Thoughts on WWE supplemental draft
Twenty-four WWE stars changed shows during Wednesday afternoon’s draft. The biggest name on the list is Mr. Kennedy, who is back on Raw after an injury-riddled stint on Smackdown. The other significant move is John Morrison going from ECW to Smackdown.
Here’s a look at each brand’s acquisitions and my take on them:
RAW
Mr. Kennedy (from Smackdown): If he remains a babyface, this is a bad move because Raw already has John Cena, Triple H, Batista and Shawn Michaels. However, Kennedy would be in a good position if he turns heel. After Randy Orton, the top heels on the roster are The Big Show and Matt Hardy.
Carlito and Primo (from Smackdown): The undisputed tag team champs could be headed for a showdown with Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes.
Chavo Guerrero (from Smackdown): With his Aunt Vickie now the Raw general manager, Guerrero gets to keep playing his role as her lackey.
The Brian Kendrick (from Smackdown): Not a good move for him. I wouldn’t expect TBK to be anything more than enhancement talent, which is a real shame. He and Ezekiel Jackson had a lot of potential as an odd couple. It’s too bad TBK wasn’t drafted to ECW.
Festus (Smackdown): He will likely get some TV time because he is a novelty act, but I don’t like former tag team partner Jesse’s chances as a singles wrestler on Smackdown.
Brie Bella and Nikki Bella (from Smackdown): The twins recently reunited in an angle that was a WWE Mobile exclusive. The fact that it wasn’t on TV probably says something about where the Bellas stand in the pecking order.
Hornswoggle (from ECW): I have no idea what value Hornswoggle has if he isn’t part of Finlay’s act.
SMACKDOWN
John Morrison (from ECW): It initially looked as if The Miz had made out better than his more-talented partner when he was drafted to Raw Monday night while Morrison was left on ECW. Looking at the Raw and Smackdown rosters, however, Morrison has more of an opportunity to shine on Smackdown than Miz does on Raw. He has a shot at becoming the brand’s No. 3 heel (behind Edge and Chris Jericho) and potential foes in Intercontinental champion Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy.
Mike Knox (from Raw): Seems like a lateral move to me.
Dolph Ziggler (from Raw): Like Kendrick, his best chance to make an impact is on ECW.
Cryme Tyme (from Raw): I don’t have a strong opinion on this one.
Alicia Fox (from ECW): D.J. Gabriel did not come with her, so her dancing gimmick might be over. I sure hope not. Watching her get her groove on is one of the highlights of my week.
Ricky Ortiz (from ECW): He goes from having Tiffany as a love interest on ECW to most likely being a jobber to the stars on Smackdown. The rally towel just became a crying towel.
Candice Michelle (from Raw): She has never been able to regain the momentum she had before being injured in 2007. Her impact at this point is probably minimal.
Charlie Haas (from Raw): Another lateral move.
Layla (from Raw): Her pairing with William Regal did nothing for either of their careers. She’s lost in the diva shuffle.
ECW
Hurricane Helms (from Smackdown): I like this move a lot. Helms was never going to be more than a mid-carder on Smackdown, but he has a chance to be one of the top guys on ECW.
DH Smith (from Raw): The rumors of Smith joining Legacy can officially be put to rest. There most likely is something to rumors of him forming a stable with Tyson Kidd and Natalya, however.
Natalya (from Smackdown): I thought she was already on the ECW roster.
Ezekiel Jackson (from Smackdown): I hate to see his alliance with Kendrick end, but Jackson could wind up being a star on the “C” show.
Zack Ryder (from Smackdown): He’s still in WWE?
Comments
I was also disappointed about them breaking up Kendrick and Zeke. Though it seemed like his push had fizzled out. That's unfortunate.
Best move in the supplemental was Morrison going to Smackdown. He deserves another singles push.
Kennedy to Raw? He's still around?? :)
Posted by: Paul in Hawaii | April 16, 2009 5:24 AM
Mike Knox moved from Raw not Smackdown Mr Eck.
Since Haas and Benjamin are on smackdown do you see a reunion of the world's greatest tag team?
RESPONSE FROM KE: Thanks for the catch on Knox. I knew I would do that on at least one.
I don't see WGTT getting back together.
Posted by: Nick | April 16, 2009 6:50 AM
The moves seem ok...no harm, no foul.
At one time I really thought Kendrick had a shot at a lasting spot on the upper mid card. Oh well, I guess thats over.
Zack Ryder? I really liked the "Edge heads". It didn't last long enough. I thought they would be the next "Team Angle". To me, Edge having a crew sorta gave him an even wider edge than other wrestlers.
Posted by: rob the barber | April 16, 2009 7:47 AM
you have a mistake, you've put that mike knox comes from smackdown
RESPONSE FROM KE: fixed it. thanks for the catch.
Posted by: Ray | April 16, 2009 9:48 AM
Jamie Noble and Festus would make an interesting tag team.
Posted by: Barr | April 16, 2009 9:57 AM
i think the supplamental draft is even worse tahn the original draft raw's roster got even deeper but you can only push but so many people it does seem good for legacy that Colons are on Raw so now they we will the tag belts and taken alittle more seriously i hope on the flip side it really hurts the Colons as a team I think the move for Cryme Time is good because Smackdown is more of a kid friendly show so it will help out with their fan base but with no tag belts hurts them a little looks like ECW is getting the Harts2k which is sort of funny because Nattie has been over their for about 2 months and DH has never wretled on smackdown that i can recall since he got drafted their 10 months ago as far as Morrison goes its a great move for him looks like he's gonna pushed again like he was before he got with the Miz
Posted by: frank | April 16, 2009 10:05 AM
Kev, why do you think there was no movement of the announcers. And, what do you make of JR's new role as color commentator. Oh, and Frank, I have one word for you..... PUNCTUATION!!!
Posted by: Magnificent Mark | April 16, 2009 11:11 AM
He goes from having Tiffany as a love interest on ECW to most likely being a jobber to the stars on Smackdown.
Jobbers to the stars make damn good money, don't they?
Posted by: e. nonee moose | April 16, 2009 11:22 AM
I completely agree. Helms going to ECW should provide him with an oppertunity to become one of their top stars. A Hurricane Helms Evan Bourne fued has excellent potential if they go down that road.
Also, just a thought, do you think a renunion of The Worlds Greatest Tag Team is about to happen? Hope it doesn't because they are both excellent as singles competitors, especially Shelton, and there isn't anything on Smackdown for them to go for. I think it's time they give Benjamin a push. He deseves it. I hope Haas doesn't get lost in the mix on Smackdown like he did on Raw. I believe he is a good worker and can produce some good matches if in there will the right man.
Also Smackdown needs more top Superstars i think. They only really have Edge, Hardy, Jericho and Punk. Taker seems nowhere to been a lot these days. Benjamin, R-Truth, Morrison in line for a push?
I didn't realise Raw was so short on top heels. Thanks for pointing that out.
Keep up the excellent work Kevin
Posted by: Legacy.1 | April 16, 2009 12:40 PM
I'm happy to see Cumberland, Maryland's own Festus (Drew Hankinson) getting drafted to Raw. Hopefully he can find a niche for himself in singles competition, and maybe a little more TV time, now that he's on Monday nights.
Posted by: Bill | April 16, 2009 12:45 PM
"I wouldn’t expect TBK to be anything more than enhancement talent, which is a real shame"
This is the second time that he has fallen into the "A Show" pit. TBK's least-favourite letters must be R, A, W. That being said, I am willing to be proven wrong and see him get a decent push.
Posted by: Christopher | April 16, 2009 12:57 PM
Hopefully Charlie Haas will be a bigger player than he was on Raw .. he is still a great wrestler
Posted by: Brian Lee | April 16, 2009 1:20 PM
I don't get it... when it appears that any superstar can appear in the brand they want, they go and add another weekly show (WWE superstars) with the highlight being that there will be superstars from the three brands... in case the WWE hasn't noticed, we've already got three weekly shows like that... i'm starting to think that this new show is to lower the ratings of Impact on thursday...
Posted by: Ray | April 16, 2009 2:16 PM
i thought it after one night stand
Posted by: christopher | April 16, 2009 3:10 PM
I know that Raw has all the big stars but I like that Smackdown has all the athletic wrestlers.
Just imagine matches with any combination of Jeff Hardy, Morrison, Mysterio, Benjamin, and CM Punk plus main event rivalries with Jericho, Edge, and Undertaker and you have a great show
Posted by: Nathan | April 16, 2009 3:21 PM
I go to the nutrition shop that Charlie Haas, Jackie, and Umaga own in Frisco, TX.. From what they were saying dont give up hope on WGT reunion ... when Charlie gets back from his Europe tour - no telling what they have planned for him
Posted by: Dack | April 16, 2009 3:28 PM
i'm looking forward to a possible brian kendrick-shawn michaels student-teacher feud. if they do it, hopefully they'll do better than they did with the lance cade-shawn michaels mini feud last year. every year many supplemental draftees get released not long after. my predictions will be mike knox (it should have been done in '07 when he was gone the whole year), ricky ortiz, either zack ryder or curt hawkins, i hate to say it, but i think cryme tyme will be gone because wwe hasn't done anything with them since their feud with legacy last year. i think kidd and smith will team up on ecw. maybe edge and alicia fox will reunite, possibly have a feud with big show and vickie over on raw. i was talking to someone today who hadn't watched wrestling in a few years and he got a kick out of the fact that big show and vickie were together
Posted by: paul19 | April 16, 2009 3:43 PM
I think Smackdown now has the better workers, sure Raw has all the "big guys" like Cena, HHH and Batista there are only in my opinion a few fresh new wrestlers there ie matt hardy, kofi, Kendrick, Kennedy and arguably Big Show (and Chavo with all his potential when given teh right push) and I fear they will all be lost under this top heavy show...I know Raw lacks heels at the moment but I'm sure after backlash Batista or HHH will be a heel as well
Smackdown to me seems the more exciting brand now, I see some potential great matches with the not so established stars with guys like Jericho, Undertaker, Edge and Hardy to feud as well, I think Smackdown is the place to be and the one to watch!
Also I like most was sad Christian didnt leave ECW, but remember Matt Hardy, once he started feuding with Jeff he left to go to Smackdown, I can see after a few more months Christian doing the same to feud with Edge. I think first though they need to establish Hurracine Helms on ECW, but in the meantime Edge has a whole bunch of guys to have great feuds against
Posted by: stan | April 16, 2009 3:58 PM
Kev - what is Kennedy's health status currently? His drive for the championship is dearly needed ..since we have seen every combination of Edge vs Cena vs -HHH vs Orton for several years now.....I know he's got movies in mind - but he's got the moves of Bret Hart - the ring charisma of Ric Flair & the mic skills of Rowdy Roddy Piper ..plus he's hailed from being from the "real" Titletown Green Bay Wisconsin ..its in his bloodline to be champion
Posted by: James Jp | April 16, 2009 4:22 PM
"Also Smackdown needs more top Superstars i think."
In my opinion, Smackdown has enough top stars. There are too many big names on Raw for an unproven or semi-proven talent to get much of a shot, so the next name to step into the main event scene will probably be a Smackdown man. I'll be watching for it....
Posted by: Christopher | April 16, 2009 5:35 PM
Hey kev, do you know what they are going to do with JBL?
Posted by: Kyle | April 16, 2009 8:37 PM
Hopefully this means BIG things for Morrison, Good things for Hurricane and...well I unfortuntly don't see much of anything in Kennedy....Kennedy's future. To injury prone to be reliable enough to carry the title.
Posted by: Andre the Midget | April 16, 2009 10:15 PM
So now, you have a Raw locker room of HBK, HHH, Orton (With Legacy), Cena Batista and Big Show.
To any younger talent that thinks they have a shot of moving up, good luck. Because it ain't happening.
Posted by: Max | April 17, 2009 9:53 AM
As far as WGTT reunions go, I think a storyline where Charlie wants to reunite but Shelton won't have it would be fun and could lead to a nice feud.
Posted by: Martin | April 17, 2009 10:53 AM
Seeing as Punk has the MitB contract, maybe he'll cash it in after Cena beats Edge at Backlash... This would bring a main title to SD, also setting up a Edge-Punk feud...
Posted by: Kadeem | April 17, 2009 1:22 PM
Hey Kev,
How come people are still asking about JBL? He admitted that he really was retiring and already left WWE to become a commentator for another company.
Posted by: Brian | April 17, 2009 4:20 PM
Is Jim Ross ever going back to Raw or Is him leaving more of an option?
Posted by: Donta | April 18, 2009 3:37 AM
maybe it is the possibility of the
Return of my favorite Stable "World's
Greatest Tag Team" because Haas
and Benjamin are not just pure
wrestlers but they Team-Up to
gain Victory,every match.
Posted by: George | May 8, 2009 11:25 AM