyone, anyone can participate on either show, they can go on both if they like. I don't see the point in the brand split anymore, and you've highlighted many of the reasons in your post. It'd also make people more likely to wach all 3 shows, I know a few people who only watch one due to their favourite being on Raw/Smackdown. People would probably watch more if they didn't know which show that wrestler would be on, or if they'd be on both.

I also agree with what Jake said - the show is usually interesting. It doesn't matter too much who gets drafted where, there may be one or two big names, but the rest will just be mid-carders no one cares too much about anyway.

[suleman09]

the draft is more of a publicity stunt that WWE pulls off every year now, it started off as just a one time thing to separate the stars on different shows, which started the whole Smackdown vs Raw deal...now they do it every year, its becoming like the nfl draft..its dumb!

i think intsead of a draft, if wwe wants to pull off something big this monday, i say forget the draft and combine all 3 shows again...to make WWE and Raw, Smackdown, ECW all with the superstars wrestling on each show, this way you also dont have to worry about "ratings" for each show...if all stars are on all the shows, more people will want to watch every show more, instead of just Raw

[Dave]

I ask this because of reasons like:

Miz & Morrison on ECW roster who won the World Tag Team Champions from RAW. Then they feuded with Carlito & Primo from... SMACKDOWN.

The few weeks leading up to WM25 on every show there has been practically an orgy of 6-man tag matches and special tag matches from all the members in the MITB match (including athletes from all three brands).

Nobody has asked why Kofi Kingston has made TWO Smackdown appearences for no reason at all only to lose in those matches.

I'm not even sure where the World Heavyweight Title "belongs" anymore. It's been defended on Raw and Smackdown (this Friday) recently.

...just the name a few reasons.


So whats the point really? How is this very much different from having three brands? Seems like one big illusion to me. I'm not complaining, just pointing it out. ^_^

Yeah I completely agree with you that no one superstar really belongs to one show anymore. I think that it's just done to spice things up a little especially in the wrestling community. I mean look at the official draft thread, look at all the posts people have left. What it does is allow the WWE to leave things in a little mystery. So many different outcomes can be achieved and so many more outcomes can be discussed especially here. I personally like to tune in because it's always a good night fraught with excitement and possibilities.

[ZEUS]

Its an important way to shake up the roster so we can have some new feuds and new pushes. I do find it annoying though, in that Raw always seems to "win" the draft. If this were a real draft, it wouldn't be such a predictable format: main eventers to Raw, guys getting pushes to main event or US title on Smackdown, one or two veterans who are lost in the shuffle on the other two shows go to ECW. That is just how it always works. I hope not this time.

[Dave]

I disagree. Smackdown was the definite winner of the last draft. They got Triple H, Umaga, Jeff Hardy etc. Raw got Mysterio and Batista. SD won the last one.

[Bollocks Mahoney]

The draft used to be something I looked forward to. It was something to keep interest in WWE after Wrestlemania, when it's always dull. But now, with everyone showing up on every brand without an explanation, it doesn't matter at all. They can fix this though. After the draft, they can "freeze" the rosters, like they did before. And keep Raw talent on Raw, and Smackdown talent on Smackdown. ECW could still show up on both Raw and Smackdown, but I don't mind that so much, because I never watch ECW, lol. The Tag Championships should be defended on all three bands, but get more time on ECW, because obviously the two bigger shows will be used for main event and upper mid card feuds. I think the US and IC titles should be unified aswell, and then that title should be defended on all three brands aswell.

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I think that WWE had so many people from one show appearing on another because it was close to Wrestlemania. During Wrestlemania, they seem to really want the ratings to soar, so that's probably why so many people appeared on different shows. This is where the draft comes in. I feel that when the draft is over, we can help superstars on their respective brands and not have to worry about different show appearances as much, but that's just my opinion.

[DhA]

Basically, as has been said for ages, they should stop the brand split. Anyone can feud with anyone, anyone can participate on either show, they can go on both if they like. I don't see the point in the brand split anymore, and you've highlighted many of the reasons in your post. It'd also make people more likely to wach all 3 shows, I know a few people who only watch one due to their favourite being on Raw/Smackdown. People would probably watch more if they didn't know which show that wrestler would be on, or if they'd be on both.

I also agree with what Jake said - the show is usually interesting. It doesn't matter too much who gets drafted where, there may be one or two big names, but the rest will just be mid-carders no one cares too much about anyway.

On the other han though, guys like Cena, HHH, Edge, Orton etc are gonna be expected to pretty much work all three shows if that's the case. Unless they made it obvious that the big stars weren't goign to be on all the shows all the time. Otherwise the workload would be too much I'd imagine. In all honesty the ideal thign to do woudl eb to scrap ECW and have Raw and Smackdown operate as they did before the brand split. But three televised shows a week would be too much work I htink, especially with Sueprstars starting up soon.

[stillboy21]

Well maybe the new Superstars show will help stop some of the crossbrand matches. I don't know if they will do feuds on it or just random superstars facing each other but this might help get the crossbrand competition out of WWE's system.

[Phoenix]

I disagree. Smackdown was the definite winner of the last draft. They got Triple H, Umaga, Jeff Hardy etc. Raw got Mysterio and Batista. SD won the last one.

Wasn't really a winning situation, WWE just wanted to stabilise their move to MyNetworkTV by putting big names on Smackdown. It worked but now things are still continuing to mess up for MNTV. Wasn't really about winning last year, just keeping figures and trying out some youngsters...and *gulp* Mike Adamle!

[Cerebral_King_of_Kings]

IMO, i want a complete DRAFT RE-SHUFFLE. Back when they first did the draft, almost every1 changed somewhere. then they did like on 10 people moved. i say we have a complete draft re-shuffle. EVERYONE is up for drafting. (i know they say "anyone can be drafted") but thats not true. i just want a legit draft.

[Y 2 Jake]

If everyone moves then surely the end result would basically be Raw wrestlers moving to Smackdown and being on the same show as the wrestlers they were with before the draft.

Two main eventers of each brand and 4 mid carders is all that's needed.

[RKO_me]

I think the draft will put an end to the random smackdown stars on raw and the random raw stars on smackdown. It usually is a mixed show for wrestlemania and also leading to the draft so that multiple superstars have multilple fueds with multiple stars so that once the draft is done they can continue the fued on there show. So, if Edge was transfered to Raw he'd have a fued ready with Cena, but if Cena goes to Smackdown he's got a fued ready with Big Show.

[ZEUS]

I disagree. Smackdown was the definite winner of the last draft. They got Triple H, Umaga, Jeff Hardy etc. Raw got Mysterio and Batista. SD won the last one.

RAW also got CM Punk, Kofi Kingston and Mike Knox from ECW though. Knox has been just as effective as Umaga, and I would say that gaining Rey, Batista, CM Punk and Kofi and giving up HHH and Jeff Hardy is still gaining ground. I wish it was more realistic in the sense that NOBODY worth anything in terms of marketability or credibility to the average fan ever goes to ECW (since the first draft and Benoit anyway), its always ECW getting pillaged, and Raw and SD getting way more talent. Maybe this year they should have had no ECW GM to draft anyone, that would at least explain the upcoming destruction of the ECW roster.

[Chill]

Would like to say the draft does matter but we all know that ultimately it does not. Too many performers appear on all the shows for it to matter. Of course, if WWE kept each wrestler to his/her respective brand then this upcoming draft would def matter. They need to decide if they want separate brands or if they want to revert to the ways of old.

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I wouldn't necessarily give no value of the draft whatsoever. I'm sure after Backlash everything will be back to normal. I think it depends on whether Edge gets moved to RAW or not primarily dealing with Randy Orton. If Edge goes to RAW, I believe Orton and Legacy will be drafted to Smackdown so they can feud with HHH more. If Edge stays at Smackdown, I can see Orton losing at Backlash and then feuding with Cena while Edge feuds with HHH.

[!br-marella!]

I want to see Edge stay on RAW and feud with cm punk for the briefcase,that would be great,unles spunk goes to smackdown

[Steamboat Ricky]

Clearly, it matters. There will be like 50,000 threads created about it and complaining that so and so got drafted to such and such brand, and traffic will be really high. People will tune in, and there will be a bunch of crazy matches that determine who gets picks. It's compelling.

[GameOver]

IMO on the first Draft was any use, since then it is badly timed. Specially when it happens prior to Backlash which is more or less rematches from WrestleMania.

If they were gonna do a draft they should do it mid yr that way you still have 6 months to reorganize storylines. I know Mania is the last show of the WWE yr but obviously the storylines don't just end there and then. or have it once every 2 yrs or something. I dunno. In theory the draft makes things fresh but in reality it achieves very little

In the case of the latest one. b4 the draft the GM's have changed shows and people who are on opposite shows are gearing to match up at the next PPV, well der it's a no brainer less they pull a huge swerve...

Triple H and JR go back to Raw
Michael Cole/JBL back to Smackdown
Todd Grisham is only temporary til JBL gets back
Cena to Smackdown
Rey to Smackdown
CM Punk maybe to Smackdown

Hopes Vickie Guerrero gets outted permanently (please rescue us from her obnoxious suckiness) and if they want Raw to be the definitive A grade show, she won't help.


The other issue is when they swap titles close to the draft it becomes almost obvious who's going where or at the least that a team in this case is probably gonna be split.

And now they have a show where anyone from any show can compete against each other like the good ole days of a unified WWF/E but they also do it on every Smackdown/Raw?ECW anyway. makes no sense to say thins guy is this brand if they compete on every other show anyway.

[makeitvab]

Yes it matters, because it tells you where to catch your favorite wrestlers on a weekly basis.

True everyone goes everywhere so the brands aren't truely exclusive but at the same time WWE acts like all these crossover matches so they promote them and let people know ahead of time via the shows themself or even WWE.com.

So unless they let me know otherwise, I really have no incentive to tune into Smackdown because though Edge is one of my top 3, I'm sick of his character and am o.k with only seeing him on PPV. Knowing that on raw there is a 90% or so chance I'll see Punk and Randy I tune in. If either gets drafted to smackdown, I'll watch smackdown on a weekly basis.

[Chadmw]

As I mentioned in another thread I created last week about this (and it got erased for some reason) what the WWE has to do to make the draft meaningful again is go back to when the brands were first separated,


Make it seem like they are two different brands (I'm not counting ECW because I think it should be folded or maybe use it as a "training centre" for the two big brands) and have the GM's compete with each other like they used to in the Mcmahon-Flair days or Step Mcmahon and Bischoff days. Originally you would never see Smakcdown advertising or promo's on Raw and vice versa

[Black Snow]

The draft COULD matter. At this point, I understand all the interpromotional stuff leading into 'Mania. Most of the big matches on the card were interpromotional. Vickie was the GM of both shows. It's natural for the lines to be blurred.

But after Monday they need to make the brand lines stick. Isn't the whole selling point of the new Superstars show that anyone from any brand can wrestle anyone else? If they allow it on every show then there is nothing special about Superstars.

I can even still understand interpromotional matches for the tag titles. Treat them like you did the Undisputed and Women's title when the brands first started. ONLY the champions can regularly appear on every show.

The WWE desperately needs to make the draft lines mean something again and it can easily happen following Monday's show. It's all a question of if they'll do it.

[triplehsgrl]

I really thunk it only matters for a few superstars. Example, Rey Mysterio. Ever since he's come on Raw, either he's been hurt and has been in crappy ass matches. Not to mention, the spanish demographic has gone way down on Smackdown! So I think he needs to go back to Smackdown and stay there. And I'm assuming Triple H is coming back to Raw cause he hasn't been on Smackdown in weeks and Vince wants to make Raw the "A" show again so he'll probably keep/put all the big name wrestlers on Raw. But I really don't see the draft being that bif a deal anymore. Only way I can see it shaking WWE up is if they decide to move Cena to Smackdown. Which I think they need to. He's like the only top star that hasn't been switched in the draft. Wanna shake things up? Move Cena to Smackdown.

[JETER123]

I don't care what happens as long as we get to see Jericho vs. Taker.

[TL]

Does the Draft matter? We'll see after the ratings come out for that show. As far as the suspense is concerned, then no. Because it's been done too much. The original brand split was a novel idea, and the second time around, it was STILL interesting because you could still see people you've never seen on the show on a regular basis.

Now, this is probably the fifth or sixth incarnation of this draft and frankly, the suspense isn't that much. I think we can call most of the moves that will happen, but the WWE usually throws a few swerves toward us.

Expect Orton to go to Smackdown! or Taker to Raw. Or both. That will be a homerun. Anything else will be disappointing.

I do like the concept of wrestling for Draft picks. It actually gives the matches some meaning if they're two even wrestlers. So overall, the draft matters, but not in the way we want it to.

[Tim_Seraphim]

The Draft creates interesting new matchups never before seen when superstars from different brands compete for the first time. Oh, wait, they've been doing that the entire build up to Wrestlemania. The Draft isn't a bad idea, its timing is. Raw & Smackdown both built up the same angles towards Wrestlemania. I agree with Jericho vs. Undertaker, but I disagree with ending the roster split. There's just too many people now. I think they should move the main event/upper card guys to Raw, unify the World and WWE titles, send the midcard guys and tag teams to Smackdown, unify the US and IC titles, and ECW, well, who the hell watches ECW? No matter what anyone says, Smackdown is the "B" show, so might as well treat it as such. It's the show with more wrestling usually, so use it to develop your midcard while using Raw to further storylines and angles. Just my take.

[Big Pimpin]

The draft isn't a bad concept at all, it's just the timing always sucks. Anyways draft shows always produce for some great television. I don't think they should end the roster split seeing as how there are just too many people that are being employed. The only title (besides the tag titles) that should be unified is the WWE/World Heavyweight Championship that way they can concentrate more on the mid card for one of the brands & it allows only the world champion to be the only one that should be able to compete on all of the shows. That's just my take on all this.

[pjsdoughboy]

Here is what I think, Raw should start with a 3 champion (whc,wwe champ & Ecw champ) triple threat match and treat it like a school yard picking. The winner's Gm gets the first pick, the person Not pinned their Gm gets the 2nd & the person who got pinned their Gm gets the 3rd pick and they can pick anyone off any roster untill EVERYONE has been picked. Nobody can be pick anyone who had already been picked. So all 3 of the rosters will have a even amount of wrestlers.

Lets make this a true full roster draft.

[JETER123]

Predictions:

Going to RAW
MVP
Matt Hardy
Edge
Michelle McCool
Evan Bourne

Going to Smackdown!
Rey Mysterio
Kofi Kingston
Candice Michelle
Chris Jericho
Kane

ECW
Vladimir Kozlov
Goldust

[thelcon21]

I love the draft it gives the two big shows a fresh start and makes ECW even worse each year. Honestly how many times can you put Orton vs. Cena or Jericho vs. Cena or Shawn Michaels vs. Jericho or Undertaker vs. Big Show.

What I would like to see is:

Going to Raw
Edge - Since Vicky is on Raw makes sense
Triple H - He is basically on Raw anyway
Undertaker - Never been a Raw Superstar
Michele McCool
Matt Hardy - Separate the two Hardy's and Jeff will be better on Smackdown so Triple H can't hurt his build up.
Miz
Christian - so he can work with Edge again.

Going to Smackdown
Jericho - New feuds and with Orton and Edge and Triple H on Raw he wont be looked at like he should.
John Cena - I'll do anything not to see him every Monday night.
Mickey James.
Batista - He was better on Smackdown
Morrison

Going to ECW
Does it really matter may the Great Khali or Victor Kozlov

Finally WWE needs to get Michael Cole off Raw I don't care if there is complete silence anything is better then Cole announcing. My ears have been tortured for a year. Isn't that enough?

[TheGreenEagle]

I've actually gotten to the point, and its been like this for a long time 2 years at least Where, I feel they should end the whole separate brands and just have everyone on both Raw and Smackdown and leave ECW as a televised version of a developmental brand (since it will never be like old ECW ever again). It was fine years ago because they actually had a lot of talent and they needed two separate shows for more story lines and angles, it worked. But its gotten to the point where in order to boost ratings they need to have everyone on both shows. It makes since and its smart. In order to find out whats going to happen next you have to watch the other show. I guarntee you if they didn't have split brands after the Triple H/Orton angle when Triple H threw Orton threw the window, Smackdown's ratings would have went threw the roof. And as people pointed out, anyone can show up on any given show whenever they feel like it so whats the point of keeping it separate. They've already unified the tag titles. and I've read on Wrestlezone that they're looking to unify the World Title/WWE title at next years Mania so what's the point of keeping them separate. Unifiy the Diva and Women's title, keep the IC and the U.S. and the only thing you keep separate is ECW. Hopefully Monday's draft will bring this motion closer!

[RH23]

As it has been said, the draft is just for ratings. i agree that the brand spit is stupid. It made sense when they did it because they had to much talent but now they don't. Unfortunately i doubt the brand split will end because WWE makes more money with the brands split then when they weren't

[RawIsRamsey]

Victor Kozlov

That's VLADMIR Kozlov, and I'm only pickin' that out because it's an insult to wrestlers named Victor (I wrestle under the name Victor Darkchild).

As for the draft, I dunno, I get excited for it every year...yes, some of the moves are sort of spoiled before hand, but a surprise or two happens every year (Cena jumping to RAW as the first draft pick in '05 was big, for instance).

However, with the WWE losing faith in Smackdown! (mostly due to the network) and reportedly wanting to stack RAW, this year's might be the most tight-lipped show ever...is Orton going to Smackdown! or Triple H to RAW? Is Edge coming to RAW for Vickie or is Big Show? Will Taker FINALLY get drafted, and will it NOT be to RAW (c'mon...admit it...Taker in ECW is ALMOST a passable idea...)? Will the Supplemental Draft still not matter except for minorities (not a racial comment, but a statement of fact...check out the results of the last draft and tell me who REALLY came out looking the best)?

Personally, I wanna see Bryan Danielson drafted from Ring Of Honor to ECW, Kurt Angle draft from iMPACT! to Smackdown!, and Cena drafted from RAW to the unemployment line...or doing Dwayne Johnson's laundry...

[thelcon21]

Cena drafted from RAW to the unemployment line...or doing Dwayne Johnson's laundry...

I think Cena getting drafted to ECW would be the best scenerio tonight. That is close to the unemployment line and probably worse then doing the Rocks laundry. Hey we can always dream!!!

I forgot to mention that they probably should switch MVP and Rey Mysterio. Rey did pretty much nothing on raw this past year beside beat JBL about 100 times.

The WWE is not going to combine the two major shows. I don't think the brand split will ever end unless one of the shows gets canceled. Too many wrestlers and so little TV time. If they made Raw and Smackdown from 8-11 each each week will be the only possible way this can happen.

I don't think they should unify to WHC and WWE Championships. What are they going to have Triple H, Edge, Cena, Orton, Big Show, Jericho, Undertaker, Batista, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk and Shawn Michaels fight for 1 title? I would hate to see this we would have Triple H vs. Cena all the time. At least with two titles they add two other wrestlers into the equation. How would they develop any other main eventer with 10 guys going for 1 belt?

[truk24]

Especially since there is that new show "Superstarz" coming on WGN network on Thursdays. Apparently it will be a different show every week, meaning that all the stars of the WWE will be featured. A show for interpromotional matches I guess, as well as a show to build feuds off of. In other words why do they even have a draft, and better yet a brand split?