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June 25, 2008
Draft Dodgy
Supplemental Draft: the two sweetest words in the English language. Until it actually happened. 17 people moved.
RAW: Jamie Noble, Deuce, Chuck Palumbo, Matt Striker, Layla, Kofi Kingston
Smackdown: Trevor Murdoch, Big Daddy V, DH Smith, Brian Kendrick, Maria, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito
ECW: Mark Henry, Hornswaggle, Super Crazy, Finlay
Seriously. When you factor in the original 11 man draft:
RAW: Batista, Rey Mysterio, Michael Cole, CM Punk, Kane
Smackdown: Triple H, Jim Ross, Jeff Hardy, Umaga, Mr. Kennedy
ECW: Matt Hardy
The conclusion I have come to now that the Draft is finally over is that after 6 years of being mainly a RAW fan, that no good nasty, stinky Smackdown is now what I consider the A show. It may even be the new A show to WWE.
Smackdown to me got the lion's share of the best talent. Their new announce team is the best of the three brands. They're keeping Edge, Big Show and MVP, plus gaining Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Umaga, Kennedy, Carlito, Shelton, Kendrick. That's an explosion of talent that can deliver in the ring. Plus with Maria, they have what they've lacked since Torrie Wilson went on the DL, that one super hot Diva who can be the babyface centerpiece of their Divas brand (sorry, Taker, McCool doesn't cut it.) It's the best line up for the older fan like me. Now, I'm just sorry Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and/or HBK didn't get sent to the blue show, but those three are pretty much my salvation for watching Monday nights. But fuck RAW, Smackdown is sure as hell my A show now.
RAW inherited a lot of crap. Total crap. Chuck Palumbo, Deuce, Matt Striker, Layla. Maria for Layla is a shit trade for RAW. ECW as usual got hosed. Losing Shelton and Kofi Kingston, one of their few new breakout stars who's actually pretty good, sucks for them. They get Super Crazy, who never belonged on RAW, and Finlay, but how much of that is negated by getting Mark Henry? All of it I'd say.
It was a strange 48 hours and they sure did change some shit around. RAW is a great show for the 12 year old fan who's dumb, has no sense of history or quality, and loves the "big stars" but as far as I'm concerned the WWE I want to see is now on Friday nights.
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