What about Santino losing. Now his "sister" has to go on the kiss-cam with the Great Khali. That should be great.

"Kane squashing The Brian Kendrick in less than a minute was disappointing but predictable."

I am glad that Kane won, and I laughed out loud when Ezekial blocked Kane's way, only to get a big boot in the face.

I'll try to find some logic in the winner-gets-a-draft-pick format: if I am on Show X, I want lots of talent to be there with me because that would give impression that Show X is the A show. What's the point of being the champion of Show X if the show consists of just me, the ring announcer, and the guy who sells t-shirts?

When Big Show and Mark Henry were referred to as King Kong and Godzilla, which announcer wondered aloud if Edge were Mothra? That was the line of the night, in my opinion.

My favorite line was Striker saying "Down Goes Michael Dokes!" after Big Show punched Mark Henry.

I have made this point before, but I will keep saying it as long as WWE keeps having the same format for its drafts: Why do the wrestlers involved in the matches that determine which show gets the pick care about adding wrestlers to their roster? Wouldn’t a heel especially not want a top babyface to join his show? It would make more sense if there was some incentive, such as the winning wrestlers getting a big bonus.

My idea is to simply let the winning wrestler(s) pick who they wanted drafted over. For example, after Edge won the Battle Royal, he could pick his countrymen Jericho and Christian. This would also help to create new alliances, tag teams, stables, etc., which the WWE has been lacking lately.

I am happy to see Kozlov go to ECW, I thought he should have been there in the first place, he should be given the opportunity to be the monster heel we all thought he was going to be when he started on smackdown, Mark Henry was getting old in that role on ECW anyway.

how about winner gets to stay in their same brand and doesn't get exposed to draft lottery ? ... Or have matches week prior to draft to determine who gets exposed and how many picks each brand gets because the format right now is so anti climatic...

There's nothing like watching Michael Cole do the Kofi Kingston thunderclap in slow motion on TiVo. I watched it about four times and made myself cry because I was laughing so hard. Grisham screaming the name "Kane" like Paul Bearer was hilarious, too.

Yeah, you mentioned that little hiccup, but Matt Striker made a pretty good coverup by saying that John Cena was going for a single leg takedown.

I would agree that Swagger looked good in defeat. Besides, I remember seven years ago, particularly 6/27/02 when Kurt Angle made a rookie performer looked very good in defeat. Guess who he was...

Morrison vs. Bourne on ECW was excellent. They got a 2-segment match... that was probably about 15 minutes in actual wrestling time. Hopefully will see Morrison like this in the future.

Kev, you are on the mark with the Matt Striker comment about Koslov. This draft should have just been the SD/RAW draft. I can't remember exaactly, but wasn't it the same way last year and the year before? BTW, did you see the E:60 spot about Vince? I thought it was pretty interesting. I have been watching WWE for... too many years and actually learned something about the 63 year old chairman. I think it would be cool to go a little deeper in depth than 15 minutes though. Your thoughts?

I thought the line of the night was Grisham saying that Melina could lick his stamps anytime she wants.
As far as his other line about Tommy Dreamer not being a legend, big words from a punk a@% who's probably never done an athletic thing in his life, let alone get inside a wrestling ring and put his body through the tortue that Tommy Dreamer has over the years. I'd have given it a pass if Lawler had said it, maybe even JR, (although he never would because he knows his job is to get guys over not make them out to look foolish.) But Grisham has no right. He's slowly starting to fall into Michael Hole territory, You know, a major tool in real life that trys to come off cool just because he's calling WWE matches. He, and Hole for that matter would be alot more entertaing if they embraced the fact that they are complete dorks.
Sorry were was I.... Oh yeah, other than that I thought the announcers did a good job off not talking over each other when there was 4 of them calling one match.
While I'm on the subject of announcers, do the have to get drug tested? Because I sure would like to know why Josh Mattews' nose started bleeding for no reason at the top of the show. Did anyone else catch that?
Other than that it was a fun RAW. Something will go down a the PPV between Batista and HHH. I think Batista will somehow cost HHH the belt and then Hunter comes out to confront Batista on RAW the next night and "The Animal" tells him "Hey, you taught me that things happen in this business that aren't always fair" and to "Get over it!" Maybe I nice heel turn for Big Dave soon, his character could use it.
I really wanted Edge to interfere and cost Cena the match, that way Swagger gets the duke and they can remind us for the next couple weeks that Swagger has a victory over Cena under his belt. It doesn't have to be mentioned again how he obtained that victory. Anyway good to see Swagger get the rub either way.
Eck, I agree, the way they do the draft now is a little werid.I liked when Bishoff and Heyman were pulling names out of a tumbler at the top of the stage. Whoever commented in the previous blog about the other GM's not even being, there hit the nail on the head. Why wouldn't they be concered, especially since they're both new to they're jobs.

I'd like to see Brian Kendrick get a push, but not until his character evolves. There's no rhyme or reason to why Ezekiel Jackson hangs around, and Kendrick's girlish little dance down the ramp is painful to watch.

Kofi Kingston has been doing great work for awhile, and he seems to be seizing the opportunity that WWE is giving him. I'd be thrilled to see him climb the card.

I was certain the Mysterio-Bourne match, on a Draft episode of RAW, wouldn't end without a shooting-star press—but it did. That seemed an odd decision.

Hey Kev check your third-to-last line (starting???). I always place the wrong word in places, you never make writing mistakes...your writing skills are excellent.

Cena said to Swagger that is he was a kid that that got a couple of wins under his belt and now wants to shoot his mouth off. But he sounds like he's talking about himself.

I fell alseep on the five-man main event. I don't even know who won... and I don't care...especially if it was HHH.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Thanks for the head's up on the misplaced word. I fixed it.

The Superstars/Smackdown spoilers make me very happy -- I won't reveal anything -- but I'm happy with what I see on tap for Backlash (I will be in attendance in Providence).

this is just the fantasy booker in me, but a lot of the swaps are convenient. Too convenient to ever truely be believed to be random. So, if i were in charge i would have it like the general managers and vince/linda (or something like that) get together and make deals and swaps behind closed doors and reveal their picks on TV. That way, the obviously deliberate nature of the trades could be explained and not insult peoples' intelligence. The holy grail of any form of entertainment is suspension of disbelief.

that's why they would have someone like linda there, to act as an impartial referee. She would also do it so as to make sure there wasn't abuse of power, etc. by either party when determining draft picks.

swagger vs cena stole the show. as for the draft, it was predictable - just look at how many websites correctly predicted a lot of the picks. Let's see what happens on Wednesday - hopefully Swagger and Christian will move!

"Why did The Miz attack John Morrison..."

Thank you. I thought I just missed something.

I agree on everything with you, Kevin, except for the main event. Usually, in tag team matches, the babyfaces are all good friends and keep on teaming un perfectly, while heels keep on barking on each other; this time, it was the other way around. And I understand the psychology of that match: the three faces all have good reasons to hope to get their hands on Orton as quickly as possible, so it makes sense that they don't want to wait until Backlash... The only problem I had with that is that Triple H eventually made the tag with Batista. Even if he was in difficulty at that moment, it would have suited better his character if he would have kept on fighting alone. Other problem: since they all want to destroy Orton so bad, why did they just stare at him when he appeared at the end of the show, instead of trying to get to him? Anyway, I like this buildup, and actually I don't think that Priceless looked like jobbers: just the fact that they had a handicap match 2 on 3 made them look more serious, and they had a good amount of offense, some good spots and the way they kept on working well together contrasted with the tension within the other team...

Just a word about the draft: what could possibly explain that Miz goes to Raw while Morrison stays at ECW? With this year possibly being the last year of Michaels, it means we will probably never have that HBK / Morrison program we are all waiting for. And Morrison is turning 30 this year, it's not like he has any more time to waste... What's the idea behind all this?

I think the draft should start over from scratch. Have each show with no wrestlers and then allow each GM their picks. This way each show will be equally exciting, rather than just Raw and Smackdown.

The brands are stale, and need freshening up, more than just one or two guys moving.

Didn't Miz attack Morrison to suggest that Miz thinks Morrison has been holding him back?

That's how I interpreted it

kev should be a writer! i cant stand the decisions made by the wwe! everything you said above,is pretty accurate. too many bad decisions on which matches are short and what stars should be pushed. Must be discouraging to watch 3 shows a week and not have many good things to be interested in due to bad booking!

the miz attack john morrison because he was the one who caused the discualification that gave the victory to kofi and miz got drafted.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Right, Morrison caused him to lose the match, but like I said, how is going to the "A" show a bad thing? Now if Miz had been on Raw and got sent to ECW, I could see him being angry.

This is a little (well, a lot) off topic, but i was watching the 2008 Hall of Fame Ceremony, (I thought The Rock was excellent), and there was a part in it where John Cena said some words, which were right and respectful, but why Cena? Did he ask to do so or was he told do be WWE. If he was told to, why not a veteran like HBK or even Austin. Just Wondering.

Keep up the excellent blog Kevin.

P.S. I used to despise Cena but now i don't mind him too much.

So I read the Smackdown spoilers. I won't give results away, but what is the point of a draft when guys are showing up on both shows.

Contradictory? I say so...

RESPONSE FROM KE: It boggles the mind.

It was played up in the commentary that Edge and Chris Jericho are longtime friends. Really? They might be friends in real life, but not in the story line. ...

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I don't see any harm in it.

Infact, I am hoping to watch Edge -Jericho fued at some point in time. I think these 2 have the ability to surprass last year's Jericho-Shawn program simply because of their brilliant "mic skills" quality.
I hope they wrestle each other at wrestlemania 26. Being a Jerichoholic as well as Edgehead, I just don't know for whom I'll be rooting for. But one thing is for sure, they'll just tear apart the show.

i would one day like to get my swagger back

Did anybody notice how much Vickie was struggling again this week? Maybe she cant handle a live TV show...

"There's nothing like watching Michael Cole do the Kofi Kingston thunderclap in slow motion on TiVo. I watched it about four times and made myself cry because I was laughing so hard."

THIS IS SO TRUE! I saw it live -- and it was so funny!!!

"While I'm on the subject of announcers, do the have to get drug tested? Because I sure would like to know why Josh Mattews' nose started bleeding for no reason at the top of the show. Did anyone else catch that?"

THIS IS ALSO TRUE! I was shocked. Poor guy. Right after he got out his first sentence, it happened! He quickly turned his head out of camera range…looking to the side…and nodding in agreement as the other guy was talking. Good thing it was a short introduction.

**QUESTION: Does anyone know why Ric Flair never faced Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 8? I ask this..because the WWE has a new DVD set about wrestling stars of the 90's and it includes a Madison Square Garden match between Hogan and Flair. Why didn't they face each other at mania like planned?

Brian Kendrick was in way over his head on Monday night. Kendrick may weigh 175 pounds soaking wet with some lead weights in his pockets. He should be send down to ECW or even the organization that has shows in Dundalk.

I see DiBiase finally got the memo about wearing his Legacy t shirt. Too bad it was a week late.

I think the reason Miz attacked Morrison was his match ended when Morrison interferred and caused a disqualification loss for Miz. That resulted in Miz getting drafted to Raw and being split from Morrison. That makes sense since being paired with Morrison was a huge boost to his career. It would make more sense though if it didn't look like Miz was about to get pinned.

"Right, Morrison caused him to lose the match, but like I said, how is going to the "A" show a bad thing?"

Raw has not been kind to mid-card talent in recent years. The Paul London-Brian Kendrick tag team was once the highlight of Smackdown, but after they went to Raw, their careers were put on hiatus. Like it or not, Raw has been and will continue to be a platform for HHH, Cena, and Orton. And I almost forgot Batista. Anyone one else will be hard-pressed to break through or even get as much exposure as they got elsewhere. Thus, I feel bad for Matt Hardy, and I would feel as bad for The Miz if I were a bigger fan of his.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Well, I can't really argue with that.

So Kevin, judging by who's now on ECW, can we safely assume that the Next Generation Hart Foundation will soon form up again? Suffice it to say, that would be enough to greatly improve ECW and give it a much needed shot in the arm, also it would give 'Tyson Kidd' and DH Smith a chance to build up as a team without having the pressure of RAW or Smackdown...but hopefully they would move forward to either one later on.
If I was really dreaming, the unification of the Tag Titles means it will actually become a focal point again, and I can only imagine the Colons vs. NGHF....

The Miz thing I saw coming. They teased a breakup a while ago and were sure to talk about how they weren't seperated in the last draft.

It was an "I've wanted to do that a long time" kind of move.

DH Smith drafted to ECW from Raw. Guess the rumours he will be joining Legacy wont be happening, at least in the near future.

Do you think Kozlov was drafted to ECW because he has been, at most, average in the ring? Or just simply as a "you lose one, you gain one" ploy after losing The Miz.

Also, Hornswoggle to Raw? I can't see anything happening there, than what we have seen before.

On a high note, Primo and Carlito are now back on Raw (back for Carlito anyway). They definately deserve to be on the "A" show. Challengers though? Ahh...Priceless. Orton to win Title at Backlash along with Priceless on Raw in the near future perhaps? Sounds good to me.

Btw Supplemental Draft on wwe.com now if you aren't already watching it.

disappointed2: My understanding is, it was never 'planned' for Hogan to wrestle Flair at WrestleMania VIII. Obviously that's what should have happened, both in hindsight and foresight, but I don't think it ever materialized even as a plan.

Why? Who knows. Like most guys with many outstanding achievements, Vince has also made plenty of stupid gaffes. One of the major negatives for us, the fans, of having a single person essentially commandeering the entire industry, is that we sometimes lose great opportunities due to nothing more substantial than his personal shortcomings or random whims. (Imagine this on a larger scale, with much more at stake, and I'm glad we told King George III to shove his damn tea.)

You have to appreciate the historic humor in passing up Hogan's obvious pairing against Flair for, instead, possibly the worst worker ever to join the Four Horsemen. It's been said that Vince hates to promote anything he didn't create, but I think more likely, the writers just got themselves locked into trying to relive WrestleMania VI by pairing muscle against muscle. To be fair, when the long-awaited Hogan-Flair match(es) finally happened in WCW, none of them were particularly great. Savage was a better worker, and maybe it was thought that he would better complement Flair.

I doubt there's any more satisfactory (or sinister) answer than simply, "It didn't happen that way." Wrestling loves gossip, and I think if there were a sexier story from behind the scenes, we'd have heard it by now.

Actually Miz attacking Morrison would have been a great set up for a feud if later on Morrison also got drafted for Raw. Really, a missed opportunity there...

For Disappointed2 and Stephen, there's nothing outright discussed in JJ Dillon's book about WM8, except that Vince concluded that "this match is just 5 years too late" after Hogan/Flair drew poorly on the house show circuit. Kinda surprising since the whole business was down, but Stephen described it best as one of those stupid gaffes.

Reading between the lines in the book, I'm fairly certain Randy Savage petitioned to face Ric Flair and Vince liked the idea, and then whatever caused Hulk Hogan's "retirement" from the WWF helped build a case for Savage's idea.

But I got the same impression that Hogan/Flair was not officially planned for WM8 and the announcement of it was only done as a means to make Hogan/Sid more special -- as in "Hulk Hogan wants to face Sid so badly that he's sacrificing the dream match against Ric Flair to do it!"

Glad to see Festus coming to RAW, but does that mean Jesse will soon get future endeavored?

Morrison moved to smackdown in the supplemental draft this afternoon. However he is still the one who belongs on raw.

I was mad when Grisham said that about Tommy Dreamer. As far as I'm concerned, Dreamer IS a legend. He is the ONLY wrestler to be in ECW from start to finish (1993-2001), and has always put others over while being over with the fans. Meanwhile Grisham just talks on the sidelines. Yeah well I'd rather hear Joey Styles scream "OH MY GOD!!" than anything Grisham has to say. I hate that guy now.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I think part of the reason for Grisham's remark is that his on-air persona is sort of a smart-a**. I wouldn't say he's a heel announcer, but he definitely isn't a total babyface announcer either.