Why do superstars get moved to Raw?

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Now, take this thread for what it's worth, but I really don't think that WWE should move superstars to Raw.

I'm not saying this is completely true, because it isn't, but it seems that no matter how successful you are on ECW or Smackdown, once you get moved to Raw, you're done.

In the past, we've seen top superstars from Smackdown or ECW get moved to Raw and just flop. The Brian Kendrick was one of the hottest things on Smackdown, once he gets moved to Raw, he wins exactly one match and just four months after his switch to Raw, he gets released. Festus wasn't a top star on Smackdown, but atleast he got decent air time, he's on Raw now. But where is he? Jack Swagger was at the top of ECW from his debut until his switch. He moves to Raw, and he's not nearly as successful as he was on ECW. Two months into his ECW stint, he was fueding with Tommy Dreamer and starting to get noticed. Two months into his Raw stint, and he's not doing much. He'd make a better opponent for the U.S. Championship, than The Miz in my opinion. Evan Bourne was amazing on ECW, until his injury. His return to ECW didn't result in success, and his time on Raw so far hasn't been success. Unless you think a win against the U.S. Champion that led to nothing is success.

That include people drafted or moved to Raw in other recent years. Jamie Noble was finally entered into a real fued with Chuck Palumbo and Michelle McCool on Smackdown. He gets switched to Raw last year and you'd hardly know it. Oh, and what about Chuck Palumbo himself? Gets moved to Raw and without a single match, he's released. And 2007. Remember Sandman and Daivari?

I'd say the most successful superstar to move from Smackdown or ECW to Raw in recent years is Kofi Kingston. He's won all his titles on the Raw brand and he's just amazing! I just hope he doesn't job to oblivion after losing the title.

So, why do you think so many people get moved to Raw and flop so much? Does WWE do it on purpose to superstars they no longer have interest in? Or am I looking too much into this and it's all just a big coincidence? Some don't need the push... some do. Some of them needed to move, while some didn't. What's your opinion?

 

[colalella2891]

I agree. The same happened to Matt Hardy, to a lesser extent. Also Mr. Kennedy, but he kind of fucked himself anyway. I think all they're trying to do is keep things fresh and put people on different shows, but it never works because Raw is for the established main eventers. If you're not a ME, you're either in the midcard or buried. So newcomers to Raw don't have much of a choice.

 

[Cracka Jack]

Guys tend to flop on RAW because the show is overstocked with talent. They just don't have enough time for everyone to do something meaningful each week(Diva tag matches are evidence of this). Guys get moved over because RAW is the "A" show(though Smackdown! is much better right now). Vince sees it as being the most important of the three brands, and thus wants the best talent there. That's all well and good, but as you've shown, very few people find success after being moved there. It's unfortunate that talent isn't spread out as evenly as it should be, but it looks to be a pattern that won't end anytime soon.

 

[Sean Valjean]

I think there are a few reasons for this.

One, Raw always has a stacked ME scene. HHH, Cena, Orton, Batista, and even HBK to an extent are always there and always get the title shots. And since Raw cares more about the ME than any of the other shows, they get the most attention, not the midcard.

In turn, Raw is also more storyline driven than Smackdown and ECW. They have WAY more backstage segments, interviews, etc. and most of them involve the main eventers. When was the last meaningful mid-card fued on Raw? They attempted with MVP/Swagger, but then stopped caring, then tried to salvage it, like, a week before Summerslam just to fill the card. The diva division in general sucks, but at least there's a fued for the women's title on SD. Who's fueding with Mickie right now?

Also, doesn't Raw have a different set of writers than Smackdown? If so, maybe the writers on Smackdown/ECW care about some guys, but when the go to Raw they lose that support as the Raw writers might not see as much in those guys. I dunno, just a thought.

 

[The Five-Star Frog Splash]

You have to think too, that RAW is the flagship show and the writers are probably under the impression that they HAVE to have a huge rating to make Vince happy. But with this whole guest host crap, I feel the writers are spending more time putting them over than the actual wrestlers. And they are! WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK about Bob Barker?! HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WRESTLING PERIOD!!!!!! Vince has them so worked over that they cant bring common sense into storylines and wrestliing anymore! MVP, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, and The Miz, all with enough potential to one day help lead the WWE, and brian Gerwitz is busy making Bob Barker look like he could kick Shawn Micheals ass! at least that what they are probably going to do anyways........BULLSHIT!

 

[Jonnie Walker]

I think I said the exact same thing in another thread,but since for some reason I can't make posts like "What do you think of..."but hey never mind.Raw is where midcarders go to die.Same thing with Philadelphia,only that's where anybody can go to die.Festus,Kendrick,London,Evan Bourne,Chavo,Palumbo,Jamie Noble,Miz,The Colons,Santino(you know if he was on a different show he would actually get airtime.),Ziggler,alot of people.Raw is terrible if you're a midcarder.Smackdown is great,ECW,is fantastic.If you are a midcarder on Raw,and you go to Smackdown,you'll become a Main Eventer eventually,on ECW,you'll definitely be a main eventer.Raw kills midcarders.

 

[Slyfox696]

I see the WWE structure this way.

1) ECW/Superstar - This is your chance to work on your abilities and to get yourself over.

2) Smackdown - A less stressful environment where guys come to get better but to start proving themselves.

3) Raw - It's time to sink or swim. Either you prove you are good enough to draw money, or you get fired. If you can't draw money, why should the WWE keep you around?

At the end of the day, undercard workers are a dime a dozen and can be found anywhere. And if you don't have the ability to make money, then you don't belong in the WWE. So, I think that's why guys get moved to Raw...to see if they have the ability to draw money. Brian Kendrick didn't...so he got fired. Batista did...so he's become a multi-time World Champion.

 

[Kanye South]

You have to think too, that RAW is the flagship show and the writers are probably under the impression that they HAVE to have a huge rating to make Vince happy. But with this whole guest host crap, I feel the writers are spending more time putting them over than the actual wrestlers. And they are! WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK about Bob Barker?! HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WRESTLING PERIOD!!!!!!

Neither did Mike Tyson, but he had a huge role in making Stone Cold Steve Austin. If Tyson wasn't special enforcer, then it would've been just another wrestling match that nobody would pay attention to. I think the guest host thing is one of the best ideas that the WWE has come up with in a long time. Think about how high their rating was when Shaq hosted? This is all for exposure and gaining new fans. Raw has been fucking awesome since the guest host thing started. We got DiBiase and Rhodes going against the champion, we got tournaments, and many more people have gotten mic time. MVP (Floyd Mayweather), Ted DiBiase, Jr. (Ted DiBiase), The Miz (Jeremy Piven/Sgt. Slaughter), etc. And Bob Barker will get more fans to tune in, which gives Raw more exposure and more fans.

Vince has them so worked over that they cant bring common sense into storylines and wrestliing anymore! MVP, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, and The Miz, all with enough potential to one day help lead the WWE, and brian Gerwitz is busy making Bob Barker look like he could kick Shawn Micheals ass! at least that what they are probably going to do anyways........BULLSHIT!

The Miz now looks like a legitimate contender due to his makeover and feud with Cena. Jack Swagger is the closest thing to Brock Lesnar that we have today. MVP cut an amazing promo against JeriShow the other week. And Kofi Kingston is at the top of his division. What in the blue fuck are you talking about, buddy ol' pal? What evidence do you have that Bob Barker would be pushed against Shawn Michaels? Bob Barker is a fucking 85-year-old man and he's not even an active competitor. How in the fuck will he kick Shawn Michaels ass? You, my friend have just wasted everyone's time by writing that poor, terrible, sad excuse for a post. Maybe if you didn't do the "cool thing", and stop bashing the WWE for idiotic and/or jackass reasons, maybe you wouldn't sound like a fucking dumbshit.

 

[Coco]

Come on Sly... I know it's the truth, but do you really agree with doing things that way? That's a huge cop-out and doesn't tackle the real problem of lazy booking. Raw is considered the show where "the draws" rolleyes are because of lazy booking and a refusal to make anything except the flagship show important. If bookers focused on ECW, made us feel Jack Swagger was an important and worthy young champion or at least a character that deserves our investment, and sold Christian vs, Swagger as hard as they do Cena vs. Orton, people would watch. The fact that they don't sell all six hours of their weekly original television as must see doesn't mean Batista is better than Kendrick. All it means is that we've been conditioned to believe that only 25% of the A-show is important and that Kendrick was never given a chance to show whether or not he can draw. Don't build anyone up and obviously they look third rate following a guy with the booking of Big Dace.

WWE is too lazy to get us to care about the undercard. It's the simple.

 

[XgringolocoX]

Having guys that went up the ranks on the other two shows cross over to RAW and be less than what they were helps RAW stand out as the A show. It also gives that wrestler more longivity on the show and ton more experience before being moved up the ladder again. This is a good thing.
If the top dog on ECW could take out the top dog on RAW then RAW wouldn't be the A show.

 

[KBUnitz]

It's because Raw is the "flag show" of the WWE. They push main eventers to the top of the list. It's unbelievable how many main eventers they have. Ex, John Cena, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Batista soon, Randy Orton, Legacy now, Big Show & Chris Jericho. Because of these 9 wrestlers, main eventers hog up all the TV time so you get maybe 2 or 3 main events, 1 diva match which is usually botched, and 1 or 2 mid card match, of course 1 will be Chavo and Hornswoggle which is stupid. And other usually is a tag, ex. MVP & Kofi Kingstion vs Jack Swagger & The Miz. That's the problem with Raw. ECW is small so everyone has a chance at the main event. But if you look at SmackDown, they've got about the same amount of main eventers but the difference is that some of them are always taking time off or injured. Even when everyone is active, the do make some main eventers into mid carders, but they give mid carders good TV time for matches.

 

[JBK2008]

Raw is just way too stacked with main event talent and the young guys and mid carders never get much time to shine. Punk didn't do too bad with the exception of the writers poor execution of booking him. Kofi has just been way over and I pray he doesn't fall to the way side. I really hope guys like MVP and Swagger can get back into the mix. The main event scene on Raw is stale and could use something different and some new blood should be injected.

Until then, Raw is the place for just about all mid card and potential talent to die.

 

[Meeks]

I'd have to agree with what Matt Hardy said in some drunken interview. Raw seems to have alot more of the entertainment factor that is with sports entertainment. The story lines are getting deeper. You have the DX and Legacy feud now. Orton/Cena feud, Orton/McMahon feud, and less involved with actual wrestling. Look at all the guest hosts. With Smackdown, I see alot more talent. John Morrison for example. I didn't think much of him until he went to singles. The guy's really athletic and I think he has potential to be the next Shawn Michaels.

 

[Madico_Fs]

rey rey won the IC title on raw member!!! and was in the scrabble match 2...

 

[Viola Moonlight]

The reason why is that SmackDown & ECW are filled with many midcarders & hardly any Main Eventers whilst RAW contains all the main event superstars on the show. So, by sending a midcarder like Jack Swagger or MVP whom seem to get decent time on TV to RAW... you're going to the midcard. However, I will disagree with you about being done once you move to RAW. I got some examples:

Rob Van Dam: This guy was the most dominant in his career with the WWE during his tenture on RAW. He had classic IC title matches, got into the main event many times & drew like crazy for his respected division. He always had TV time & was somewhat either chasing for the title or having feuds every week. He finally got traded to SmackDown & he flopped big time. You saw him team with Rey Mysterio for a while & didn't do much after that. I think he had an injury during this time, but even when he was set for a return, SD didn't bring him back & was lost in the shuffle. When he returned to RAW & went to ECW... he reigned supreme again & accomplished a lot more.

Kofi Kingston: He had a stint on ECW doing the random feud here & there. Never won the ECW title & wasn't included as important. Once he moved to RAW, he received a tag title run & is now the current US title being the face of the midcard division. He is the man responsible for building up the title again & having great matches, giving exposure to the rest of the midcard area.

Shelton Benjamin: His most greatest success came from being a solo competitor in the midcard scene for the IC Title facing off against JoMo [Johnny Nitro at that point], Jeff Hardy & Carlito. He gave a lot of great matches & started a following. He also achieved clean victories over Triple H whom doesn't "seem to put people over" & performed well as a RAW superstar in the MITB ladder matches. He didn't flop here at all & was considered to have potential to rise the rankings.

When you move from a show full of midcarders whom get pushed up a spot into the upper-midcard/main event area to a show full of main eventers with a distinct line draw betweent the ME & midcard, chances are you're going to where you rightfully belong into the midcard. You can't expect to have someone of the likes of Christian to go straight into the Main Event scene & challenge for the title in a huge feud on RAW once moved & stay in that area. You have to re-establish yourself & prove your worth. That's what others in the midcard division whom have been moved are doing & will take a long time to break through the glass ceiling into a crowded Main Event scene.

 

[dvayne]

The way I see it is you start off on ECW to make a name for yourself

You get moved to Raw to get more exposure and to test yourself in the midcard
from there you go to Smackdown to get more comfortable on the mic(since its taped you can make mistakes) and to see if you can hang in the uppermidcard/mainevent

if you fail miserably you go back to ECW to get a gimmick change or to freshen up or you go back to Raw to try out your mic skills again and to see if you can hang on the flagship show

Stars like TBK has been bounced back and forth and has never received a warm ovation from the fans or creative for that matter while you may have it in the ring its not always enough in the business.

Same for Mr. Kennedy he was gold on the mic but was reckless in the ring. There comes a time when you have to cut your losses and let another company train them to save yourself money. If they prove themselves in TNA or ROH they could make a comeback and start the process over again

 

[byrnside]

I didn't take any time to look at anyone else's responses, so take this reply for what it's worth..

People get moved to RAW because it's the "top" show. If the booking staff feels like a guy, or girl, is ready, they get moved to RAW. Which is a shame, as you said, because if they're not fully ready, and even sometimes when they are, they tend to get lost in the shuffle. I still don't really understand why RAW has such a stacked roster. Then again, Smackdown has been continually producing great programs week in and week out, when RAW is somewhat lack luster. Personally, I think that has a lot to do with the guest host thing. Granted, when ex-wrestlers host RAW it's usually better than when celebs host. This is all ironic to me because RAW is supposed to be the "top" show, but I think we can all agree it pretty much isn't. With Batista's move to Smackdown, I guess it'll balance out the rosters a little bit better, but I also feel like he might pull the overall feel of the show down. Does anyone else think it's ironic they moved JR to call matches for Smackdown, and since then Smackdown has become the better show? On a side note, I still don't really care for Michael Cole.

 

[The Gribbler]

You can't blame mid carders for not getting over on RAW. It doesn't matter who you are, if you are given shit to work with then you will be shit. Seriously Johnny Depp couldn't get over on the material these people are expected to work with. Hell some people get 5 minute matches to get over in, no mic time, just 5 mins...how the hell can you do that. Especially when the cruiserweights have a long list of moves they aren't allowed do anymore.

 

[Tastycles]

You can't have all your eggs in one basket, with the up and comers on Smackdown, the cream of the crop on Raw and the shite on ECW, otherwise the ratings differential will be huge, and a big negative to the company. The people that go to Raw have got their work cut out, granted, but they can make an impact. The opening post talks about Swagger and Bourne, but what of Mark Henry. He was hardly ever even on ECW, and now he has uppermidcard status on Raw.

Kingston won the IC title before he even debted on Raw, Punk became world champion within three months. If your good enough, you will succeed there, if you aren't, then you are replaceable, its simple really.

 

[The Rob]

The way I see it, is that being on Monday Night RAW at an early stage in your career is just like adding something to your CV. Sure, the majority of these young wrestlers who wrestle on RAW won't make it big on the show at that point of their careers. But if your fortunate enough to get moved to, say SmackDown after a stint on RAW, there is more of a chance of you getting a higher slot on the card on SmackDown, simply because your were once a wrestler on RAW. Talent comes into it of course, but if you don't have talent, your not gunna get moved back to SmackDown and get decent coverage there.

It's all about making a name for yourself, and theres no better way of doing that then making a slight impact on Raw at the start of your career, moving to SmackDown where you career improves and you become big on that show, then moving back to Raw as an established wrestler. Your more likely to make it big that way.