3-Hour 2008 WWE Draft RAW Discussion Thread- June 23 from San Antonio, TX

[Ruderz]

Speaking of the draft (and this is a MAJOR spoiler that I haven't yet touched on), the word is John Cena is definitely headed to WWE SmackDown!.

Credit Wrestlezone.

Well, now we can sit back and watch Cena vs Edge or MVP.

[Da Showstoppa]

YESSS!!!!!!!


We need a change, please swap Cena and Edge - Triple H V Edge would be double sweet and the Vickie Edge angle could finally be put out of it's (our) misery.

Plus Raw gets a "proper" title belt with Edge coming over as WHC.

[DarkMatchJobber]

Maybe HBK will be drafted to ECW where he can preach to the masses about being a born again christian and do his sympathy act for a smaller audience plus elevate the brand.

[TPIB]

Originally Posted by Da Showstoppa YESSS!!!!!!! We need a change, please swap Cena and Edge - Triple H V Edge would be double sweet and the Vickie Edge angle could finally be put out of it's (our) misery. Plus Raw gets a "proper" title belt with Edge coming over as WHC.

I know what you mean. I was hoping that after Cena lost the belt last October to Orton that they would bring back the pre-Cena WWE Title Belt. The one they used since the days of the Undisputed Title. I also hoped for that after Triple H won it too. At least they "stabilized" the spinner part of it sometime during Orton's reign.

Cena going to SmackDown is an excellent decision, in my book. It makes sense in all aspects. Cena's entire fan base is women and children and SmackDown is more "PG" than RAW. Putting Cena on SmackDown would also give WWE the opportunity to look at his promos and matches and be able to edit them for television before they air. It would also be good to give SmackDown a new challenger for the World Heavyweight Title. I can accept having Cena as the #2 Champion in the WWE. That's about his level, if you ask me. He's too big a star for the ECW Title and he's had his three runs as WWE Champion and I think another WWE Title reign would just suck as bad as the second and third ones. It will also provide some interesting new matches (besides the continuation of Cena Vs. Edge) and it will be good to cash in on some of his feuds from days gone by- Cena Vs. Big Show, Cena Vs. Umaga (if he gets drafted), Cena Vs. Batista (which would be a good feud, but the match will probably suck), Cena Vs. MVP, Cena Vs. Undertaker (if he returns to SmackDown, that is), & Cena Vs. Henry. Again, some of those feuds and matches would suck, but the point is that there are a lot of perks to Cena going to SmackDown.

Since it is now just under a week until the Draft, my picks for who should get drafted have changed a little bit. Now, obviously, not all of the superstars I list will be drafted.

In addition to Cena & Umaga to SmackDown (which is a solid prediction on my part):

JBL to ECW- I still believe that JBL needs to be on a brand where he will not be a jobber on a regular basis. It seems to soon to put him back on SmackDown, so I vote to put him on ECW. I think it would add a fresh new challenger for the ECW Title. Not to mention that ECW needs some help when it comes to big name talent (which JBL used to be).

Shawn Michaels to SmackDown- I think this feud between Jericho and Michaels will probably be done after Night of Champions and I think Michaels is long overdue for a move to SmackDown. They have done everything they can with Michaels on RAW.

Beth Phoenix to SmackDown- With the new Divas Championship, I think that Phoenix being a challenger for it would be a smart move. A match between Natalya and Phoenix would be a quality match. I wouldn't be surprised to see Phoenix inserted into the Divas Title match at Night of Champions against Natalya.

Bam Neely to SmackDown- I originally thought it would be good to send Neely to RAW, but after thinking about it, I realized that Neely is not quite ready to move from the C Show to the A Show. With ECW taping on the same night of RAW, I think it would work having Neely on SmackDown. Like I said before, Neely can be utilized better than playing second banana to Chavo Guerrero (who jobs on a regular basis).

MVP to RAW or ECW- To me it doesn't matter what brand MVP gets moved to, I just want to see something done with him. It's a shame to keep him on SmackDown as a jobber.

Carlito to SmackDown or ECW- I have the same reasons for wanting Carlito to switch brands as I do for MVP.

London & Kendrick to ECW or SmackDown- I think London & Kendrick should have never been moved to RAW in the first place.

Deuce or Domino to RAW- Now that the the team of Deuce & Domino is apparently done with, I think one of them should be moved to RAW and the other stay on SmackDown. I think they could survive as singles stars.

Cody Rhodes to ECW- I don't think Cody Rhodes should have been put on RAW this early in his WWE Career. He's not near ready enough for the A Show. He needs to be on ECW to hone his craft and hopefully improve as a superstar.

Hardcore Holly to SmackDown- No matter what happens, I think Holly will be back to being a jobber and I think that putting him on SmackDown would at least ensure he will appear on TV every now and then.

Armando Estrada to RAW- I think that Estrada should be drafted to RAW and become either the RAW General Manager or a Manager. I personally think that Estrada should have stayed ECW GM and Theodore Long should have filled the spot of RAW General Manager. Something tells me that William Regal will be the RAW GM when he returns.

Shannon Moore to ECW- I would love to see the team of Evan Bourne & Shannon Moore make a serious run at the WWE Tag Team Titles. With Jimmy Wang Yang's suspension, I suspect he will just be a SmackDown Jobber like before.

John Morrison to SmackDown- I think this team of Miz & Morrison has run it's course and I think Morrison would prove to be a quality challenger for the United States Title.

Kofi Kingston to SmackDown- I think Kofi has done about all he can do in his short time on ECW and I think Kofi is ready to step up to the B Show.

In addition to those, I also believe the following need to stay where they are:

Edge & Triple H- It's not so much Edge & Triple H switching brands as it is the WWE Title & World Title switching brands. I think the WWE Title belongs on RAW and the World Title belongs on SmackDown.

Mr. Kennedy- I don't think that it's a problem of which brand Kennedy is on (his switch from SmackDown to RAW reflects that), I think the problem is how Kennedy is booked. He needs to be built up instead of spinning his wheels and doing these feuds that are barely staying on RAW.

Jeff Hardy- I don't think a move to ECW or SmackDown for Jeff is the right move. If he doesn't screw up again and get fired, I think Jeff can be at the level of a serious #1 Contender for the WWE Title again. Also, we haven't got to see the Jeff/Jericho feud yet.

Chris Jericho- In addition to the Jeff/Jericho feud, Jericho simply belongs on RAW.

Big Show- I originally thought that Big Show should be moved to RAW, but I would much rather see him continue on SmackDown and hopefully win the World Heavyweight Title to add to his "collection".

[Kanenite]

I'd be surprised if he goes to be honest, he's a big draw to RAW, they'd have to take someone really big from Smackdown like Batista or The Undertaker in trade for Cena. But who knows.

[Mitchell]

On one hand, that'd suck a big giant penis. Cena is the biggest draw in the company and Raw ratings would probably stage a giant hit - they're not exactly doing well right now.

On the other, Cena is stale on Raw. He's a draw with kids which SmackDown predominantly caters to. And if anyone is going to be a strong face for the new SmackDown move to MyNetworkTV, it's Cena. He'll draw in all the fans and they'll have a strong base to build on over there.

But it's Wrestlezone reporting it, and Meltzer/Alvarez haven't said anything, so it's not a definite at all. Probably bull.

[Dave7g]

How is he going to draw in "all the fans" when he's not drawing flies to poo now? What's going to change when he goes?

[Mitchell]

The people who watch for him (like me) are going to stop watching, and house show attendences will probably drop, since he's a major factor in their rise over the past 3 years - he and Mysterio, who might just have to fly over to Raw to make up for it.

Notice ratings are up for Cena title reigns, and down for HHH reigns and challenges. yet Cena is the one to get shafted? Perculiar...

[Nemesis Enforcer]

Well there is talk of tension between Cena and HHH in the back, now before anyone jumps on this with a "HHH doesn't have all the power and is not some evil monster who does whatever he wants its Vince in charge not HHH shut the fudge up" comment I am not saying its down the the evil one... er I mean HHH at all but could this be a case of WWE (with or without influance being placed by someone) wanting to get them seperated to ease the tension?

HHH see's himself as the biggest thing on Raw, Cena is the biggest thing in wrestling its not too hard to imagine that there would be some resentment in there and a desire to have the A show to yourself

[Chriscare]

Raw would be losing a huge draw by putting Cena on Smackdown, i think they'd really suffer. However, if Smackdown got Cena and Raw got The Undertaker it'd definatly makes things a bit more interesting on both shows.

I think if any of the major faces (Triple H, The Undertaker, John Cena, HBK, Batista) swap shows, it would really shake things up and make it more exciting as they've all faced everyone on their respective shows so many times it's just getting dull.

I just hope management realises that the best thing for business is to not let the talent use their backstage pull and tell them we're they're going so we can see some exciting new feuds. I think with the recent attempt to get ratings failing this could be a strong possibility.