Post-WM draft talk on WOL

[Guest Loss]

Meltzer said he didn't know what the plans specifically were, but there was a lot of discussion about who would benefit most from a change in scenery, and I agreed with most of what was said. Meltzer seems convinced that Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and maybe Shawn Michaels should all jump to Smackdown. He and the caller agreed that Jericho had the most to gain from jumping. Meltzer basically said that while Jericho will never be the top face or top heel on RAW, on Smackdown, he could be either one or very close to it.

 

Anyway, I thought it was interesting and wondered if the rest of you had any ideas on anyone specific who you think could benefit from a jump.

[Guest Coffey]

The Hurricane was the first person that came to mind. At least on Smackdown he'd have a direction. Even if the Cruiserweight division itself doesn't have any direction, at least The Hurricane would know where he stood.

 

Besides, he'd be better off with opponents like Rey Misterio, Chavo Guerrero (whom he's worked a great program with in the past) and Billy Kidman than he would be with Tajiri on Heat.

 

Speaking of Tajiri, he never really should've came to Raw in the first place. Now he's a tag team champion in a thrown together team. Just got a victory to get a hometown pop. It's a shame too, because Tajiri can be really entertaining.

[MARTYEWR 0]

Since no one's mentioned any Smackdown workers jumping, what about moving Undertaker to Raw, turning him heel, and feed him to Batista after Batista wins the gold at WrestleMania? It'll give Batista an edge that Benoit didn't have last year: more strong heel opponents to go over. They could very well have Taker put over Batista like he did with Brock at No Mercy 2002. Moving Taker also frees up an upper card face spot on Smackdown for Jericho if he jumps too.

[dpac 0]

Ever since the draft last year, I thought Cena would be good for Raw. IMO I think he is the most over guy in the WWE and it would be fun to watch him 'live' each week.

[Guest Pariah]

Going from RAW to Smackdown

Chris Jericho (Jericho could easily be the top man on SD, as already noted)

The Hurricane (Needs a change of scenary and gimmick, moving to SD could accomplish both)

Val Venis (Needs something to kick some life into his career and SD desperately needs midcarders)

 

Going from Smackdown to RAW

Charlie Haas (Has done little since Benjamin left SD, could go to RAW and feud with his old partner)

Heidenreich (Pretty much dead in the water on SD now, could move over to RAW and team with Snitsky, after all RAW is home of the big men)

One of the random divas (Smackdown can't really afford to lose as many wrestlers as RAW, they are starved enough for talent as it is)

[haws bah gawd 0]

I say send Big Show, Cena and Eddy Guerrero to RAW. They could have a lot of interesting matches with the guys on that roster. I amy be alone on this, but I want to see BIG DAVE vs Big Show, something awful. Also, Cena's character could be given more freedom on cable.

 

Smackdown should get The Hurricane, HHH, Jericho, and...........I'll go out on a limb here, Val Venis. Venis is doing jack shit on RAW, and a change of scenery on the Smackdown roster might do his career some good. I also would kill to see Hurricane get a match or two with Paul London.

[SuperJerk 0]

Meltzer said he didn't know what the plans specifically were, but there was a lot of discussion about who would benefit most from a change in scenery, and I agreed with most of what was said. Meltzer seems convinced that Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and maybe Shawn Michaels should all jump to Smackdown. He and the caller agreed that Jericho had the most to gain from jumping. Meltzer basically said that while Jericho will never be the top face or top heel on RAW, on Smackdown, he could be either one or very close to it.

 

Anyway, I thought it was interesting and wondered if the rest of you had any ideas on anyone specific who you think could benefit from a jump.

Am I the only one who thinks its a mistake to have Michaels and Jericho on the same show?

[Guest Coffey]

What about Kane? If he went to Smackdown, he'd be away from all the Lita/Matt Hardy/Gene Snitsky bullshit. WWE wouldn't have to worry about what happens when Matt Hardy comes back, and Gene Snitsky could fade into oblivion.

 

It'd work if The Undertaker came to Raw. Otherwise, we'd be stuck with more "Brothers of Destruction" garbage.

 

I think Smackdown could use another main eventer, and Kane can't get over the last hump on Raw. Maybe he could on Smackdown?

[MARTYEWR 0]

Meltzer said he didn't know what the plans specifically were, but there was a lot of discussion about who would benefit most from a change in scenery, and I agreed with most of what was said. Meltzer seems convinced that Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and maybe Shawn Michaels should all jump to Smackdown. He and the caller agreed that Jericho had the most to gain from jumping. Meltzer basically said that while Jericho will never be the top face or top heel on RAW, on Smackdown, he could be either one or very close to it.

 

Anyway, I thought it was interesting and wondered if the rest of you had any ideas on anyone specific who you think could benefit from a jump.

Am I the only one who thinks its a mistake to have Michaels and Jericho on the same show?

Nope, certainly if the idea is to have Jericho is a bigger star than he is now.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Another thing Meltzer mentioned last night was that the original booking plan was to have John Cena and Randy Orton win the belts at Wrestlemania and then they would have been switched.

 

He is not sure if they would do that now with Batista and Cena.

[geniusMoment 0]

If I were in charge of people switching brands here is what I would do:

To Raw:

RVD

Booker T

Rey

Paul London

Chavo

Kidman

Eddy

 

 

To Smackdown:

HHH

Randy Orton

Kane

Snitsky

La Resistance

Big Vis

The Angry Muslims

Jerry Lawler

Christy Hemme

Maria

The "GoDaddy.com" Chick

 

 

I might actually watch raw on a regular basis if the draft went down like that.

[Guest Loss]

Ah, so basically put everyone you like on one show so you can completely write off the other one. Very convenient, but bad business, and SD would die a miserable death with that lineup.

[strummer 0]

I don't think Shawn will ever move to SD. He's gone on record saying he prefers Raw because it allows him more time to be with his family. With the clout he has, I don't think he's going anywhere. I would love to see it though.

[geniusMoment 0]

Ah, so basically put everyone you like on one show so you can completely write off the other one. Very convenient, but bad business, and SD would die a miserable death with that lineup.

Would it be bad for Smackdown, probably, but the only way I ever see true change occuring, and another big star breaking out, is if all the shit gets put on one show. I imagine things would probably continue on as is on Smackdown, they have been putting on shit for months, and the ratings always stay the same. Plus, now one show would be guaranteed fresh names at the top. People like The Crippler, Jericho, RVD and Booker T could get true main event pushes, not pushes which focus around HHH, even if someone else has the belt. Also, with the mass changes I would totally change the stale set and music.

 

 

For me WWE has gotten so bad that today I turned down free 3rd row ringside tickets for tonights Valentines Day Raw in Cincy. I have nothing to do, except watch my teammates and friends get wasted, but I consider that better than raw.

[Guest Loss]

If Jericho does for some reason move to Smackdown with the only other big star jumping being Orton, he should have an awesome 2005, unless he's used to put over JBL. There are fresh opponents in Eddy and Rey and he hasn't worked opposite Booker, RVD or Angle in some time. The biggest problem I see is HHH allowing it to happen, since he would be quite embarrassed if Jericho started outdrawing him, especially after putting the badmouth on him to Vince for so many years.

[strummer 0]

I wonder how H feels about Bradshaw outdrawing him in some PPV's and House Shows?

[MARTYEWR 0]

If Jericho does for some reason move to Smackdown with the only other big star jumping being Orton, he should have an awesome 2005, unless he's used to put over JBL. There are fresh opponents in Eddy and Rey and he hasn't worked opposite Booker, RVD or Angle in some time. The biggest problem I see is HHH allowing it to happen, since he would be quite embarrassed if Jericho started outdrawing him, especially after putting the badmouth on him to Vince for so many years.

Meanwhile, backstage...

 

Vince: "So I've decided that Chris Jericho should go to Smackdown after WrestleMania..."

HHH: "Oh, oh, please, please, please, can I come too???"

Vince: "Sure."

Jericho: *frown*

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

I say send Big Show, Cena and Eddy Guerrero to RAW. They could have a lot of interesting matches with the guys on that roster. I amy be alone on this, but I want to see BIG DAVE vs Big Show, something awful. Also, Cena's character could be given more freedom on cable.

 

Smackdown should get The Hurricane, HHH, Jericho, and...........I'll go out on a limb here, Val Venis. Venis is doing jack shit on RAW, and a change of scenery on the Smackdown roster might do his career some good. I also would kill to see Hurricane get a match or two with Paul London.

That seems a bit lopsided in Raw's favor. Raw gets 3 of SD's biggest stars, while SD gets 2 jobbers & 1 star (HHH), while Jericho gets cancelled out by HHH's presence AGAIN. Furthermore, what would HHH even do w/ no Show, Eddie, or Cena? That's faces #1, 2, & 3 being sent over to Raw. Feud w/ Rey? JBL? Bury RVD again? Besides, there's no way in hell HHH would agree to go to SD. I'm not opposed to some of those guys going to Raw, but SD needs to get equal value in return.

 

That's just a bad exchange all around.

 

HBK & Jericho really should go to SD. Not sure how receptive HBK will be to that, though. Hurricane probably should, too. Throw in some lower card guys like Rhyno or Conway to give them a fresh start.

 

Taker should go to Raw, along w/ Angle (what else is there for him to do on SD?). Probably Cena, although I'd be afraid of giving Raw too much since they'd already be getting Angle & Taker. Maybe a Doug Basham (fresh start) or Bob Holly (Raw jobber).

[Boon 0]

/me crosses fingers that Jericho will get shipped to Smackdown w/o HHH

[brighty 0]

I don't think Shawn will ever move to SD. He's gone on record saying he prefers Raw because it allows him more time to be with his family.

how does that work then? surely RAW and SD wrestlers work the same number of house shows in a week, and one day for TV tapings? why would one brand allow him more time at home than the other?

[strummer 0]

well SD has Weds. through Sat. off while Raw has Tues to Sat. off. Since they barely have house shows on Friday anymore for Raw, maybe that's why.

[razazteca 0]

To Smackdown

HHH, Orton, Gene Snitsky, Kane, Val Venis, Hurricane

 

To Raw

RVD, Haas, Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Big Show, Angle

[Boon 0]

Somehow I don't see any major changes happening. Remember what happened the last time they had a lottery, that was going to "shake the very foundation of WWE?" We had moves like Tajiri and Nidia. If memory serves me correctly, the biggest star to move was Booker T.

 

I just don't see them making major changes this time around.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Booker wasn't a lottery pick, he was part of the trade for HHH going back to Raw.

 

Benjamin & Dupree were the only notable names to switch due to the lottery, IIRC.

[Adam 0]

If I were in charge of people switching brands here is what I would do:

To Raw:

RVD

Booker T

Rey

Paul London

Chavo

Kidman

Eddy

 

 

To Smackdown:

HHH

Randy Orton

Kane

Snitsky

La Resistance

Big Vis

The Angry Muslims

Jerry Lawler

Christy Hemme

Maria

The "GoDaddy.com" Chick

 

 

I might actually watch raw on a regular basis if the draft went down like that.

Hey! Here's an idea! How about all th SmackDown wresterls jump to RAW and all the RAW wrestlers go to SmackDown! That'd be awesome!

 

IMO, three to four changes would be more than sufficient to give the brands something new. Perhaps Jericho, Orton and Hurricane for Cena, Luther (give him a big man feud with Dave) and Bob Holly or something.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Booker wasn't a lottery pick, he was part of the trade for HHH going back to Raw.

 

Benjamin & Dupree were the only notable names to switch due to the lottery, IIRC.

Technically RVD and Edge were the biggest to switch at draft time last year.

[razazteca 0]

Raw needs some people for midcard feuds because Shelton Benjamin has nobody to challenge for the IC title so why not send London, Akio, Haas, Chavo and the Dudleys over. Smackdown can have the big guys Snitsky, Kane, Viscera and the not-ready-for-main event-players like Orton, Edge, Val Venis, Maven.

[Guest Loss]

I would rather they actually make everyone on the whole roster draw "RAW" or "Smackdown" from a lottery and make it a fast-paced show with less wrestling and more storyline advancement.

[Enigma 0]

Assuming they're using the same 6-man format...

 

Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy, Randy Orton, The Hurricane, Tajiri, & Kane to Smackdown.

 

John Cena, Big Show, Charlie Haas, Hardcore Holly, Luther Reigns, & The Undertaker to Raw.

[Guest Loss]

It's important to remember that all real-life couples (Matt/Lita, Orton/Keibler, HHH/HBK) will end up on the same show.