Greetings, and Happy Easter to you all! I know what your saying. Why the hell did I know show the Reader’s Choice Wednesday. Well, I’ll tell you why. I’ve been busting my ass getting writers, getting advertisement, getting a website, and getting an e-mag all setup. So, I’ve got some good news for you all. FightLife Magazine is for real! It’s for real and will be coming to a computer screen near you May 4th! We’re still hiring writers for the magazine, so if you are interested in that just shoot me an e-mail with a sample of your work, and your intended work area, and my staff and I will let you know what’s up.
Instead of trying to salvage myself and post the Reader’s Choice today, two days late. I have decided to save Reader’s Choice for the magazine. So, if you want to read the column over 200 people voted on then you’ll have to wait till May 4th. Dick move? Probably, but I’ve got something just as good for today!
Edge’s retirement prompted the WWE to move the Draft up to this coming Monday. It’s more than a rushed move on their part, but hey, at least we’ll be treated to some fresher scenery. So, today yours truly is going to tell you who exactly is switching brands and why. Let’s get on with it me matey!
I feel as if they’re could be a lot of re-shaping to come this year. In years past, Smackdown normally will come into the draft fairly stacked with lots of younger talent that have made a name over the past year. This year, though, the same can’t be said. Smackdown is really down to the bare minimum when it comes to star status. I’d even argue that there isn’t any stars on the show. They’ve either retired or are injured. That’s why it is so crucial that they get the steals this year. I mean can you imagine a Smackdown roster headlined by Santino Marella, Zack Ryder, Yoshi Tatsu, and Ted DiBiase? That is exactly what it could look like if the draft takes the same route it always does.
These are my predictions, though, as I believe it’ll be a different story this time around.
The first guy, I believe who needs a change of scenery would be R-Truth. Granted he just pulled off a wonderful heel turn this past week. Fact is, though, he’s only going to get lost in the shuffle on Raw and in no time could be back to jobbing, just like he was a mere three weeks ago. On Smackdown he can continue with his heel turn by demolishing lower card baby faces. This would enable him to show off a more destructive side to his character and eventually could lead to him being in the World Title chase.
Jack Swagger will find his way to being on the Raw roster this Monday. He was hovering around jobber status for months up until Michael Cole hired to be his personal trainer for WrestleMania. Now, he’s his a wall as a heel. It’s time for him to turn face. That’s why I have a ton of faith in him beating the holy shit out of Cole at Extreme Rules, thus turning him face and making him into a fairly credible main eventer. After that it’d be smart to throw him into a feud with WWE Champion The Miz. It’d no doubt make for good, fresh television, would it not?
The next guy to get drafted to Smackdown is a man that announced late last year that he was planning on retiring in the next year or so. Since then he has been featured on WWE TV very rarely. It’s mind boggling to me that they haven’t given him some type of farewell tour. William Regal deserves it after all. I think he’s been running around on NXT as an announcer. I wouldn’t know because I don’t watch the show, but still. Regal needs to come to Smackdown as a baby face and slowly build himself up to a throw away retirement match for the World Heavyweight Championship at a PPV later this year that doesn’t need an epic title contender featured. That would be the way to go. I believe it’ll happen too!
Back around the time of the Elimination Chamber PPV I was certain that this guy was about to undergo the push of all pushes. I was dead wrong, though. Over recent months he has really gained a fan out of me. I think he’s finally starting to get that edge that he lacked during his initial push. It’s just sad to see him putting good matches, and promos on, yet he’s only seen in the lower-mid card. All The E has to do is start putting him into main events and he’ll be gold in no time. He isn’t going to do it on Smackdown, though, as he is in desperate need of a change of scenery. Pencil in Drew McIntyre to Raw.
*But, Sparty! You’re de-railing Smackdown as we speak!*
Hold your horses my faithful readers, that is not what is happening here. My next draftee is Randy Orton to Smackdown. How’s that for de-railing Smackdown? Randy Orton is in desperate need of a move to Smackdown. He almost needs it as much as Smackdown needs him. There’s not much more for him to do on Raw. I mean we could go through another six months of him single handedly burying Nexus, buy is that really enjoyable? I always thought he should have been moved to Smackdown when it was moved to SyFy. On Smackdown now, he can start off with a feud with the new look Corre alongside of one of his returning old comrades (more on that later). In the end, though, he’ll be that new big star to help put Smackdown back up into the 3.0’s in ratings.
I mentioned a new look Corre in the last paragraph. I said that because I think that The Corre is going undertake some new management. Recently there’s been a lot of tension in the group, and I think it’s going to come to a head this Monday when The Corre kicks Wade Barrett out of the group. They can blame him for the groups slump, and cite his time as leader of Nexus and how he took them down. Wade can turn baby face hereafter and be drafted to Raw. That’s where the next draftee comes into play. Skip Sheffield hasn’t been seen since he was kicked out of Nexus after breaking his leg. Skip is going to make his return by way of being drafted to Smackdown and joining The Corre thus taking Wade’s spot. Sure this leaves The Corre without a talker, but they can easily pick up a manager. They’ll be tenfold better, and it’ll eventually lead to an Ezekiel Jackson World Heavyweight Championship run.
If there’s a man that needs a heel turn more then Kofi Kingston, then he’s already turned. He’s gotten absolutely no where as a face since his BIG feud with Randy Orton in the fall of 2009. He is also in desperate need of a change of scenery. I’ve got a way to kill two birds with only one gun. Want to hear it? Okay, I’ll tell you. When Mr. Kingston is drafted to Raw he needs to subsequently run into a ring that has Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, and Yoshi Tatsu in it, and beat the ever loving shit out of them. The only problem that could arise from this is a smarky crowd cheering him on. Either way it opens loads up for him and could set him up for a big time feud with John Cena. Again, a smarky crowd could kill the heel turn especially if he went up against Cena. But imagine how fast he would climb the main event ladder. Just imagine that shit!
Next up are two superstars that have no business doing absolutely nothing on Raw. They are very talented wrestlers, and two guys that I fully believe will be World Champs in the next few years. Ted DiBiase and Daniel Bryan need a move to Smackdown now to fully expand on their abilities. I think Ted could benefit from a full year of contending for the United States Championship. There’s a lot he can benefit from. I may have predicted him to be a World Champion in 2010, but 2011, he’ll be a United States Champ, and in 2012 he’ll be a World Champ. Same can be said for Daniel Bryan who I believe will look more believable on Smackdown going up against main event talent. Make it happen, Vince!
The second to last pick that I have Raw getting is one that was rumored to be in the boards earlier this week. The company supposedly has Alberto del Rio vs. John Cena penciled in as the SummerSlam main event. I think that match-up will be a one of the bigger feuds occurring this summer. It’ll probably carry the company into the fall. I wouldn’t doubt it to be a good one, either, as we have yet to see these two face off one-on-one. The bigger question here is whether or not he takes the World Heavyweight Championship with him. Well, my answer is no. He does not need to bring the World Title with him. Like I’ve said in the past he needs to wait longer before he gets it. Here’s how it should go. John Cena will inevitably win the WWE Championship off of The Miz. After this he enters the feud with Alberto, and wah-lah we got ourselves a star and a champ!
I moved the Intercontinental Championship off of Smackdown so that must mean that the United States Championship needs to be moved there, right? Correct! Sheamus is going to move to Smackdown where I believe he will finally be able to develop into the brands top heel. On Smackdown he’ll be able to get out of underneath the CeNation, shadow and THRIVE! We’ll be treated to such big man rivalries as Sheamus-Kane, and Sheamus-Big Show. The latter may not be even close to as good as the former, but still these are pivotal feuds that will only greatly benefit Sheamus for the rest of his career. By this time next year he ought to be the top heel and ready to take Raw by storm by way of the draft.
Ready for a shocker? The final draft pick for Raw is going to be one. He’s a guy that probably won’t resurface until a month before SummerSlam or WrestleMania, but he is a legend nonetheless. The biggest reason he will be moved to Raw is because of the feud(s) that he has to conquer there. Another reason is because he is in the last leg of his career, and a farewell tour on Raw would make the most amount of sense. Yes, your guess is right, The Undertaker is going to be drafted to Raw. It’d be an easy shocker. And yes I believe it’d be a shocker to the majority of the WWE Universe. Undertaker-Triple H will probably happen at SummerSlam; if it doesn’t it will happen at WrestleMania, and some young gun will step-up and challenge him at SummerSlam. Maybe John Cena?…
Smackdown has one last pick left. This pick hasn’t been seen in around a year and has been rumored to be coming back soon. He went away to do other adventures elsewhere. Now, he’s back. Who is he you ask? Y2J… Nah! I’m just fuckin’ with ya! His name is Dave Batista. He was last seen on Raw, thus he would be considered a Raw superstar and could be drafted to Smackdown. He did go away to pursue a movie career, and an MMA career. With Triple H’s recent promotion within the company I think he’ll get into Dave’s ear and convince him a return is necessary. He’d probably drive up the ratings for Smackdown with a return. He was the number 2 guy for the entire last era. What will he do now that he’s on Smackdown? Easy, remember when I mentioned Randy teaming up with someone to take on the new look Corre? Yeah, that guy is Batista. That rivalry would easily take up a few months to keep them busy. Then he would turn on Randall and go heel. Dave was excellent in the final months of his career as a heel. That’s why he needs to return and get drafted to Smackdown.
Alright, so those are my picks on who should, and WILL get drafted this Monday. Don’t tell me that if these were to go down, and the scenarios I placed forth happened that it wouldn’t set up for some kick ass WWE TV this summer. It would, undoubtedly. Here’s my question to you guys. Who do you think will get drafted? Who needs it most? Who should stay on their respective brand? Should any championships swap shows? Will The Corre ever be taken serious again? Will Dave Batista return? Ever? Shoot me an e-mail, or comment below and let me know! It’s much appreciated as always! I got to bid you all farewell for now, though, so…
Until next time, it’s your favorite spartan, Spartacus, signing out!
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