General Draft Discussion

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

What makes the most sense to me:


PEOPLE OVER TO RAW:

Big Show - Raw needs a monster when Umaga moves on. Big Show is fresh and could have some good feuds.

Elijah Burke - Put him in contention for the Intercontinental title. Replace Carlito with him.

Edge - Top heel. He's feuded with everyone on Smackdown. He's had his feuds with Undertaker, Batista, Kane, Mysterio, and a short one with CM Punk, so move him here in place of Orton.

John Morrison - Use him as a main event talent, but don't give him the WWE title yet. I'm a big fan of this guy, but I say not to rush it. Push Kennedy forward so your main heels on Raw are Edge, Kennedy, and Big Show, and then you have Morrison and JBL for side-feuds (like how HBK doesn't want to win the title, but has main event style matches). In due time, give Morrison the belt when he has his share of feuds with people like Jericho and Hardy.

Shannon Moore & Jimmy Wang Yang - Intercontinental division as well as to boost up the tag team division.

Edgeheads - Obviously, to follow Edge, and help out the IC and tag team divisions.

PEOPLE OVER TO SMACKDOWN:
Randy Orton - Who else is he going to feud with on Raw? He's had feuds with Jericho, HHH, HBK, Cena, and Hardy. There's nobody left. He needs to go to Smackdown/ECW to feud with Batista, Undertaker, Kane, and CM Punk.

Umaga - He's feuded with everyone on Raw. Same reasons for Orton going over.

CM Punk - In contention for the WHC. Same level as MVP is right now, where he's the bottom of the main event, but main event nonetheless. I guess in the same light as Mysterio, as well.

The Miz - It sounds weird to say...really...really weird to say it....but he's gotten too good for ECW haha. Tag team him up with Kenny Dykstra and use both as US title contenders and tag team championship contenders.

London and Kendrick - With Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore, Londrick will get buried on Raw even more so than normal. Bring them over to Smackdown and repackage them as some fun gimmick that people can get behind...maybe like, high-flyers but also pranksters backstage? Idk.

Shelton Benjamin - US title contention. Give him a run with the ECW title as well, since I'd keep the talent exchange. That way you can have people go from the US title to the ECW title, or vice versa.

PEOPLE OVER TO ECW:

Carlito - Good enough for the top of ECW, not good enough for anything higher than that, and he won't go to the top of Smackdown or Raw on his own momentum.

Kane - Make it official. Top of ECW.

Chavo - Make it official. Top of ECW.

 

[Luten]

Not only do the rosters need shaking up, they need to be reset. It baffles me why a company would purposly book one show better that the other-in WWE's case Raw being superior to Smackdown and ECW...doens't it just make good COMMON sence to get some sence of equality to all 3 brands..that way ratings for each show would be higher. Therefore, if WWE insist on this backwards way of booking then thet might aswell abolish the draft split anyway. It got stale about 2 years ago and in my opinion adding ECW to the mix was one of the most stupid ideas McMahon has had, even during all the hype of "Oh ECW is coming back" I knew it was a bad idea and that WWE would forever tarnish the name of ECW. Raw superstars appear on SD and ECW, SD superstars appear on Raw and ECW and ECW superstars appear on Raw and SD...What is the point then?

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Not only do the rosters need shaking up, they need to be reset. It baffles me why a company would purposly book one show better that the other-in WWE's case Raw being superior to Smackdown and ECW...doens't it just make good COMMON sence to get some sence of equality to all 3 brands..that way ratings for each show would be higher. Therefore, if WWE insist on this backwards way of booking then thet might aswell abolish the draft split anyway. It got stale about 2 years ago and in my opinion adding ECW to the mix was one of the most stupid ideas McMahon has had, even during all the hype of "Oh ECW is coming back" I knew it was a bad idea and that WWE would forever tarnish the name of ECW. Raw superstars appear on SD and ECW, SD superstars appear on Raw and ECW and ECW superstars appear on Raw and SD...What is the point then?

Well ECW has an hour less, so you can't have an equalized playing field on all 3 or else you're leaving a lot of guys out in the dark. If you don't have enough time to use guys on ECW every week, then Raw and Smackdown have to use more Snitsky matches since they don't have those stars themselves. So it only makes sense to give Raw and Smackdown more to work with - especially with the talent exchange. The way to balance it out, thusly, is to give Raw an incredibly sound program with a slight edge in the # of main event wrestlers, along with a solid midcard, and then to give Smackdown two less main event stars, but a solid everything else, so that you can build up the midcard wrestlers on ECW and switch them over from now and again. Raw is sort of the cream of the crop in terms of a push, Smackdown is a comfortable niche, and ECW is a stepping stone.

 

[Mr. Showtime]

Raw superstars appear on SD and ECW, SD superstars appear on Raw and ECW and ECW superstars appear on Raw and SD...What is the point then?

Good point. It seems that each brand has been appearing on the other shows as of late, it's almost turned back into one whole brand again.

I understand because WrestleMania is almost upon us that the WWE want to give the superstars more exposure at this time of year by having them appear on all three brands, but i'd rather have them stay on their respective brands.

I've already posted my draft picks but that was a while back, I supose i've changed my mind a little, so here are my choices.

To RAW: Edge. He's not been on SD! for that long but he's feuded with just about everyone their already. Move him back to RAW.

To ECW: Carlito. Been on RAW for over 2 1/2 years now, he's getting a little stale. He'd benefit him self alot better on ECW, where he would definetly be a main eventer.

To SD!: Umaga. This pick is pretty much a safe bet. He's demolished everyone in his path for 2 years on RAW and has proved he can be a permenant main eventer. This guy is phenomenal, he's got so much potential. On SD! their will be fresh faces to feud with, Undertaker, Batista, Rey Mysterio etc.

________________________

To RAW: Elijah Burke. You would think a guy would get over better on the smaller show, but this is NOT the case with Burke. A year ago he was at the top of ECW and he wasn't even champion. On RAW he would make an excellent IC Champion and i hope WWE realises this.

To ECW: Kane. I'm predicting he'l win the ECW title at WrestleMania and even if he doesn't just make the move permenant. Give him one last run on top which he truely deserves.

To SD!: CM Punk. He's obviously surpassed the ECW title so move him over to SD! where i'm sure there will be some pretty good feuds ahead for him.

________________________

To RAW: John Morrison. Remind's me of a young HBK, I can tell Morrison is getting close to Main Event matches real soon. RAW would be the perfect fit for him. Could feud with HBK, HHH, Jericho (what a match that would be).

To ECW: Santino Marella. He's got all the charismatic tools but move him to ECW to showcase is wrestling skills.

To SD!: Jeff Hardy: I don't see jeff winning the wwe title there's just too many top guys in the way of him. On SD! he could be world champion and he could team with his brother matt on occasion.

________________________

To RAW: Big Show: With Umaga gone RAW needs a dominant monster, Big Show is the perfect fit.

To ECW: Jimmy Wang Yang. Wang Yang is great wrestler and at such a young age, he as many years in front of him. Him & Shannon need to go their seperate ways.

To SD!: Shelton Benjamin. Best athlete in the WWE period. Even though i predict Kennedy will win MITB at Mania, Shelton is an odd's on favourite imo. What better way to get shelton over again than have him face the master of putting people over himself .... The Undertaker!. When S?helton beat HHH multiple times 4 years ago he was way over with the fans. Taker is at the same level as The Game so a win over Taker would do Benjamin the world of good, Taker wouldn't even lose any credibility in losing to Benjamin.

________________________

To RAW: M.V.P. He's done enough on SD! and he really looked good last night on RAW. I can see this move happening. Lots of new faces on RAW for him. A feud with Y2J would be awesome.

To ECW: London & Kendrick. Create ECW Tag Titles and give them a run. I know it's long shot but it's a decent idea.

To SD!: John Cena. I know this probably will never happen, but alot of enjoyment has been taken out of my monday nights with Cena running the show. I like him on SD! everyone did ! But he's just made out to look like superman on RAW.

Also shake up the refferees, ring announcer's, interviewers and diva's in a supplemental draft.

 

[D-Squared]

All i want to see from this draft is...

1) Elijah Burke's potential being used! This guy is seriously under-rated and has been doing jobbing duties recently! This is beyond a joke! He should be ECW Champ NOT Chavo!

2) Mark Henry living up to his World's Strongest Man moniker! In every match recently the announce teams have mentioned it so much yet he has been getting squashed by Taker, Kane and Khali.

3) The Highlanders finally being given a chance at Tag Gold! What was the point of the hell turn if they werent going to use it on television.

and finally
4) Kane becoming ECW Champion! (and holding it for a very long time - like Big Shows run back in 06/07) The guy deserves it!

 

[NYSandman]

Last draft was the shits, IMHO. I cannot even remember who went where.

We are faced with the same dillema. Not enough big names on SD/ECW, and too much, it seems, on RAW. Unless Vince is willing to trim Raw a bit and move some guys, SD/ECW will end up getting the shitty end of the stick, as usual.

SD already seems to have more telented, athletic wrestlers. I frequently notice that the matches on SD are better and often last longer. RAW is becomming more talk than wrestling.

They need more talkers on SD and more pure, athletic wrestlers on RAW. I hope that this draft will be a bit more productive than the last, but we'll have to wait and see.

I know this has been discussed a million times, and I KNOW Vince will never kill the brand extensions, but it is nice to see SD/RAW/ECW mixed around Wrestlemania time, with guys wrestling on all shows. It seems WWE gets really good right before WM, and then turns back to the boring old shit/gimmicks/storylines, etc. They should take a cue, and do more brand mixing all year 'round.

 

[tomstevo89]

Although having a raw, smackdown and ECW brand helps make a lot of money, i don't see why the brands cant be merged. Then, in order to rake in the cash, unofficially seperate the roster for the house shows. Just because triple H and Shawn Michales are on the same roster, doesnt mean they have to appear at the same (untelevised) house shows.

If they do keep the brands, which im sure they will, i see no reason why superstars cannot compete on other brands in order to support the depth of the rivalries, if only for a few months. one thing is for sure, the rivalries that we've been exposed to over the years have been lifeless, inconsistant and rushed. for example, on Sunday the Undertaker is facing Edge, now i just feel that the WWE has'nt spent enough time promoting this. it's as if there's no purpose to the rivalry other than the championship. it's like the rivalries that used to occur at the very early wrestlemania's , at a time when the company had little exposure in comparision to today!

 

[John87]

Ok for the millionth time, vince would never end the brand extension, you know it, i know it even the whole mcmahon family knows it, it makes too much money for the company

nack on topic i think im gonna love this draft in 2008, i want some main eventers in the ecw brand man give me val venis and give me the guys that raw and smackdown wont push and let them shine in ecw

the brand extension happened because when vinces dumb ass acquired WCW and ECW (mainly WCW) he had all this talent that came with the libraries and all that non sense. money had nothing to do with creating a brand extension. it makes money but thats not why he did it.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

K, it took me a while, but I went through the entire roster and made up what I think is an extremely balanced roster for all 3 brands. This takes into account things that will never change (ie HHH and HBK being on Raw), popularity of stars that might not be a favorite of mine - since its not about who is Tony's favorite, its about a better product, etc etc etc.

Little note: You may notice that some people have done some face/heel turns. Some, we've had confirmation that they want to do it, others, I just feel need a change. The numbers are meant to match up with each other in comparison. You'll see.

RAW

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
FACES: 1) Mr. Kennedy, 2) Chris Jericho, 3) CM Punk, 4) Big Show, and 5) HBK
HEELS: 1) HHH, 2) Edge, 3) John Morrison, 4) Kane, 5) JBL
[X: With Big Show as a face monster, Kane as a heel monster, you've balanced that out. CM Punk and John Morrison are both lower main event guys right now that aren't in the right position to carry a top title, but are far above the midcard title. HHH is more of a grounded wrestler, Morrison is more of a high-flier, and Edge is in the middle, whereas Kane is the big monster and JBL is there for feuds, just as on the face side, you've got Kennedy as a grounded wrestler, Punk and Jericho as a sort of Edge/Morrison mix, Big Show for the monster, and HBK for feuds. This also balances out people that are great on the mic and people that aren't.X]

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
FACES: 1) Cody Rhodes, 2) Kofi Kingston, 3) D.H. Smith, 4) Colin Delaney
HEELS: 1) Elijah Burke, 2) Kenny Dykstra, 3) Snitsky, 4) Charlie Haas
[X. Cody and Kofi are the two primary faces, Elijah and Dykstra are the two primary heels, balances out the demographic as well as the styles. Smith and Snitsky are, in a sense, the monsters, as I'm hoping Smith is as strong as Davey Boy was. Delaney and Haas are the jobbers of the division. Raw's midcard takes a step backwards to its main event, as always.X]

RAW TAG TEAM
FACES: 1) London & Kendrick, 2) Cryme Tyme, 3) Funaki & Super Crazy
HEELS: 1) Edgeheads, 2) Chuck Palumbo & Chris Harris, 3) The Highlanders
[X. Londrick and the Edgeheads are faster than Cryme Tyme and Palumbo/Harris, who are more the strong type. Highlanders and Funaki & Super Crazy are the jobbers. A plus is that you can mix this tag team division with the midcard if you have to, so you could have Burke squash Super Crazy or Rhodes squash a McAllister or something.X]


SMACKDOWN / ECW TALENT EXCHANGE


WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT / ECW CHAMPIONSHIP
FACES: 1) Undertaker, 2) John Cena, 3) Rey Mysterio, 4) Jeff Hardy, 5) Finlay
HEELS: 1) Umaga, 2) MVP, 3) Randy Orton, 4) Batista, 5) Khali/Henry/BDV
FACES: 1) Shelton Benjamin, 2) Matt Hardy
HEELS: 1) Carlito, 2) Chavo Guerrero

[X. This is a little tricky to explain, lol. The top row of faces and heels are primarily for the WHC, bottom 2 rows for the ECW title. However, since there's a talent exchange, you can manipulate things as you wish. Undertaker and Cena are both big draws without necessarily needing the title, so that leaves the option for the lower main event guys like Mysterio and Hardy to get legitimate shots but not have to carry all the weight as Cena or Undertaker could easily just dominate. Getting Cena off Raw pleases a lot of fans but keeps him at the top of the WWE for those that like him. Hardy on Smackdown gives him a little room to breathe as well. Finlay is on par with Raw's HBK standing, as he's there for feuds more than title reigns. Umaga is the dominant monster, and although I list him as #1, that's just to match him up with the Undertaker, as the true #1 heel would be MVP, Orton, or Batista. The last spot is open for anybody and I just put the three monsters there because I had nowhere to put them, as I think at least 2 of them should be fired just to maintain a balance. ECW title, you've got 4 midcarders, essentially, but they could hold that title with ease. If Finlay has no feuds coming up, and you've exhausted the 4 of those, give him the ECW title and switch them out. So on and so forth.X]

UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
FACES: 1) Jimmy Wang Yang, 2) Shannon Moore, 3) Jamie Noble, 4) Tommy Dreamer, 5) Kevin Thorn
HEELS: 1) The Miz, 2) Paul Burchill, 3) Santino Marella, 4) Ron Killings, 5) Mike Knox
[X. This is tricky as well. This is basically the midcard on both shows outside of including the tag teams and the "main event ECW" guys above.X]

SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM
FACES: 1) Jesse & Festus, 2) Hardcore Holly & Val Venis, 3) Stevie Richards & Drew McIntyre
HEELS: 1) Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, 2) Henry/Khali/BDV, 3) Deuce & Domino
[X. Richards and McIntyre I just don't know what to do with, so rather than job them out, why not make them a tag team to help out that division? Holly and Venis could be a decent tag team of veterans that have no huge career goals lol. The good thing, though, is that you've got more guys in this SD/ECW lineup that you could have a team like Yang/Moore as well as have them run for the US title. This SD/ECW exchange makes both rosters and all 4 categories extremely flexible outside of "Richards for WHC" and stuff lol.

RANDOM FILLER: Hacksaw Jim Duggan, James Curtis, Boogeyman, Nunzio, Balls Mahoney, anyone else I didn't mention, just throw them into the shows however you want.


Do I think this will happen? Not in a million years, especially all at once with a draft. However, I think it should be structured this way or at least very similar, so I'm hoping for some draft choices to reflect it.

 

[incrediblesim]

Great thread!

First off to strengthen the upper mid-cards of both shows I would discontinue ECW. Storylinewise ECW would invade Smackdown leading to a 5 vs. 5 Elimination Tag Match at Backlash- Smackdown would win therefore ending ECW. Maybe have Dreamer be the last ECW Champ. Then we would draft after Backlash. The Draft would exclude Brand Champions (IMO Undertaker & Orton). It would also be a full one similar to the Brand Extension in 2002.

First I would arrange all championships like this-

RAW-
WWE Title (Bringing back the old belt)
Intercontinental Championship
WWE Womens Champinship
WWE Tag Team Championship

Smackdown-
World Heavyweight Championship
US Title
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
World Tag Team Championship

The Rosters

1. Randy Orton (Champion)
2. John Cena
3. Triple H
4. CM Punk
5. MVP
6. Batista
7. Chris Jericho

First 7 guys are guys who can all be in any respectable Main-Event.

8. Matt Hardy
9. Big Show

2 guys who can do the Main-Event.

10. Tommy Dreamer
11. Colin Delaney
12. Brian Kendrick
13. Paul London
14. Shelton Benjamin
15. Charlie Haas
16. Mark Henry
17. Big Daddy V
18. JTG
19. Shad
20. Snitsky
21. Lance Cade
22. Trevor Murdoch
23. Deuce
24. Domino W/ Cherry
25. Paul Burchill
26. DH Smith

Female Wrestlers (After Draft)

1. Beth Phoenix (Champion)
2. Mickie James
3. Victoria
4. Candice Michelle
5. Melina
6. Michelle McCool
7. Kelly
8. Torie Wilson
9. Katie- Lea Burchill
10. Maria

Tag Teams

1. Brian Kendrick & Paul London
2. “The Worlds Greatest Tag Team” Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas
3. “The New Nation” Mark Henry & Big Daddy V
4. “Cryme Tyme” JTG & Shad
5. “The Rednecks” Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
6. Deuce & Domino


Smackdown

1. Undertaker (Champion)
2. Edge
3. Shawn Michaels
4. Mr. Kennedy
5. Jeff Hardy
6. Umaga
7. Rey Mysterio

First 7 guys are guys who can all be in any respectable Main-Event.

8. Finlay w/ Hornswoggle
9. JBL

2 guys who could do the Main-Event.

10. Carlito
11. Kane
12. Elijah Burke
13. Ron Killings
14. Santino Marella
15. Chavo Guerrero
16. Curt Hawkins
17. Zack Ryder
18. Jesse
19. Festus
20. The Miz
21. John Morrison
22. Jimmy Wang Yang
23. Chris Harris
24. Kofi Kingston
25. The Boogeyman
26. The Great Khali
27. Rory McAllister
28. Robbie McAllister
29. Hardcore Holly
30. Cody Rhodes
31. Jamie Noble
32. Chuck Palumbo
33. Kenny Dykstra
34. Stevie Richards

1. Elijah Burke & Ron Killings
2. “The Edgeheads” Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
3. Jesse & Festus
4. “MnM” Miz & Morrison
5. “Cowboys” Jimmy Wang Yang & Chris Harris
6. “The Highlanders” Rory & Robbie McAllister

 

[OIL]

Right, lets hope WWE gets some good names going good places.

Firstly..

RAW should get..

Burke
MVP
Big Show
Kelly Kelly (Add in there, all the Divas)
Morrison
CM Punk
Batista

SmackDown! should get..

Carlito (His younger brother too)
Umaga
Hardcore Holly
Cody Rhodes
Chris Harris

.. Every Single ECW Wrestler

ECW should be gone by now, not worth having it around.

With the Divas, they should go on both SmackDown! and RAW, but keep the main fueds to RAW, and keep the small fueds and building up new Divas to SmackDown!

The Tag Teams should stay where they are, I think the WWE are just in need of better storylines for the WWE Tag Teams. Prehaps Team 3D can come back to help with that lol.

Either way, RAW just needs some fresh faces for the WWE Title. Orton works on RAW, amazing champion. HHH and HBK work on RAW too. More emphasis on the Intercontinental title would be nice, hopefully with the draft, more wrestlers will focus on that title.

With SmackDown!, just need fresh faces. The addition of all ECW wrestlers will greatly help this, so they only need a few wrestlers from RAW really. Nothing too major with SmackDown!

If the WWE does something like this, the WWE would be MUCH better off.

ECW is pointless at the moment, no great fueds, stupid wrestlers coming in. (Colin Delany). Get rid of it, eventually give Kane the World Title at some point. Nuff said.

 

[psykohurricane]

What Would be the point of another draft anyway since all the wrestler from all 3 brand can show up on any show at anytime. Just in the last couple of week, how many Raw guys show up on smackdown and just last monday, C.M Punk and matt hardy both wrestle on RAw and we actually got a Smackdown wrestler in Kane as ECW champion. So a Draft is prety much pointless right now since the line between the brand as been blurred to much already

 

[incrediblesim]

What Would be the point of another draft anyway since all the wrestler from all 3 brand can show up on any show at anytime. Just in the last couple of week, how many Raw guys show up on smackdown and just last monday, C.M Punk and matt hardy both wrestle on RAw and we actually got a Smackdown wrestler in Kane as ECW champion. So a Draft is prety much pointless right now since the line between the brand as been blurred to much already

Yeah you're right but I think at the moment it has just been to give guys as much exposure before/after W/M 24. But point taken either end the brand split or draw the lines between the brands.

 

[Cutekilla]

Yea...i definitely agree with you guys on this....nothing big and drastic happens....u got a couple of good guys getting traded and then you have younger talent getting traded that have no experience in the ring.

If there was a draft this year....then i agree with the idea of sending Undertaker to Raw, Taker has been on Smackdown for like ages, its time for him to go to a new brand. Also, bringing Triple H and HBK to Smackdown would definitely help the ratings for that show. Also....they should bring back the Cruiserweight Championship...mainly for the fact that the Cruiserweights havent seen any action. This would be cool to see that come back.

 

[incrediblesim]

Yea...i definitely agree with you guys on this....nothing big and drastic happens....u got a couple of good guys getting traded and then you have younger talent getting traded that have no experience in the ring.

If there was a draft this year....then i agree with the idea of sending Undertaker to Raw, Taker has been on Smackdown for like ages, its time for him to go to a new brand. Also, bringing Triple H and HBK to Smackdown would definitely help the ratings for that show. Also....they should bring back the Cruiserweight Championship...mainly for the fact that the Cruiserweights havent seen any action. This would be cool to see that come back.

I think if you draft Taker to RAW you lose some peoples reason for watching S/D. Obviously he isn't the only reason they watch S/D but he can be a big part of why. If you were to draft DX over yes ratings would go higher. How about this..... RAW get Taker & MVP for DX & Y2J?

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Well the brand structure is for organization, primarily. If it was just a randomized set as opposed to a few people shifting here and there, then the WWE would have a tendency to only use their main event talent so as to get more people to watch. Every show would only be HHH, HBK, Cena, Undertaker, Batista, and then the women, as they're the so called biggest draws. Having the split with brands allows them to showcase their other wrestlers and build them up, much like how ECW is being used now as a ladder territory for newbies to get to a standard level, midcarders to move up to the main event, and older guys to put over new talent. Occasionally having them jump ship, though, allows them some flexibility, because as we've seen for a while now, if you limit yourself to say, 3 faces, 4 heels in the main event...you only have so many programs you can do in a year's span. Then you need the draft to switch things up a little.

 

[incrediblesim]

For me the idea of using a "3-step level" does make sense- a guy starts on ECW makes himself a name there and then moves on to the 2 big guns. Unless you want to make ECW part of the "Big 2" But I just think is there a need to use ECW's name in all of this? Surely not would be my opinion.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

I think if you draft Taker to RAW you lose some peoples reason for watching S/D. Obviously he isn't the only reason they watch S/D but he can be a big part of why. If you were to draft DX over yes ratings would go higher. How about this..... RAW get Taker & MVP for DX & Y2J?

I think a much fairer trade would be Undertaker for Cena. HHH and HBK don't want to leave Raw, and Raw at the moment has too many guys that are similar (HHH, HBK, Cena, Jericho, Hardy....all four are sort of "good guys with an edge" except for Cena, but Cena's a bigger draw than Jericho and Hardy). Both men are constantly at the top of their brand and could win the top title at any time if need be. However, Undertaker is far more likely to take a backseat to HHH, and even though I like Undertaker a lot better, their mentality for him over the years is "he doesn't need the belt as he's a draw in himself". In the long run, I think this is a moot point, as the WWE seems so high on Cena that they'll never want to "demote" him.

 

[therockyfan316]

its clear smackdown needs to improve their product, i already think SD would be the best show if they had something besides taker n edge. so basically, i would send michaels, umaga, and kennedy to smackdown. send batista and matt hardy to raw. keep big show on SD. i think this would pretty much balance out the two shows. as for ecw, i think vince has made it pretty clear he doesnt give two shits about the show...but either way, the now have kane as their champ and i would send finlay over to ecw as well. plus they would benefit from SD's acquisitions.

also, once michaels appears on SD, how great would a semi-year-long fued be i.e. like brock lesnar vs angle. throw edge into the mix and u have a great show.

 

[Hart>HBK]

I think that the rosters really need a shake up. Last year Raw got loaded up with talent and Smackdown got big guys who can't wrestle. I think that they need to make each roster more balanced and not stack up one roster at the cost of the others. Making rosters even in talent creates for better wrestling on all shows and more intriguing storylines. Also, I would like to see what the Raw writers can do to build up some young talent because Raw usually only pushes the big named stars and jobs out the rest of the guys. The brand extension is also beginning to look like a joke cause guys appear on different brands all the time. They should use this draft to solidify each brand and make it a rarity for a brands superstars to appear on other shows. This gives each brand their own identity and when there is an inter brand feud, it feels more special. Anyways, my picks would be:

Raw:

Batista - Batista has feuded with basically all the top guys on the SD roster and I think a move to Raw would be good for him and would open doors to new feuds. His feud with Michaels has a lot of potential and can be great. Moving him to Raw so that he can continue this feud seems like a good move to make.

CM Punk - Punk's days on ECW seem to be numbered as he has done virtually all he can on that brand. The next move for Punk would be to go to Raw where he could get more exposure. Having him on Raw could also add depth to the mid-card and Punk could be in some very interesting feuds considering he hasn't feuded with anyone besides John Morrison, Elijah Burke and Chavo Guerrero. Putting Punk on Raw can give him experience and could help him develop into a future main-eventer, something the WWE is lacking in.

Mark Henry - The only reason I would suggest this is because Smackdown has way to many big men and Raw's only crappy big man is Snitsky. Henry could also work well as an enforcer where he could be paired up with someone as their bodyguard.

Victoria - Although she seems to be helping to train the SD divas, I think she should help in the development of Raw's divas considering the Women's Championship is defended on Raw and there are few veteran divas. With Victoria, you could have her help the development of some of the more inexperienced divas such as Candice Michelle and Maria, or you could have her turn face and feud with Beth Phoenix which would also help in Phoenix's development.

Deuce & Domino - These guys were at the top of the SD tag division and have sinced been doing job after job. These guys have a good gimmick and good personalities and I think that they could be successful in Raw's tag division. With Cherry turning face, these guys could leave her behind and start fresh on Raw. Having D&D feud with Holly & Rhodes as well as Cryme Tyme would be pretty interesting.

Elijah Burke - This guy has tremendous talent in the ring and on the mic and I'm surprised that he hasn't become a top heel yet. He has all the tools to become the next great heel and on Raw would be his best chance to do that. Since Raw is always full of promos, having Burke on the mic could help his development and also he could show his personality to a wider audience. Burke could also bring credibility back to the IC Title and strengthen Raw's mid-card and create a new star all at the same time.

Smackdown

Chris Jericho - Ever since his return, it seems as though Jericho has continued to fall down the card, from the main event to the mid-card where he currently has not feud going on. I think that his return was wasted and could have been handled much better. Smackdown will give Jericho a fresh start and Jericho-Edge or even Jericho-MVP mic wars would definitely help boost ratings.

Umaga - Umaga has feuded with pretty much every top face on the Raw roster and moving him to SD seems to be the right move because of the feud opportunities. Undertaker-Umaga could be a really interesting because both of their characters do not talk on the mic. Also Matt Hardy-Umaga and Big Show-Umaga seems intriguing as well as Rey and Umaga.

Cade and Murdoch - Ever since they lost the tag titles to Holly and Rhodes, they have either jobbed on Raw or competed on Heat. SD is a good change of scenery for them where they could establish themselves as the top heel team. Feuds with Yang & Moore as well as Jesse & Festus could definitely deliver decent matches.

Charlie Haas - Whenever I watch Haas I see lost potential. This guy has all the wrestling ability in the world and him doing that mask gimmick proves he has at least a little personality. Pushing him with the wrestling machine gimmick Angle had would be a good idea, especially since WWE is lacking in true technical wrestlers.

Val Venis - Currently, Val is jobbing on Raw and most of the time on Heat as well. He has pretty good mic skills and I think that should use him to replace the Coach on color commentary. Coach is definitely the worst color commentator currently on TV (Don West is pretty brutal too) and makes the worst comments. He has practically no wrestling experience and him and Cole have no chemistry together. Utilizing Val in the commentary role would definitely be better than the Coach.

ECW

Finlay - ECW is in need of a veteran face wrestler and I think Finlay would fit perfectly on ECW. Having him work programs with the younger guys would definitely help the development of future WWE stars. Finlay also brings the brand more credibility which it definitely needs.

DH Smith - Ever since being suspended, Smith hasn't done anything productive. It seems like a waste to have him compete on Heat so moving him to ECW wouldn't be a bad choice. This could help him develop a personality and character as well as improve upon his in-ring ability which is already pretty good.

Carlito - Carlito needs a change of scenery and in ECW he could redefine his character and work as the top heel on the brand. By proving himself on ECW, he could eventually be pushed into the main-event scene on Raw or SD.

Paul London and Brian Kendrick - Since ECW only has one title and only has one hour, it is pretty obvious that it doesn't even have half the credibility of the other two brands. However, I think that in order to give credibility to ECW they need to add another championship and that would be tag titles. Morrison and Miz have proven to be a top tag team and are arguably the best tag team currently in the WWE. Moving Londrick to ECW and having them feud with M & M could help create ECW's tag division and seeing M & M's matches with Yang and Moore, the matches between Londrick and M & M would be awesome.

Paul Burchill and Katie Lea - I think that they should do away with the incest angle and give Burchill and Katie Lea a different program on ECW. Since the WWE always comes up with corny excuses why not come up with one here? They could even forget that Burchill and Lea were related and say that they are a couple. That would definitely be better than watching an incest angle that is weird and demented in so many ways. If these two were put as a couple, I think that they could be much like how Nitro and Melina were and how Edge and Lita were as well, not necessarily as good as them however.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Some suggestions....some of which I think are inevitable and not just "what I'm hoping for".

TO RAW
1. Michelle McCool - She's a far better wrestler than Maria and they need some people that can spice up the actual competition as opposed to continuing to bore the shit out of me. Michelle's not a great wrestler, she's just better than Maria. (Her counterbalance trade is Maria)
2. Elijah Burke - He's being buried on ECW and he isn't ready for a huge push. Put him in the midst of the tag team and Intercontinental division. (His counterbalance trade is Carlito)
3. Edge – Nothing left for him on Smackdown. (His counterbalance trade is Orton)
4. CM Punk – I have a feeling he’s taking Hardy’s spot on Raw soon. (His counterbalance trade is Hardy)
5. Batista – Turn him heel and use him on Raw. He’s been on Smackdown long enough. (His counterbalance trade is Umaga)
6. Ron Killings – Not exactly a draft, but put him in the IC division and a tag team with Burke. (His counterbalance trade is D.H. Smith)
7. Edge-Heads – Naturally, with Edge coming over, you need his stable. (Their counterbalance trade is Cade and Murdoch)

TO SMACKDOWN
1. Maria - As far as the women's division talent gauge goes, she's on the low end, so trade her for Michelle. I'd rather see Michelle with the title than Maria. (Her counterbalance trade is Michelle)
2. Cade & Murdoch – Just a change of pace. (Their counterbalance trade is Hawkins and Ryder)
3. Umaga – Nothing left for him on Raw (His counterbalance trade is Batista)
4. Orton – Nothing left for him on Raw (His counterbalance trade is Edge)
5. Jeff Hardy – Though I like him better than CM Punk, I have a feeling Punk’s taking his spot on Raw. Thusly, to prevent him from being buried, I’d put him on Smackdown. (His counterbalance trade is CM Punk)
6. D.H. Smith – Has no place on Raw and now with Neidhart being on Smackdown, they can team up. (His counterbalance trade is Ron Killings)
7. John Morrison – I’d prefer him on Raw, but that would crowd up the main event too much. Use him at the same level as MVP (and thusly, move MVP up to the main event). That would make the main event heels MVP, Orton, Umaga, and Morrison. Nice lineup. (His counterbalance trade is Finlay)
8. The Miz – Team him up with Dykstra and let them both run for the US title and tag team titles. Morrison’s too good for a team with the Miz, but Miz and Dykstra are too good now to be ignored and would be a perfect tag team. (His counterbalance trade is Drew McIntyre)


TO ECW
1. Carlito – Main event possibility. That shuts him up from being upset. (His counterbalance trade is Burke)
2. Drew McIntyre – He isn’t even on Raw, really. Put him on ECW. (His counterbalance trade is The Miz)
3. Finlay – Boring on Smackdown, could put over ECW people very well. (His counterbalance trade is Morrison)

 

[myhighlander]

good trades, though I'd rather see punk at SD, and cash in with MVP. It's the only way he'll get to move up in class. Too much talent for him to compete with at RAW.

 

[FoleyIsGod]

How about this?

Move Punk to Raw to fued with Jeff Hardy. Switch Punk into heel mode, and let wwe akknowlage Jeff's drug and alcohol problems.

Punk can be all straight edge, therefore better than Hardy, whilst Hrady gets the crowds sympathy and leads to awesome matches ona t least 3 pay per views.

 

[Souls On Fire]

I like the Idea of a Hardy/Punk feud but i would put it on ECW. It would definately help boost the ratings there. My picks would be as follows

To Raw
1. The Undertaker- No one may agree with me on that choice but as he is at the end of his career it would be nice to see one last run on Raw with a feuds with Cena/Triple H/Batista(see next pick)
2. Batista- Time to move him over to Raw in a heel role sent on destroying everyone in his path towards a world title
3. Elijah Burke- He's just lost in the shuffle on ECW not doing much of anything there
4. Michelle McCool- Needs to be going after the Womans championship
5. Edgeheads- While i like them as Edge's security why are they not hunting out the tag titles. Now that they actually have a background not just the Major Brothers could become a dominate force

To ECW
1. Jeff Hardy- Big name draw could feud with Punk/Shelton/Kane/Chavo and just about anyone else. A Hardy/Kofi feud could be a real entertanier as well
2. Finlay- Back as a heel to run a program against Kane
3. Kenny Dykstra- He put on some great matches with Punk and he has potential just needs people to face like Kofi (Needs a manager though maybe Striker)
4. Paul Burchill- As long as Kane is champ you need a few bigger guys for him to feud with
Possibilities
5. Jamie Noble
6. Gregory Helms
With the cruiserweight title gone From Smackdown i would introduce the ECW Telvision Championship. Gives the rest of ECW something to be fighting for and Noble and Helms would be great for that division. This may overload the roster but the T.V title should be defended every week and not always against the same person though there can be feuds over it as well but while the title holder has to defend against others as well could be interesting knowing someone is gunning for him

To Smackdown
1. Randy Orton- I know its his era now but you can only watch him fight Cena and Triple H for so long. He could feud with Edge/MVP/Hardy/Big Show/Mysterio and my next pick...
2. Chris Jericho- Never should of been put on Raw in the first place. He doesn't stand a chance on the Trips/Cena show. Though running a program with Kennedy first would be nice to see maybe with MVP causing him the loss since being the U.S Champ he doesn't want someone else with that midcard title on his show. Could make for a great feud
3. "The Canadian Bulldog" D.H. Smith- Add Nattie Neidhart as his manager and maybe bring T.J. Wilson up to team with will bring something back to the Smackdown tag division.
4. Londrick- Never should of left in the first place. Raw tag division is to big for them in size with Cade and Murdoch/Cryme Time/Highlanders if they ever come back/Holly Rhodes. Feuds with Deuce and Domino/Moore and Yang/ Miz and Morrison/ And the new bulldogs...Wow a tag division on both brands would be nice
5. Ashley- Just has no place on Raw could go back to managing Londrick maybe feud with Nattie and Victoria

 

[Jrei482]

To Raw:

CM Punk-Not really a big fan but it seems like this move is pretty much inevitable. He could boost the mid-card somewhat.

Batista-Thought it was time for him to move to raw last draft. He needs some fresh fueds, him and HBK has alot of potential.

Victoria-Has been in the business a long time and deserves to have a shot at the title again.

To Smackdown:

Chris Jericho-I think everyone agrees that he hasn't been used properly since his return. I want to see him in the main event on raw but at this point his best move is probably to smackdown.

Umaga-Has fueded with almost everyone on raw and has been doing alot of jobs lately. Could receive a fresh push on smackdown.

Morrison-Lots of talent, is already a smackdown tag champ so they might as well move him over.

To ECW:

Carlito-Isn't ever going to get pushed on raw. Could work a nice program with someone like Shelton Benjamin.

Santino-Would give ECW someone that is good on the mic and fans someone to hate. Tag team with Carlito isn't really going anywhere.