Wasn't HHH drafted twice in the same night before? Drafted to Smackdown then back to RAW?

RESPONSE FROM KE: If I recall correctly, he was drafted to Smackdown and then traded back later that week or the following week.

Hats off to Layla, as she was crying after snapping she was saying she has had enough. I'm sure a lot of children can relate to being bullied and finally snapping at their friend who is really their enemy.
Very good work by the English rose i think!

Another joke of a show. When Cena was drafted to SmackDown, I thought, 'Great move..good for ratings', but at the end when he was drafted back...if I had a brick I would be buying a new TV today.

Plus, was it just me or did Randy Orton NOT look happy when he got drafted to SmackDown??

Smackdown has no more great heel, now that Del Rio is gone. I hope we don't see Sheamus-Orton over again.
I can't stand the Michael Cole's segments and they always last so long, give me the gobbledy gooker any day.

The Cena double draft was a dumb swerve, like you point out a little adherance to kayfabe is a good thing. Ziggler's new look is too generic, I missed his intro and I was confused as to how Orton drew a local jobber on the draft until I glanced Vickie in his corner. I think he could have changed his hair while retaining either the length or the color as a trademark, now I am reminded of Nick, a faceless member of Spirit Squad.

kev, sheamus got drafted to smackdown today putting both mid-card titles on smackdown. Do you think there is a chance del rio wins the title at extreme rules and raw becomes the show with both major titles and smackdown ends up with both mid-card titles? i think this would be a way to make the intercontinental and us titles seem more important

RESPONSE FROM KE: I don't see that happening.

Everyone's thinking the same thing about the wrestlers' reactions when the picks are announced. Apparently, they all get excited because it betters their chances at Bragging Rights. The other 364 days a year, of course, mean nothing.

Besides stepping all over the Divas as usual, Cole also derailed the LayCool split. Lay had to basically sit still for like 5 minutes while Cole did his usual shtick. It completely drained any momentum from Layla's attack.

Anyone else remember Matt Striker mentioning during the Smackdown Vs Raw match at Bragging rights that the winner would gain a draft pick?

Needless to say WWE forgot about that insignificant stipulation

You must be the only person in the world still interested in the Cole/Lawler/Ross angle. That storyline needs to die a quick death.

I thought R-Truth's promo was a lot better than "decent." I'm actually looking forward to seeing what he can do as a heel.

It was too good to be true that my Monday nights might finally be Cena-free. At 10:05, my Twitter feed blew up with obscenities. It seems that the WWE is completely dedicated to keeping John Cena exactly the same, with the exception of bi-monthly new T-shirts. A move to Smackdown would have been nice for his character, especially since a heel turn isn't ever going to happen.

I completely didn't recognize Ziggler when he was shown standing in the ring. I assumed he was some nameless jobber they put in to fill time between pointless talking segments. The hair change was a truly horrible idea.

I was never amused even slightly by the Cole story, but it's quickly going from being an annoying segment to a channel-changer. Having the top mid-card match involve four guys and only one active wrestler boggles the mind. At least Lawler is a former wrestler, but Cole and JR have no business in the ring. JR's injury (apparently Cole bit his hand to the bone) was an expected outcome of having people who can't wrestle try to do so. I fear more dire consequences is this doesn't end soon.

With Raw now having Del Rio, Miz, R-Truth and CM Punk as the top heels, aren't the faces outnumbered? You've got Cena, obviously, and Morrison, should creative keep his push going, and maybe Big Show, but who else? It isn't very PG to have more heels than faces, is it?

Lastly, speaking of CM Punk, what do you think of the buzz that Punk is sick of being under-utilized by WWE and is currently refusing to sign a new contract? If he does jump, where do you think he'd land? He'd be a huge get for TNA. What are your thoughts?

I want Randy back on Raw, I don't watch smack down. I just hope they draft him back to Raw please. Also the matches with Michael Cole they are just to wrong for words. Having him fight JR is wrong on so many levels. JR is to old to be fighting, give the man a break. Again I think Jerry "The King" Lawler should beat the stuffing out of Michael Cole and soon.

You knew Cena wasn't going anywhere with the Rock's birthday next week (where Cena should totally roll the clip of Rock saying he wasn't coming back just to promote a movie as he talks about Fast Five).

I totally agree about the whole cheering when you gained picks. They should want to lose every match and get rid of as many people as possible. The only time it really mattered is when someone got "randomly" drafted after they lost, I forget who it was, but it at least illustrated a reason to care that was realistic.

It will be interesting to see the landscape if the rumors of CM Punk's eminent departure when his contract is up are true.

As for Shammers' comment: Someone actually bought Bragging Rights last year?

The whole construct lacked much reality to begin with but when Cena was drafted twice that really put it over the top. Had he been traded that would have been one thing, but drafted twice?

In what sport has anyone ever been drafted twice in the same draft?

This whole draft thing is gay, just like the WWE itself. WWE doesn't have enough stars, to have the roster split into 2 shows. It was retarted 10 or 15 years ago when it first started.

If there was a real draft, everyone would draft guys like John Cena, Undertaker, HHH, Randy Orton, Team Laycool, CM punk, even The Miz or Shemus, only the few guys who are actually sort of draws. Why even bother with retards like The Big Show, Rey Mysterio, The Great Kali, Alberto Del Rio, these retards make me want to donate money to because they look deformed, they are the furthest thing from Superstars possible.

I think it's stupid when they draft The Big Show and the announcers are cheering, everyone should be booing, why do we want this big deformed retard here?

I think WWE fans are the dumbest brainwashed people in the world. I mean they think these handicap people are cool because the WWE tells you so? No, I have my own eyes, I know they 're retarded. WWE is retarded.

I hope the announcers aren't still forced to sell the Kharma tag line. It would sound lame to constantly hear Lawler saying, "Well, kharma is a you know what."

the entire Cole/Swagger/Lawler/JR segment last night was wresltecrap of the highest order - and that's saying something since the entire storyline as been absolute garbage

These "draft" shows have become stilted and way too long. I just cannot watch them because the fakery is too much for even a fan like me to stand anymore. Remember when these draft shows were three hours long? That was painful too.

I've also reached my limit with this endless Cole-Lawler-King debacle. JR and the King were/are the best announce team since maybe Bruno Sammartino and Bobby the Brain. They are NOT wrestlers. Putting them in the ring over and over and over, with nothing ever being settled, is ridiculous. And I cringe at the humiliation of JR each week. That man should be respected and announcing, instead of mush-mouth Josh being on TWO SHOWS.

The only payoff I can imagine is that one of them ends up being the anonymous Raw GM.

Layla acted very well, I thought. I agree with a previous poster that it was great the way she was crying while attacking McCool.

CM Punk and Del Rio celebrating their win like they won the lottery, even going so far as to hug and kiss each other on the cheek was absolutely hilarious.

I'm a bit disturbed by how the WWE is treating African-Americans on their rosters. For awhile now, I've noticed the number of times they wrestle each other, rather than wrestling Caucasians. I've often thought this resembled real life too much with all the black-on-black crime that exists and believe it shouldn't happen as often as it does on TV (especially with a lot of impressionable children watching). However, the last few weeks have gotten worse in my opinion. First R-Truth 'snaps' and brutally beats down John Morrison, ending with the cigarette incident. Then this week both Layla and Mark Henry follow suit by doing the same. It may be easy to miss for some, but it's stuck out and really bothers me. I'm very interested in your thoughts here Kevin.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Layla is not African-American. As for R-Truth and Mark Henry, I don't think their heel turns had anything to do with their race.

The cole segment was awful, went on way to long.

"but why make it so obvious to the point you can’t even begin to suspend disbelief"

They passed way beyond that threshold a long time ago.

R Truth was the most entertaining I have seen him be since joining WWE. Looking forward to him as a heel.

"I think WWE fans are the dumbest brainwashed people in the world."

Posted by: Lorenzo Fernandez

Pot, I would like to introduce you to my friend Kettle.

Cena on Smackdown would have been interesting and Im a little disapointed they didnt stick with it. Would Miz have then evolved face?

After R Truth turned on the audience and then called out someone in the crowd as being four eyes will there be an uprising from the glasses wearing community who think Truth crossed the line and will he be reprimanded and have to take sensitivity classes? PG means Pro Glasses Truth!

i the wwe know why they'v drafted john cena twice.

Kev, what's the point of having to approve comments if you're letting garbage like Lorenzo's comment in?

RESPONSE FROM KE: If someone actually wants to attach their name to those comments, I'm more than happy to publish them.

I hate the Lawler vs Cole storyline. I change the channel. Cena needs a heel turn and to have went to Smackdown. Anyway now that Edge is retired and taking a break does anyone else see him being revealed as the Raw GM

Kev, I kinda agree with Anonymous. Lorenzo's comments bordered on hate speech - and I'm not sure which side of the border they were on.

In other news, I'm not sure why drafting Cena twice makes it hard(er) to suspend disbelief. I even thought during the program why it's never happened before if it's supposed to be totally random. I also wondered why, if it's totally random, nobody ever got drafted to the same show they were on - for instance, The Miz being drafted to Raw. Stupid? Yeah, it would be, but what would stop it from happening?

Eh, I guess at this stage most are saying, "Who cares?", so I'll quit here...

I don't understand why Dolph has changed his look. He now just looks like any other jobber out there. His unique look helped make his character stand out.
As for R-Truth, I thought his promo was surprisingly good although I was surprised at his bad language. I'm not sure how "pissed off" is deemed in America but in the UK it would be classed as non-PG and foul language.
Like you and many others on here, I can't understand why the wrestlers get excited about the draft. It just makes no sense whatsoever.

Very classy post Lorenzo. at least one time you spelled retarded as "retarted" so whos the idiot?

First things first, Lorenzo is a complete moron.

Second: Kev, How in the world can you defend the Cole/JR match? That was painful, uninteresting garbage, lacking any entertainment or wrestling value. I'm now convinced of 2 things. 1) Michael Cole has dirty pictures of Vince and is blackmailing him. 2) Vince hates JR and wants to see him get hurt (which he has twice now in under a month). You need to explain why you thought that was "the highlight of the show," because these last several Michael Cole/JR segments have been some of the worst in WWE history. And I watched Mae Young give birth to a hand and HHH hump a corpse.

Finally: I hate the Draft. I hate the Brand Extension. And I'm even more convinced now, 7 years on, that these have been detrimental not only to the company, but to wrestling fans in general. Vince is obsessed with getting his product to be seen as "entertainment" and away from "sport" except for the Draft concept, which is his way of piggybacking off the popularity of the NFL draft as a TV event. Which it is. That draft is legitimate with real, tangible consequences for a fan's individual team. The WWE draft, obviously, is not legitimate, especially when most guys end up competing at some point on both shows anyway. The WWE Draft and Brand Extension has diminished the mid-card, especially on the SD side, making it harder to get new guys over. Yes, it's the "wrestling" show of the 2, but only because they've made it that way. The guys who get over on SD would be the guys who get over on Raw. The Miz got seasoned on SD. He got over on Raw. Does anyone really think Del Rio wouldn't have gotten just as over on Raw as he did on SD? There's no magical difference between shows. It falls on how you push guys and what the creative focus is for the product. The roster is bigger with 2 different brands and is naturally more watered-down at every level. The mid-card seems particularly thin especially with 2 mid-card titles seen as "equal". It has diminished championships up and down. It has utterly destroyed tag team wrestling (along with Vince's natural hatred of it). And it has cluttered the focus of PPVs and main event programs, having to write short and long-term storylines for two "separate" shows/rosters, especially in the constant minefield of "gimmick" PPVs (HiaC, TLC, Extreme Rules, Money in the Bank, etc...).

The biggest problem is the one they refuse to acknowledge. THERE IS NO REAL RIVALRY between the 2 brands and rosters. These guys look ridiculous and there is no thought put into how they react when this brand-vs-brand stuff comes up. It is simply Red vs. Blue, common sense and logic be damned. The idea that artificially ginned-up competition could replace the very real and natural competition between WWE, WCW and even ECW (to a lesser extent) is the basis for both the Brand Extension and the Draft concept. The problem is that it's never existed. At no point have fans bought into it. 7 years later, WWE is continuing a failed system. How many years now have wrestling fans been punished for watching Raw and not Smackdown by not seeing Undertaker and Rey Mysterio among others. It hasn't raised ratings for either show. Ratings have only gone down.

That episode of Raw was garbage. Both mid-card champions were squashed and eventually sent to the "B" show. Michael Cole and JR were beyond horrible. Yet another Divas match was ruined by Michael Cole interrupting and crushing them. And the gimmick of John Cena being drafted twice is lazy and completely strips away any sense this Draft concept is supposed to have. WWE has a ton of talent and a bunch of guys ready to bust out. But the constraints of WWE Creative and the continued existence of the Brand Extension are only hurting the product and the fans. But maybe I'm wrong. I'm sure absolutely everyone will be super amped and circling the date for Bragging Rights. 'Cause you know, Raw vs. Smackdown is what everyone cares about.

Cody Rhodes seemed pretty pleased when Rey Mysterio got drafted to RAW haha

Is it just me or has the Big Show been drafted at every single draft.

@ Lorenzo Fernandez: Stop using the word retard so frequently. If you dont like what you see, dont watch or watch TNA instead.

I was upset at first to see Cena drafted twice, yet it may help in the long run for smackdown. Especially having Randy Orton. Maybe he could end up with the title by summerslam.
I am not sold on Del Rio....at all. He reminds me of a mix of JBL and Erik Estrada. And with having Brodus Clay (someone put some more clothes on that boy) in his corner, it makes it worse.
If CM Punk does leave like all the rumors say, it will be a huge blow to Raw. Not only does it leave the show short one heel but Punk, in my opinion, is the best promo-guy around at the moment.
Big show on raw is a good thing and then its a bad thing. Its bad because, again, he will be lost in the shuffle. He needs to be in the championship picture again. A fued with the Miz would be perfect.
So Jericho is gone from DWTS. Will another WWE superstar attempt to do it again? I would love to see either Edge, Tazz (tazz would be a riot), or Triple H attempt the dancefloor.

"They botched the first move"

Umm kev, it was LAYLA who I guess forgot which way to fall so in turn,they both looked silly (funny you never "notice" any other botch from any other diva i.e. Maryse a few weeks ago)but booo to Cole for interrupting them. I mean who did Eve piss off? She's not the champ anymore and they continue to do that to her. Don't get it

But then again this whole draft in retrospect was sloppy and just put together. I mean they have both IC/US titles on Smackdown and they split up Miz/Riley, Ricardo/Del Rio. SMH at them and also for cowaring out at the last minute at the Cena switch.

Lorenzo, prozac is your friend.

And I hate to believe jeremy when he says that Vince might actually want JR to hurt (probably so that's an easier way than just firing him, by him resigning due to injury) but you never know what goes on in the man's head.

Oh OT:
lol to the folks within our IWC that think that HHH won't have any type of tomfoolery going on whenever he might take over. Given his past and how he tried to help derail the Rock early on (if going by rumors, Y2J and Punk) you think all of that will be out of his system when the time comes for him and Steph? Oh really. Well hell look how he favors someone and they get a push (if by rumors again, Drew and Sheamus, boy I wish I could have been his "workout buddy" too) Can't wait and that will be a lesson to the upcomings in that company, be a friend or workout buddy and hey you're "in."

Jeremy, I agree with you completely on the brand rosters except for one important thing: having one roster for both shows doubles the amount of work for the top guys and some of the mid-carders. Given the number of injuries these guys get working one show and PPVs, it's hard for me to argue that they should add another performance every week.

I think we all know the Divas division is more about T&A than athletic performance, but having Cole shout it out loud every week is just disrespectful to the performers and fans. It doesn't help that Cole's performance comes across as dickery rather than kayfabe jerkiness. In general, I wish Cole would just go away. Maybe if they were allowed to go PG-13, their feud would be more entertaining (I highly doubt it) but by keeping it PG, it's like listening to two nine year old girls bicker. I can do that at my sister-in-law's house, I don't need it on Raw.

@Lorenzo Fernandez: The first draft was done in 2002 after wrestlemania X8 when Flair and Vince were "co owners." Vince got smackdown and Flair got Raw. That draft was great because you got to see stars like Kidman, Lesnar, ect on their respectable shows. True, it got a little dumb over the years (example Triple H being drafted then "traded back" or John Cena being drafted twice in one night) yet it gives some guys on Raw a chance to excel on Smackdown and vice versa. I see someone like Drew McIntyre doing great on RAW.

Kevin, I don't know why you're still dumb-founded by the roster's reactions to losing & gaining star power. You keep thinking as a competitor, but in reality (and in kayfabe) this is their livelihoods. John Cena & Randy Orton bring in more money at gates so their paychecks would increase if they were on the same brand.

Compare it to the 1980s and early 90s when the WWF had 2 shows a night in different states. One tour usually had Hulk Hogan headlining; the other tour didn't. Midcarders hoped to wrestle on Hogan's tour because they always drew better. This has been noted in a few biographies, the best display of it may have been from Dynamite Kid's book.

YIKES! I'm a little scared of expressing my opinion on Michael Cole this week after seeing some of the feedback from your blog followers, Kev. I'm afraid I might be stoned to death. lol! I'll refrain.

MOVING ON, I agree with everyone else about the one user's comments being offensive. I actually think he should be banned from the site. Speaking as someone with a brother who got hit by a car when he was only 6 and will spend the rest of his life handicapped, I took great exception to his comment.

I'm with everyone else. I don't get the whole Draft. I actually think the unimaginative way in which performed hurts the wrestler's images, especially when they're top stars who have established somewhat of a gimmick. For example, (dramatic voice) THE VENOMOUS VIPER RANDY ORRRRRRRRTON sitting around with all the rest of the athletes on the RAW roster in a corny red shirt goofing off and laughing it up behind-the-scenes. Err! They would never do that to The Undertaker's character because they take it seriously. Why make all the other athletes do it? It's not as if a venomous viper is anymore likely to do that than a spooky character.

Speaking of Randy Orton, I'm so glad he got a mustache. He simply could not pull off the cute boyish look anymore. It was struggling. His facial features have aged and he looks great now that he's going for the handsome manly look. I would get rid of hair between his mouth and nose however. It doesn't look right. He should just keep all the hair on his cheeks and chin.

What a massive hit to RAW if they lose CM Punk. The fact that CM Punk is a class-act is highlighted very well in his feud with Orton. As you can see his mic skills are far superior to Ortons. Orton is only average on the mic and I think Orton's mic skills improved just slightly over the last few weeks thanks to taking some cues from CM Punk. In fact, I think he got that mustache idea from Punk. I think Orton is taking cues from Punk. I can read body language very well.

I don't like that they put Sin Cara on SD. I don't even watch SD and haven't for months because the show was getting so drably painful. If they were serious about pushing Sin Cara, they would have left him on the granddaddy show, or at least both SD and RAW like they had been doing. So much for me following him now.
I don't know. Maybe I can be convinced to start watching SD again if I hear good news about it from your blogs.

Jim Ross pissed me off on RAW, hopping up so quickly. Did you see how long he was in that ankle lock before he got up and didn't even show any effects from it in facial expression nor movement? Wtf! I've seen wrestlers roll around like there leg was broken, like Big Show did, after that ankle lock was put on. Not to mention, Ross got whipped in the process. Yet Cole was the one to get raked over the coals by everyone. But hey! I'm keeping my mouth shut about Cole. LOL!

Kev, I thought R-Truth's promo was phenomenal and hilarious. I have never been more into him in my life. I like the role-playing he did and acting like a little baby boy. C'mooooooooon! That was good television. I was also delighted to see Mark Henry turn heel. But I wonder where they're going with that now that Cena is back on RAW. At first, I thought he was going to be pushed as a top heel since it was Cena he attacked but then Cena got switched back over in what I thought was kind of a drab surprise.

Kyle, these guys fight on daily basis at house shows. That's why they're getting injured. If they fought two times a week on RAW and SD, I highly doubt they'd be as beat up. I think the WWE schedule is far to harsh. These guys don't need to be doing house shows. RAW is enough!