Kofi, Christian and even Kane in the title picture now?

[Twanfusco]

So with the draft it seems smackdown now has the 'B show' label in full view, but is that such a bad thing? Like ecw before, i believe smackdown will become the testing ground for future talent but unlike ecw I think they plan to test some stars in the WH title picture. For a while it looked like kofi kingston was on a major push what with his Orton fued, now with swagger as champ I can totally believe in a kofi/swagger fued for the title. Then you have christian, the iwc and probably others too have be itching for a Christian title push, and who's in the ring when he's drafted? The champ, not only that but he motions that he's after the belt too. He has history with swagger from ecw and they had some great contests so don't be surprised to see this as swaggers first fued, although I don't think Christian will capture as it will be about making swaggers title run look legit. Then you have others like Rey, Kane and the big show, will any of these guys hold the title? I think big show will, would love to see Kane get the title run, which gets me back to my point, is smackdown going to give guys like kofi and Christian their first title reign this year and guys like big show, Kane and Rey one last shot or will the the title picture be a little less crowded with maybe just Show, swagger and a returning Taker? (We've had a taste of taker/swagger).

Basically what I'm asking is, will we see some new first time champions on smackdown this year?

When you think of it this way, smackdown looks promising, I'm an optimist

 

[MCMG]

Like ecw before, i believe smackdown will become the testing ground for future talent but unlike ecw I think they plan to test some stars in the WH title picture

I was thinking the same but we have to see after the supplemental draft. If they are going to use it as a platform for the mid card then i thought they would go for it fully with Morrison staying and Rhodes and Dibiase going to smackdown.

 

[D-Man]

I really wish you guys would stop making these threads until the supplemental draft is over. Normally, the majority of the draft picks happen after it's over and it should be discussed in the STICKIED thread for the 2010 draft.

But, to stay on topic, no one really knows, considering the fact that this happened last night. How about we wait until these guys are able to actually participate in their new shows before we make assumptions like this?

 

[Coco]

When it comes to replacing main eventers who were sent to Raw, such as Edge and Jericho, one of them has to be a heel just to keep everything in balance (IMO). That said, I can't see Big Show not getting a couple months of a push out of this move. And I'm thrilled to hear myself predicting that as I don't think Show is booked strongly enough. At least in these waters, he's got a chance. I expect part of that to involve his bi-annual feud with Kane. I know you're excited. Don't pretend otherwise.

As for Kofi and Christian, one obviously gets to step up VERY quickly because of the prime main event face real estate that's opened up. Hard to call who it will be, though. Kofi was splashed all over WWE.com last night as one of the top four picks of the night, while Christian had a confrontation with Swagger. One thing's almost for certain: Mysterio is still busy with Punk.

The man who draws the short stick between Christian and Kofi win a couple months of Happy Fun Times with Drew McIntyre. Yes?

Hmm. I need to see SmackDown this week before commenting further.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Like ecw before, i believe smackdown will become the testing ground for future talent but unlike ecw I think they plan to test some stars in the WH title picture.

I said in the "Raw got all the stars" thread, that that was how i always viewed SD before ECW was reborn anyway. Until ECW became about nothing but being the 3rd show and not ECW, i felt that was all SD was really for anyway, and to an extent, it continued doing that.

Khali, Kennedy and MVp are all examples of guys who came from nowhere and were being praised as the future of the WWE within 12 months (ok, not Khali, but he did win a world title, and Kennedy got 2 or 3 title matches and won MITB, and MVP had his year long US title reign, so they all did pretty well in their rookie years).

I've always preferred SD since the brand split anyway for some reason. I simply feel they are moe adventurous when it comes to putting faith in someone new. The Raw writers seem to stick to what they know and only truly push guys who fit their 'monster' mold, or they simply can't ignore the pops anymore (i.e. Punk, Kofi).

I think at least one big name will come over in this afternoon's draft, because otherwise Swagger's going to be defending against Kane and Rey until they pick someone else (Rey first if they have any sense), and as big a fan of Kane as i am, i realise that that match isn't going to draw. People will watch to see if Swagger can handle being the champion. (Considering he's had decent matches with Cena, Orton AND Taker, i'd say the only thing standing in the way of him having a memorable title reign that he can be proud of, is the booking.)

Sorry, i realise i'm rambling.

While i'm not going to turn and say 'Yeah shed loads of first time champs!' i will say that i expect the mid card guys to be featured a LOT more prominently than they were on SD. I think they'll jump at the chance to utilise Kofi based on how well he did on Raw, and they'd be foolish not to do something with Christian. He's not there purely to help develop youngsters anymore, and despite what Vince thinks of him, he has always been able to get a reaction, which is more than can be said for McIntyre sometimes, and they've pushed him fairly quickly.

I'd like to see 2 of these guys come together for a lengthy fued that doesn't involve the title, much like Jericho v HBK, or Edge v Jericho, or Taker v HBK, or like they're doing with Punk and Rey atm, and personally i think Christian is going to be the best candidate for that. He had that awesome fued with Jericho in 2004, and that was based entirely on Trish!

Plus, Christian, a mid-card WWE talent who's jobbed a few times since joining Raw (surprise, surprise), is the only talent featured on the promotional poster for the up-coming 'Fatal Four Way' PPV and usually only ME'ers appear on the promo posters, so i'd personally have expected Swagger to be on it in some form, considering he's the newest Champ and they're hyping it as a stipulation where champions are likely to lose.

Now yes they change the promo posters at the drop of a hat, but at least it shows that they're thinking of doing something with him.

Personally, i didn't watch Extreme Rules because i honestly didn't care, and wondered if i'd lost interest in wrestling overall, but after reading the draft results, i feel a lot more interested in WWE's product, even if that interest is entirely focused on SD!, as a result.

 

[Theo Mays]

Coco has this right on the money. Big Show will probably take over for Jericho as one of the top heels on SD with Christian or Kofi taking the spot left void by Edge. I think it'll end up being Christian, just because of the altercation between him and Swagger during Raw and the fact Swagger clocked Christian with the briefcase and knocking Christian off the ladder. That puts Kofi in the IC title hunt with DrewMc. After the supplemental draft in a couple of minutes we should be able to branch out on this a little bit more.

 

[Twanfusco]

For those that said wait for the supplement draft before comment, you're right, I retract my statement, I now believe hornswoggle will chase swagger for the title all year culminating at mania.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

This is Vince setting up for a new breed of top stars. On paper it may seem like Vince has reaped SD of it's main event but in reality, he's just growing a whole bunch of new ones whilst keeping the former champions (Kane, Show, Mysterio) relevant. People like McIntyre, Kofi, Christian and even Swagger all have the ability to grow better in the enviroment of SD than they would have on Raw. Wrestlers like Dolph Zigler have a better shot at cracking the main event on SmackDown where there are less proven star studded main eventers. It may take a little while but you'll see some of these names as main eventers for the next few years.

 

[DirtyJosé]

With Raw not only up against TNA Impact, but very soon Monday Night Football, WWE wants to make sure Raw is the #1 show. It's the flagship and it always has been. They want all the recognizable stars there. WWE fears MNF more than it will ever fear TNA.

At the same time, this leaves Smackdown as a pool with a few established if underutilized stars like Christian and Kane and mixes them with younger guys looking to get a foot into the top of the card like Kofi and McIntyre. Everyone is so fearful of a shit looking show, but I'm actually quite optimistic for it. Sure guys like Chavo probably aren't getting anymore work than they were on Raw, but Masters still has some gas (well, fumes) to get one more shot at being relevant. MVP is also on the list of "could really use this one last chance" players, and Raw certainly doesn't have the time to spare for him.

I think there's a bit of buzz on both brands as to who will end up in the title hunt, and Smackdown has a bit more excitement to it as it's stars are all faces unfamiliar to the title hunt. Guys like Kofi, Christian, Big Show, MVP, and even Kane certainly have the opportunity to be a player in the title scene right now. Smackdown has in the past used a pool of "lesser" talents and turned it into the better show. Why couldn't that happen now?

 

[MizMark]

There's a few obvious reasons why RAW has been loaded up.
1, RAW is against TNA and soon to be MNF.
2, Smackdown is on a network it has said it is leaving, meaning it may not get as much promotion.
3, When Smackdown moves networks RAW will move a couple of big names over to generate some interest.

I was hoping a couple of younger stars went to Smackdown to grow as stars as on RAW they will get lost. Other than Miz, how many other mid carders/upper mids are going to be pushed?
I can see Swagger somehow retaining against Big Show and hopefully fueding with Christian for the title, maybe Kofi will get a good spot too, although for me, I'd sooner see Ted Dibiase and Miz pushed as Main Event talent rather than MVP and Kofi for example. We'll see anyway, I'm just worried that some talent will get lost on RAW. We'll see though.

 

[Ferbian]

Coco has this right on the money. Big Show will probably take over for Jericho as one of the top heels on SD

Guess that all depends on how they seem to be booking him in the coming weeks, seeing as he knocked the shit out of The Miz, a heel, he's most likely gonna be in the title picture against Jack Swagger, a heel, somehow if Big Show is turning heel, it won't be until Jack Swagger isn't champion anymore.

So I guess it's time for turning Christian heel again perhaps, unless we're going to have what it looks like the opposite of RAW, a packed roster full of top faces, as opposed to RAW being a packed roster full of top heels (and a few faces to equalize, but not enough to overshadow the fact that we have Batista, Jericho, Sheamus and perhaps a heel Edge on RAW)

While I'm not really hyped on the fact that Big Show is now officially the biggest active star on the Smackdown roster (at least how I see it) I'm looking forward to seeing how they're gonna make it, I believe this is a great move to put Christian and Kofi in the main event picture if they have to, until WWE decides to draft one of the top stars back, but when they do draft one of the top stars back, it just means that he has more to fight with, seeing as I guess they'll have Christian and / or Kofi Kingston established by that point.

 

[Bigmac1892]

If the WWE is smart they will push Kofi, Kane and Christian to the main event scene. They should turn Kane into a Monster Heel because it seems as if Smackdown has no real major heel other than Punk and Swagger (sort of). They should make Christian the main face of the brand. I think they will because of the Fatel Four Way Promotional Poster, with Christian on it. I think Kofi will be the odd man left out, though, of Smackdown's Main Event scene. Mainly because he just doesn't seem to have the build or the it factor that Vince likes. He just doesn't look like a champion in my opinion. Now, I think if they put Kofi in credible fued(s) with heels like CM Punk, or even...Drew McIntyre. (I know I will get heat for that one) Any fued for Kofi would work if it is booked correctley, which WWE has had trouble with for Kofi since the fued with Orton.

 

[JBK2008]

Kofi, Christian and Kane should all be in the title picture at some point in the coming year. This is obviously the "B" show now it seems and it should get very exciting soon to see all these guys in the mix. I agree that Kane should become a monster heel once more and just tear through the roster now that Edge and Jericho are no longer there to stop him. Yeah there's Big Show, but that shouldn't matter too much. Those two could just swap out in the main event slot.

This is the perfect chance for Christian to become a world champion and hopefully he and Kofi will both be booked correctly and both become main eventers of the future.

 

[Charismatic Edge]

This is a little off topic but I had a problem with the way Christian and Big Show were drafted. Both of them had just LOST their matches. It's really saying that Smackdown has losers. They have no momentum going to the new show. It's a terrible way to do business.

Christian really is the best contender because he has good history with Jack Swagger. They had some great matches last year and they could definitely carry a main event title feud.

 

[Christian42]

I do believe thatsome of the new Smackdown stars will get there first major pushes. Christians Main Event push is long over due. He is arguably one of the best skilled in ring competitor and is amazing on the mic. The only thing that holds Christian back is Vince McMahon... I think that Vinny Mac is still pissed at Captain Charisma for making TNA all that much stronger.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I can only hope that WWE would draft Christian and Kofi Kingston to Smackdown! for them to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The fact that Smackdown! got rid of main eventers such as Edge and Chris Jericho... the only "true" main eventer we have left is The Undertaker. This is where the new draftees come in. Most of the Smackdown! roster now are upper mid-carders, who are ready for the main event.

When it comes to Kofi Kingston, Christian, and Kane... "I LOVE ALL OF THEM!" and I would love nothing more than to see them win the title.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Firstly, the smackdown brand having hardly any big names will only last til october when they move networks, and also maybe just kane, kofi and christian, there are still people like drew mc, cm punk, taker will be back in summer, and also ziggler.

Ziggler i think will defo win the ic title soon, same with kofi, kane i don't see challenging for the world title nor ic title, we got enough people there even cody rhodes. the world title is reserved for people like punk, show, christian and soon, drew mc.