Holy Crap!

WWE.com has announced that it has released the following talents:

-Mickie James

-Shelton Benjamin

-Kung Fu Naki

-Jimmy Wang Yang

-Slam Master J

-Katie Lea Burchill

-Mike Knox

Wow. I thought they would never fire Funaki. I'm puzzled by Benjamin and Mickie James. Two really good workers that the fans liked. Hell, Benjamin is the spot machine for MITB. Bad stuff.

Here's my take on today's releases:

-Mickie James

This one feels a little like "three strikes your out". Mickie has been said to have had a lot of attitude problems of late (hence in part "Piggy James"), bitching about going to SD!, partying too hard on the recent hell tour (to the point of holding people up), and some stuff about disrespecting the business with her trying to form her own career (which is just such horse shit and that attitude should really stop, people have other interests, it happens). Mickie though really connected with the fans and was one of the best female workers in the company but honestly? They'll build somebody else up to be the new top female inside of a month or so (Hi Beth!). I respect what the ladies like Mickie who've put in the time and effort do but let's be real, does ANYONE buy a ticket to see the divas? I think TNA would be nuts if they don't give her a call in 90 though.

-Shelton Benjamin

This one's a shame, but I think both parties will benefit in the long run. WWE has never really seemed to know what to do with Shelton beyond that little singles push he got with those wins over Triple H in 04. Since then he's bounced from brand to brand with various start stop pushes or just being treated like a jobber and his big claim to fame is being the MITB spot machine and how long before he can't do that anymore or that sort of thing breaks him? This could be a blessing in disguise for Shelton as now he can either go to TNA and try to improve his lot, or hit the indies and make some money while staying off TV and maybe WWE brings him back down the line and can finally use him in a good role. It's just disappointing a guy that looked like a can't miss star 6 years ago has gotten to this point through no fault of his own. I really hope this isn't the last we see of Shelton.

-Kung Fu Naki

This one may be the biggest shock as top to bottom Funaki is one of the most beloved figures in the company and was doing a lot of stuff for them that we were never really aware of. I think what happened here is that when you're looking at ways to save money, and you look at guys you really aren't using, eventually somebody like Funaki is going to come up as an expense you just can't justify anymore. I do really hope he catches on somewhere else as he's obviously got lots of different skills a lot of different outfits could be putting to use.

-Jimmy Wang Yang

Anyone surprised? Yang has made some cryptic comment about "three strikes your out" we know he's violated wellness before but...I think WWE would have announced a failure before the release. Yang is talented, but he's small and beyond being a good worker he doesn't really translate as a money maker. I see him as a guy who will do indies, maybe become a regular with ROH and maybe do occassional TNA shots if they need to fill out an X match or do a squash with the champion.

-Slam Master J

Another guy they did nothing with. Michael Hayes pushed for him but...no way this guy was going to be a star so it just makes sense to cut ties with him and save the cash. Hey, if he develops into something elsewhere you can always bring him back.

-Katie Lea Burchill

Without Paul what was she doing? Plus she's yet another diva with the "bad attitude" tag. You only need a certain amount of girls on the roster and when WWE makes their talent searches in this regard "looks first, skills we can teach" it just sends the message that most girls will be short timers unless they can really break out. I think the days of a Trish or a Lita are rapidly fading in WWE.

-Mike Knox

This one definitely sucks. Had this been a year or two ago I would have said "so what?" but Knox has really improved and I think showed glimpses of being a pretty good monster heel and had that Undertaker feud happened I think it would have only helped Knox improve. Another guy I think TNA would be advised to take a look at and see if he fits in with their plans in 90 days.

On the plus side this will open up some slots for developmental guys and I'm hearing rumblings we will be seeing some new names coming up from Florida shortly....

There's some serious technical difficulties occurring with SD already............this ain't good.

Wonder if MyNetwork is doing this out of spite?

The technical difficulties finally stopped. Shame it ruined what seemed like a great opening match, though.

On the releases:

Shelton: Expect a TNA Team Angle reunion. Don't worry, avie; I GUARANTEE we won't be seeing the last of him as long as Angle's a figurehead over there.

Mickie: I WOULD like to say I'm surprised, but we all know that's how WWE rolls, sadly. I'd be complaining, too, if I kept getting treated like shit. She needs to take this & go to TNA where they have a division that'll treat her right.

Knox: He was JUST starting to get somewhere, dammit, and they let him go.......what a shame.

The rest aren't surprising - just those 3. Funaki, while being a team player for so long, hasn't been seen for a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery long time.

At 4/23/10 08:50 PM, Swackman wrote: Shelton: Expect a TNA Team Angle reunion. Don't worry, avie; I GUARANTEE we won't be seeing the last of him as long as Angle's a figurehead over there.

I could see it, but I was never all together assured whether that was a pairing Angle himself was pushing for, or if that was a Paul Heyman idea and Angle was basically just being the good employee (and obviously he didn't have the stroke there that he's enjoyed in TNA) and going along with it. Could lead to some good stuff though if it's done.

Mickie: I WOULD like to say I'm surprised, but we all know that's how WWE rolls, sadly. I'd be complaining, too, if I kept getting treated like shit. She needs to take this & go to TNA where they have a division that'll treat her right.

It wasn't entirely being treated badly as you have to remember Piggie James happened well after the SD! move and on that score I will side with anyone that looks down at, or says "what are you complaining about?" when it comes to moving to SD!. Triple H even went there for a year so if it was good enough for the chosen son to spend time there NOBODY should act like it's "beneath them" to be on that show. Especially when it's not like she wasn't being used.

Knox: He was JUST starting to get somewhere, dammit, and they let him go.......what a shame.

Agreed, I think that was a case where I would think they could have worked harder with him and let somebody else go. Not the crime that releasing Paul Burchill was but I do think WWE has probably made a mistake here.

The rest aren't surprising - just those 3. Funaki, while being a team player for so long, hasn't been seen for a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery long time.

Yep, like I said, at some point you gotta look at the guy and wonder if the expense is really justified. I can see him doing some indies though and if he's really got all these other skills they were utilizing behind the scenes and he saved his money well I don't think this will hurt him in the least.

The 3 hour Raw draft show is in Mickie's hometown. It will be interesting to see if there is any reaction to her being released.

Funaki might not even need to do indy stuff now. He's been with WWE for so long that he could probably retire if he wanted to.

It's always a shame when they let go of the talented ones. Shelton and Burchill are two that I feel WWE made a mistake with. I'd even go further and say the same for Knox who could have been a great monster type. That cross body thing he does is sick looking.

Do you think there will be more releases?

At 4/24/10 10:52 AM, Outlaw88 wrote: Do you think there will be more releases?

Knowing the WWE, there probably will be. Who's at the most risk of being fired?
Mickie: Holy crap. People loved her, she loved the people, she was a talented wrestler who also had good looks...the hell did you do that for, WWE? 'Course she's gonna act out...you're the ones that were making fun of her for gaining one or two pounds. And ya acted SO proud of her when you put an article about her country (album?) in WWE Mag.
Shelton: People loved him too, but you guys are right, he's just a MITB dude.
Fu Naki: I was wondering why he wasn't on TV. *sigh* Just one less Jap on the roster... :(
Mike Knox: He used to be big, people used to care about him, but without an actual storyline, just a match here or there, he was never gonna do anything. This is actually good for him.
JWY: This one, I'm sad about. I always liked him. *sigh* I'll never forget that time he turned out the lights and scared CM Punk...*sigh* Good times, good times...
Slam Master J: *yawn*
Katie Lea: I actually liked her gothic style. She was cool. But you're right, without Paul, there wouldn't be any great storylines with her.

Can't wait till Monday for Extreme Rules! Yes, you read that right.
ANYWAY
I can't wait to see Punk get his head shaved!

*snicker*
Turban Punk.

At 4/23/10 12:14 AM, Outlaw88 wrote: WWE.com has announced that it has released the following talents:

-Mickie James

Just like Avie, I remember hearing some negative things about Mickie, but there was an incident recently that finally cracked WWE and gave her the boot... shame, she was probably the best diva there (well.. beth phoenix fits that role too).

-Shelton Benjamin

This one hurt... Shelton Benjamin, perhaps the most underrated in the WWE is gone..
Well, I bet Charlie Haas is happy, he stated in an interview a while back that he was trying to persuade Benjamin to leave WWE. This firing has made Shelton Benjamin probably one of the hottest free agents now.. I expect a World's Greatest Tag Team reunion in TNA.. wouldn't bother me, I could see them both there, or who knows.. WWE might come to their senses and re-hire him.. hey, they did it with the boogeyman..

-Kung Fu Naki

Funaki, one of the best dodgers of releases finally gets caught.. shame, Funaki always did get a chuckle out of me when he was Smackdown's #1 announcer, and i did like his reign as cruiserweight champion. He will truly be missed.

-Jimmy Wang Yang

According to his little message he says "I hear florida is a nice place to visit" implying that he's interested in TNA.. I could see him there, seeing as the guy has been everywhere.. but if he was in TNA i could see him getting lost in the shuffle there aswell.

-Slam Master J

Michael Hayes tried, Michael Hayes failed.

-Katie Lea Burchill

Saw it coming, next.

-Mike Knox

I'll miss the beard.. and the intelligent psycho gimmick.. but mostly the beard, I mean seriously, who has a better beard than Mike Knox?.. CM Punk? (it'll be gone after Extreme Rules) or Hornswoggle's pube like beard.. ugh, that's probably the ugliest beard ever.. We'll miss you Mike Knox.. don't know about everyone else, but I will.

Hell, Benjamin is the spot machine for MITB. Bad stuff.

I think Kofi can fill the spot.

Anybody hear that story about Mark Henry getting arrested while the RAW crew were in Ireland? Dunno how it started but Henry was about to deck some guy until Cena and Orton stopped it from happening, according to the victim Chavo Guerrero was stirring shit, trying to get Henry to fight.. Do you think Mark Henry will face a punishment from this, perhaps even a release? It can happen, just ask The Hurricane.

At 4/25/10 05:54 AM, Random-Her03 wrote: (The Mark Henry Incident)

There's an update on the story, according to an eye witness at the hotel, the "victim" wasn't so innocent after all, as a matter of fact he was actually bothering Mark Henry and was even warned by Randy Orton not to escalate things. He then started swearing at Henry and even threatened him by telling him to take a photo with him "or else" and even grabbed Henry's shirt, which made Henry snap.

Anyways I forgot to mention, It's one of my favourite times of the WWE year.. The Draft!
I made a video on my predictions.. please check it out and tell me what you think!
do you agree? do you disagree?

Oh and by the way, scratch that Batista one.. I hear the guy is planning his retirement so I doubt this move will happen.. replace him with The SES, as much as I like them on Smackdown, I can see Punk, Gallows and Serena heading to RAW.

At 4/24/10 01:54 AM, aviewaskewed wrote:

At 4/23/10 08:50 PM, Swackman wrote: Mickie: I WOULD like to say I'm surprised, but we all know that's how WWE rolls, sadly. I'd be complaining, too, if I kept getting treated like shit. She needs to take this & go to TNA where they have a division that'll treat her right.

It wasn't entirely being treated badly as you have to remember Piggie James happened well after the SD! move and on that score I will side with anyone that looks down at, or says "what are you complaining about?" when it comes to moving to SD!. Triple H even went there for a year so if it was good enough for the chosen son to spend time there NOBODY should act like it's "beneath them" to be on that show. Especially when it's not like she wasn't being used.

I doubt it was being on SD itself that she was lashing out at, but rather WWE's retarded reasoning behind it - y'know, 'Only SKINNY GIRLS are allowed on our flagship show!!!!!!!'.

In other words, something that would be good normally was TURNED INTO an insult.

At 4/25/10 05:54 AM, Random-Her03 wrote:

At 4/23/10 12:14 AM, Outlaw88 wrote:

This one hurt... Shelton Benjamin, perhaps the most underrated in the WWE is gone..
Well, I bet Charlie Haas is happy, he stated in an interview a while back that he was trying to persuade Benjamin to leave WWE. This firing has made Shelton Benjamin probably one of the hottest free agents now.. I expect a World's Greatest Tag Team reunion in TNA.. wouldn't bother me, I could see them both there, or who knows.. WWE might come to their senses and re-hire him.. hey, they did it with the boogeyman..

Well, it's not like Shelton isn't familiar with TNA. This time, however, things are slightly different, having both Angle & Haas over there waiting for him.

-Kung Fu Naki

Funaki, one of the best dodgers of releases finally gets caught.. shame, Funaki always did get a chuckle out of me when he was Smackdown's #1 announcer, and i did like his reign as cruiserweight champion. He will truly be missed.

Quoted for truth.

-Jimmy Wang Yang

According to his little message he says "I hear florida is a nice place to visit" implying that he's interested in TNA.. I could see him there, seeing as the guy has been everywhere.. but if he was in TNA i could see him getting lost in the shuffle there aswell.

It depends on how filled the X-Division & Tag Team slots are. I could see him carrying around the former belt easily - assuming they don't give him a retarded gimmick (or, hopefully, keep his current one........what? STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!).

At 4/25/10 01:37 PM, Random-Her03 wrote:

At 4/25/10 05:54 AM, Random-Her03 wrote: (The Mark Henry Incident)

There's an update on the story, according to an eye witness at the hotel, the "victim" wasn't so innocent after all, as a matter of fact he was actually bothering Mark Henry and was even warned by Randy Orton not to escalate things. He then started swearing at Henry and even threatened him by telling him to take a photo with him "or else" and even grabbed Henry's shirt, which made Henry snap.

Wow, some people are fucking stupid. Why the hell would anyone in their right mind fuck with anyone with the moniker "World's Strongest Man' in any capacity, esp. IF THEY KNEW WHO HE WAS!?!?!?!??

I would've let Henry deck his stupid ass, then proceeded to laugh & point.

Not that bad of a PPV. I think my favorite part was when a little kid yelled "I hate you Batista!" and Batista yelled "I HATE YOU TOO!" Punk and Mysterio was my favorite match of the night, I wonder who the masked stranger is going to end up being. With the exceptions of the Divas, I enjoyed the other matches a lot as well. I was surprised with the head shots from the canes and trash cans.

That Divas match was probably the lowest women's division has gotten. Fighting with beauty products and ironing boards. May as well start having sandwich making matches. I got a little tired of Cena jumping to his feet at the nine count, but that is what he does.

Looks like Triple H is going to be benched like we thought. Maybe it is time for a Kofi/Sheamus feud?

At 4/25/10 11:13 PM, boloneyman wrote: Not that bad of a PPV. I think my favorite part was when a little kid yelled "I hate you Batista!" and Batista yelled "I HATE YOU TOO!" Punk and Mysterio was my favorite match of the night, I wonder who the masked stranger is going to end up being.

It's Joey Mercury. Hi guys, glad to see this place is going strong still.

But yeah, Joey Mercury. That is all.

At 4/25/10 06:27 PM, Swackman wrote: I doubt it was being on SD itself that she was lashing out at, but rather WWE's retarded reasoning behind it - y'know, 'Only SKINNY GIRLS are allowed on our flagship show!!!!!!!'.

All I heard was she was bitching and I know Maria did the same. I'm not saying it gives the company license to do the stuff they were doing, it doesn't. But what I am saying is to me this looks like a situation where both parties were having a bit of mutual combat and it's probably in the best interest of both that they parted ways.

Well, I bet Charlie Haas is happy, he stated in an interview a while back that he was trying to persuade Benjamin to leave WWE. This firing has made Shelton Benjamin probably one of the hottest free agents now.. I expect a World's Greatest Tag Team reunion in TNA.. wouldn't bother me, I could see them both there, or who knows.. WWE might come to their senses and re-hire him.. hey, they did it with the boogeyman..

I dunno that he's the "hottest". Shelton never transitioned into a star, the raw talent was there but it didn't happen. I do see a TNA run for him and let's see if he can actually break out, if he does, I see him back in WWE.

According to his little message he says "I hear florida is a nice place to visit" implying that he's interested in TNA.. I could see him there, seeing as the guy has been everywhere.. but if he was in TNA i could see him getting lost in the shuffle there aswell.

I see Yang as a guy they might bring in to fill out an Ultimate X, or if they want something of a "name" or just a good little worker to get squashed by the champ or get beat by the guy being built as number 1 contender. I don't really see Yang as a guy that's going to be a star anywhere really.

Wow, some people are fucking stupid. Why the hell would anyone in their right mind fuck with anyone with the moniker "World's Strongest Man' in any capacity, esp. IF THEY KNEW WHO HE WAS!?!?!?!??

Because there are some chowder heads out there that see a wrestler, and go "gee it's all fake, so I bet I can take him". People like to try and prove their bad asses and always have with these guys and then they get dropped. I don't really hear it happening with boxers or MMA guys though.

I would've let Henry deck his stupid ass, then proceeded to laugh & point.

Yeah but then the pussy probably files charges. That's my only real problem with assault laws in most places honestly, don't get me wrong, I'm fine with the idea of prosecuting if some guy jumps somebody else from behind and hurts him or some shit. But if somebody wants to pick a fight and then it's on? No, that to me is mutual combat and as long as there's no collateral damage like to uninvolved people or property, I say let it sort itself out.

Some thoughts as I'm watching the draft, and analysis on how I feel it went overall:

Tag Title Match: Best thing to happen to the career of The Hart Dynasty was Bret coming back obviously. They've gone from being jobbers to being the Tag Champions. Although honestly, it's been a year...how about we just make it one set of belts please? It made sense to do it at first, especially since a lot of us didn't believe they'd stick with it this long. Very good match and I liked where it leaves us in the all around. Miz and Show split, and a very good team with the belts, now they just need more of a pool of opponents!

And that sends us to the draft itself:

Diva tag: I gotta say I'm a fan of Team LayCool, very very good heels regardless of gender. Their opponents? Uh, this just made me hope it would be short and we'd wind up with the bulk of it being McCool vs. Eve. Did catch the small "We Want Mickie" chant...that almost immediately died...like I said before folks, if you needed proof the divas don't really matter long term, then just look at how fast that fizzled. Pretty standard and serviceable bout, Maryse leaves Eve out to dry and LayCool just dissects her as she tries to come back. Nice simple story here. Michelle picks up a draft pick for us with a win over the overconfident Maryse.

I hope we get someone good like Gail Kim

avie's Wish Pick: Gail Kim

Actual Get: Kelly Kelly

Kelly Kelly? Well, she's shown flashes of decency before, she's very hot, barely been used lately...I still wanted Gail Kim...I gotta say this is a disappointing pick up for me for the A show.

Next was Evan Bourne vs. CM Punk: Wait, really? Why the fuck even have the match if you're going to do something so mismatched? There's no way The Straight Edge Savior goes down to RAW's number 1 jobber. Punk looked very aggressive here and Bourne got in a few licks but the man who is one of the top contending candidates for the face of Smackdown! prevails. We also continue the mystery man bit. Hmmm, who would I like in this situation? I think I'd like to pick up Kofi Kingston.

avie's Wish Pick: Kofi Kingston

Actual Get: Big Show

Big Show is probably the absolutely most drafted guy in WWE history. I don't quite know what they'll be looking to do with newly minted babyface Big Show, maybe a feud with Swagger to continue his rebuilding process? I could live with that as Show has rebuilt his credibility to a degree that if Swagger beats him a victory over him would matter. They had me going for a minute there that he was going to turn heel or still be a dick.

Next up is a Shaemus promo. Which is interrupted by Randy Orton. Guess this is our new program while H is off filming the next WWE studios blockbuster (yes, that was sarcasm). Oh wait, here comes SuperCena...wait, aren't he and Orton not supposed to wrestle each other anymore? Or did that get lifted when Orton turned tweener? According to Shaemus, WWE is serious business...somebody with photoshop and too much time on their hands get me a graphic dammit!!!!!

Oh goodie, we're going to do a number 1 contender's bout, I always like guy's fighting it out for a title shot.

Back to the draft, and we've got a 10 man Battle Royal with 3 picks on the line! Which traditionally ends our draft...wait...really? That can't be it can it? This'll be a hella short draft if it is.

For Smackdown: Mysterio, Kane, Truth, McIntyre, and Shad

For RAW: MVP, Henry, Tatsu, Santino, and Ted Dibiase

Once again, a mother fucking mismatch of epic proportions here...and it's in favor of the good guys so yay!!!

Damn, RAW gets the early advantage, as drew is gone. Oh but there goes Yoshi and it's all even again. SD regains the advantage as MVP is dropped...but damn it there goes Truth and Shad. Mark Henry out. Damn, one on two, Mysterio vs. Santino and Dibiase. Looks like RAW will take this one. RAW wins.

avie's wish: I'll give up Truth, Shad and JTG

Actual gets: Morrison, Truth, Edge

Oh rip my fucking heart out why don't you! Mother fuckers make me have to pay attention to RAW again...this is easily RAW's draft right now as they just got 2 big time main event level players in Morrison and Edge. Can we please set up a trade? Pretty please?

Next up will be Chris Jericho vs. Christian: Save us Y2J! Bring Edge back home! Please! Oh fuck...we know they aren't going to do that...God I suddenly hate this night so very very much. In response to Jericho's promo, I demand Edge be returned to Smackdown! immediately because this issue needs to be settled. Have we noticed a theme yet? I will start the "Free Edge 2010 Campaign" dammit!!!

Oh, and of course Heath Slater involves himself. Because that's the kind of ethic these RAW guys operate with really isn't it? Wow they're lucky the bell hadn't wrung yet. Good stuff here as expected, but in the end Jericho gets a fantastic Codebreaker and SD! gets the pick.

avie's wish pick: EDGE!!!!!!!

Actual Get: Kofi Kingston

Well, I can't shit on getting Kofi, the guy is a great worker and he needs to reclamation and makes an immediate impact by nailing Jericho. But still...Edge...I would consider this somewhat an even trade for Morrison but...Edge...

Next draft bout: Morrison vs. Swagger: Oh come on! I wouldn't have booked this because unless there's some fucky finish, you've either got the crappy situation of Morrison losing his first night on RAW, or the World Champion losing to a guy who he can't get the win back from.

Let's go Swagger! Fantastic match and I take it back, neither guy hurt a bit here. Hopefully SD! gets an epic pick here.

avie's wish pick: Serious this time...I want to take Shaemus

Actual Get: Christian

Well...not quite as huge a get, but this is definitely a good pick up for Smackdown and for Christian. Old history between these two from ECW as well.

Dolph vs. Hornswoggle? Really? Please don't let the Swaggle win...please please please...oh now that's just bad officiating, any other time you touch a guy it breaks the count. Total stupid here, but at least it makes Ziggler look like total scum so I guess there's that.

avie's wish pick: Take Finlay or something...he isn't doing anything, leave my active fucking talent alone you RAW fucks!!!

Actual Get: Jericho.

Oh what the...this draft sucks...this draft sucks hard...we got raped, absolutely raped...

I can't even be arsed to watch the main event....please God give us some of this back in the Supplemental or give us some other picks. The one consolation for me here is it's going to mean guys like Punk will be elevated back to the top spaces on SD! that much quicker.

My Thoughts on The Draft Picks

Kelly Kelly to Smackdown
YES!!!!... umm nah.. don't really care, would of rather of seen Maryse go.
Michael Cole said that Kx2 was one of the most 'charismatic divas in the WWE'... she's one of the worst divas to talk on the mic since Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, Maria... eh.. the list could go on.. long story short, she's not charismatic.

Big Show to Smackdown
This one was obvious, I predicted it, you predicted it.. hell, Big Show himself probably predicted it.
Judging by his actions on RAW, it looks like Big Show is on his way to a babyface turn.. I'm glad, he suits the babyface role better.

John Morrison to RAW
This move was the case of 'I could see it happening, but I don't want it to happen' type of draft, but I can't stop it.. don't really know if this is the best move, he could get quite lost in the shuffle.. i could see him turning heel again and maybe reunite with Miz, since he's left without a partner now.

R-Truth to RAW
Predicted this move too, I like it. He was getting nowhere on SD, so good move.. Also it looks like they could be making a feud between him and Ted DiBiase which would be kinda interesting.

Edge to RAW
No No No... Well, maybe he can reunite with Christian?... (quiet, i know)

Kofi Kingston to Smackdown
This one was obvious, I predicted this too. Good Luck to Kofi on the blue brand.

Christian to Smackdown
SHIIIIIIIIIIIT!!! I can already see how it happened in creative.

Guy #1: Well, everybody wants Christian on Smackdown.. maybe we should finally do it.
Guy #2: I dunno...
Guy #1: BUT... we can put Edge on RAW!
Guy #2: BRILLIANT!.. let's throw Jericho over too AND let him and Christian have a match to give people false hope that they'll have more matches to come!
Guy #1: Man, what would WWE do without us! muahahahaahahahaaha!
Guy #2: MUAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!
Guy #3: Hey guys, going out to lunch, want anything?
Guy #1: Burger King!
Guy #2: Burger King again?..

ok you know what I mean... I hope Christian can get the push he deserves on SD, also a feud with CM Punk would be awesome, remember the little promo the 2 had on ECW? You could tell in that promo that the 2 have great chemistry together... They screwed Christian over again, but I hope they actually give him a chance this time.

Chris Jericho to RAW
WHY?!... I dunno what pissed me off more, the fact that they took 2 of the big Smackdown stars or the fact that Jericho was drafted because Dolph Ziggler had to job to Hornswoggle... well, at least Ziggler beat the crap outta Hornswoggle afterwards.. one more reason I like the guy.

Quite a disappointing draft this year but a good RAW overall, I mean I get that ECW's gone, but they could of had more than 8 draft picks.. can't wait for the Supplemental Draft later.. they better have a lot of draft picks.

Wow, Monday Night Raw was actually more entertaining than the Extreme Rules PPV! The parts that made me laugh were when John Cena talked about Shaemus being pale (it never gets old) . Also the part where Santino was playing the trombone and one of the announcers said "is it rusty?" lol. And then when R-Thruth told Ted'"lemme think about it" and then bitch slapped him across the face! I rewinded that part a few times. Truth don't play that!

Anyway a few of the matches were really good. The one that had me on the edge of my seat was the Jerichp vs. Christian match. Speaking of Christian, I'm glad he got drafted to Smackdown! Now hopefully he'll get the push he deseveres. I've been a huge Christian fan for a while now (ever since he and Edge were a tag team) and I truly believe he would make a great champion. He really does deserve the name "Captain Charisma" as the crowd is always behind him. I'd love to see Swagger vs. Christian at Over The Limit.

Now the last part of the show left me a little confused... why the hell did Edge cost Orton the match? I noticed that look in Edge's eyes... it's his heel look. Do you think Edge is going to become a heel again? Well it looks llike we are gonna see Edge vs. Orton at the next PPV but where does that leave Jericho? Why did they draft Jericho and Edge to the same show? I thought the whole point of the draft was to create new fueds? Either way, a very interesting turn of events. Can't wait to see what happens next monday!

At 4/27/10 07:09 AM, Vinstigator wrote: Now the last part of the show left me a little confused... why the hell did Edge cost Orton the match? I noticed that look in Edge's eyes... it's his heel look. Do you think Edge is going to become a heel again? Well it looks llike we are gonna see Edge vs. Orton at the next PPV but where does that leave Jericho? Why did they draft Jericho and Edge to the same show? I thought the whole point of the draft was to create new fueds? Either way, a very interesting turn of events. Can't wait to see what happens next monday!

It'd be very cool if Edge and Jericho switched roles, Edge now the heel and Jericho the face. But, seeing as Jericho's heel character is very successful it seems unlikely.. I hope this isn't an Edge heel turn already as he's only been a face for about 4 months, also I don't wanna see another Edge/Cena feud.. they have been overdone.

Hey there guys, long time no speak.

So, that draft sucked pretty bad for Smackdown, huh? Big surprise, right. At least with people like Edge and Jericho, you know they aren't going to get lost in the shuffle on Raw, whereas a move to SD! could potentially give Kofi a chance to actually break out.

At 4/27/10 01:30 AM, aviewaskewed wrote: Tag Title Match: Best thing to happen to the career of The Hart Dynasty was Bret coming back obviously. They've gone from being jobbers to being the Tag Champions. Although honestly, it's been a year...how about we just make it one set of belts please? It made sense to do it at first, especially since a lot of us didn't believe they'd stick with it this long. Very good match and I liked where it leaves us in the all around. Miz and Show split, and a very good team with the belts, now they just need more of a pool of opponents!

Hopefully with so little depth in the tag division, it'll set the Hart Dynasty up for a long reign. I love DH Smith, he's a big guy, and everything he does in the ring looks so fluid. I never saw the British Bulldog wrestle, but I imagine he was similar to that.

Actual Get: Kelly Kelly

Kelly Kelly? Well, she's shown flashes of decency before, she's very hot, barely been used lately...I still wanted Gail Kim...I gotta say this is a disappointing pick up for me for the A show.

I'm not opposed to having her on Friday nights, she is lovely.

Next was Evan Bourne vs. CM Punk: Wait, really? Why the fuck even have the match if you're going to do something so mismatched? There's no way The Straight Edge Savior goes down to RAW's number 1 jobber. Punk looked very aggressive here and Bourne got in a few licks but the man who is one of the top contending candidates for the face of Smackdown! prevails. We also continue the mystery man bit. Hmmm, who would I like in this situation? I think I'd like to pick up Kofi Kingston.

This was fine for what it was. Everyone knew Bourne would lose, but at least they broke out the mystery man to cost him the match. Probably the least weak he's looked in losing recently.

avie's Wish Pick: Kofi Kingston

Actual Get: Big Show

I can't get behind Show being drafted. It's happened so man times, and I don't like the idea of him in singles competition again. Having a normal sized partner to cost him matches made it more believable when he lost, and now he'll probably squash Baretta and Croft for a few weeks to settle in.

Damn, RAW gets the early advantage, as drew is gone. Oh but there goes Yoshi and it's all even again. SD regains the advantage as MVP is dropped...but damn it there goes Truth and Shad. Mark Henry out. Damn, one on two, Mysterio vs. Santino and Dibiase. Looks like RAW will take this one. RAW wins.

I don't see the point in having Santino eliminate two people. Unless they just think of SD! stars as pawns they can use to put over anyone on Raw they want, even if it is a stupid comedy character (and I say this having already seen the Dolph/Horny match :( )

avie's wish: I'll give up Truth, Shad and JTG

Actual gets: Morrison, Truth, Edge

Oh rip my fucking heart out why don't you! Mother fuckers make me have to pay attention to RAW again...this is easily RAW's draft right now as they just got 2 big time main event level players in Morrison and Edge. Can we please set up a trade? Pretty please?

Yeah, old tricks come back into play. I see Morrison getting lost in the shuffle here. He'll probably be in the same position he is now in a years time when they move him back to Smackdown. And Truth... he'll definitely get lost, but my biggest thought about him is how weird his entrance music sounds when he isn't singing over it. Maybe his entrance will be the thing that protects him: He is massively over with children.

Oh, and of course Heath Slater involves himself. Because that's the kind of ethic these RAW guys operate with really isn't it? Wow they're lucky the bell hadn't wrung yet. Good stuff here as expected, but in the end Jericho gets a fantastic Codebreaker and SD! gets the pick.

Can I just mention how much I love Christian, specifically his entrance. Shit gives me goosebumps. He's one of the few people who I can think of who works well as a face.

Next draft bout: Morrison vs. Swagger: Oh come on! I wouldn't have booked this because unless there's some fucky finish, you've either got the crappy situation of Morrison losing his first night on RAW, or the World Champion losing to a guy who he can't get the win back from.

I think he needed this match to get the upper hand in their series of matches.

avie's wish pick: Serious this time...I want to take Shaemus

Actual Get: Christian

Ah, Sheamus, if only. Christian should be a good acquisition. I'd be hoping that they push him to the moon and give him a lengthy title reign, but in all likelihood he'll occupy the same position he generally does on the cusp of greatness.

avie's wish pick: Take Finlay or something...he isn't doing anything, leave my active fucking talent alone you RAW fucks!!!

Actual Get: Jericho.

Typical luck for Kofi: He just sets up what looks to be a good feud with the top heel in the company, and Jericho gets carted off to Raw.

Oh what the...this draft sucks...this draft sucks hard...we got raped, absolutely raped...

Who expected anything else? Smackdown should continue their tradition of using their talent so much better than Raw, and Raw can try their best to not bury their less accomplished talent until next year.

I can't even be arsed to watch the main event....please God give us some of this back in the Supplemental or give us some other picks. The one consolation for me here is it's going to mean guys like Punk will be elevated back to the top spaces on SD! that much quicker.

Well, the supplemental won't have any big names, but hopefully we can rescue some of the more misused Raw names.

The thing this years draft lacked was ECW to rape for talent. Smackdown always lost big names, but they got some great up and comers from the C brand. They never seemed to come off that badly while ECW was around. Now with them gone, Smackdown is back to being the whipping boy for Raw.

At 4/27/10 07:29 AM, Random-Her03 wrote: It'd be very cool if Edge and Jericho switched roles, Edge now the heel and Jericho the face. But, seeing as Jericho's heel character is very successful it seems unlikely.. I hope this isn't an Edge heel turn already as he's only been a face for about 4 months, also I don't wanna see another Edge/Cena feud.. they have been overdone.

Eugh, I hate Edge's face persona. I'll be glad if he is turning. I don't know whether it's just a case of "Fuck the Faces, Huzzah for Heels", but Edge annoys me. All that talking about spears, it's lame.

Oh, one last thing I thought I should mention: Has anyone been to WWE.com recently? Spooky background. Also, the supplementary draft has been moved forward to today.

I'm hoping SD! will get Tatsu as well, and I don't think Rhodes would be a bad idea. Put some distance from Orton and DiBiase so that he can try and make a name for himself.

Hey creative, you can't have a guy choke out the Great Khali and sell him as dangerous because of his "patented" sleeper hold, only to have him lose to the FUCKING LEPRECHAUN. So a helmet doesn't count as a weapon or something?

At 4/27/10 08:32 AM, HeartbreakHoldout wrote: Eugh, I hate Edge's face persona. I'll be glad if he is turning. I don't know whether it's just a case of "Fuck the Faces, Huzzah for Heels", but Edge annoys me. All that talking about spears, it's lame.

It was only a matter of time. Edge plays a heel way better than a face. I think they did this just for the sake of him being on the same show with Cena again. It makes sense to have him a heel since he would want to go after the title, and they would never turn Cena heel. The only problem here is that every time Edge and Cena fued, Cena always gets teh upper hand. No matter what.

Oh, one last thing I thought I should mention: Has anyone been to WWE.com recently? Spooky background. Also, the supplementary draft has been moved forward to today.

At noon to be exact. I just checked out the site to be sure. Yeah, creepy background.

This is the first time since they split as a team that Morrison and Miz are on the same show. I can see a fued over the U.S. Title for them. not sure what R-Truth will do. I also wonder how Jericho will be used on Raw.

Supplemental Draft
1. Great Khali and Runjin Singh to Raw
2. Chavo Guerrero to Smackdown
3. Cody Rhodes to Smackdown
4. Natalya to Raw
5. Chris Masters to Smackdown
6. Ezekiel Jackson to Raw
7. Goldust to Raw
8. Hornswoggle to Smackdown
9. Rosa Mendes to Smackdown

Wrestlers Drafted on Monday Night Raw
Kelly Kelly to Smackdown
Big Show to Smackdown
John Morrison to Raw
R Truth to Raw
Edge to Raw
Kofi Kingston to Smackdown
Christian to Smackdown
Chris Jericho to Raw

Draft by Brand

To Raw
Chris Jericho
Edge
John Morrison
R Truth
Great Khali and Runjin Singh
Natalya
Ezekiel Jackson
Goldust

To Smackdown
Kofi Kingston
Big Show
Kelly Kelly
Christian
Chavo Guerrero
Cody Rhodes
Chris Masters
Hornswoggle
Rosa Mendes

It was announced that JTG was drafted to Raw, but there was a correction that JTG was not drafted to Raw.

Not much help so far in the supplemental so far for us either according to Rich Trionfo's coverage.

This looks to me like a situation where because SD! got it's network home sorted out well before the draft that WWE basically decided it was ok to rape it for RAW in this draft to help their "A" show now and they can either make trades later as we get towards October, or SD! will have time to rebuild by then. Usually I'm a big fan of younger talent moving up, and certainly that's going to happen for a lot of the moved to SD! talent but I think WWE has once again overloaded RAW with top guys guaranteeing guys like Morrison will probably be banging their head against the glass ceiling soon enough.

I'm sure Smackdown! will recover from this, I really do, last night's post was what happens when I watch a show like that and do thoughts live as I'm seeing it. SD! has certainly recovered from worse drafts. I'm hoping that if the mystery man is who I think it is (and all signs point to that being the case) then I think the SES is easily poised now to become the top heel act on Friday's and with a cleaned out main event field I imagine Punk will be capturing the World Title fairly soon after Jack Swagger is done with it (or if they decide to turn Swagger at some point he could take it from Swagger). We have some very good parts and the kind of creative team that knows how to just get the best out of it's talent pool usually. But I do feel bad for folks like Ezekiel as he was set for a big push on SD! and with a guy like Shaemus on RAW? I just see Zeke being totally and completely lost. Or he'll wind up in a Mark Henry type role, big babyface fucker that is totally not effective.

So to sum it all up, RAW gets 2 of Smackdown's biggest stars, plus 2 rising wrestlers AND they get more picks in the supplemental draft..

Smackdown: Fucked.

At 4/27/10 07:29 AM, Random-Her03 wrote:

At 4/27/10 07:09 AM, Vinstigator wrote: Now the last part of the show left me a little confused... why the hell did Edge cost Orton the match? I noticed that look in Edge's eyes... it's his heel look. Do you think Edge is going to become a heel again? Well it looks llike we are gonna see Edge vs. Orton at the next PPV but where does that leave Jericho? Why did they draft Jericho and Edge to the same show? I thought the whole point of the draft was to create new fueds? Either way, a very interesting turn of events. Can't wait to see what happens next monday!

It'd be very cool if Edge and Jericho switched roles, Edge now the heel and Jericho the face. But, seeing as Jericho's heel character is very successful it seems unlikely.. I hope this isn't an Edge heel turn already as he's only been a face for about 4 months, also I don't wanna see another Edge/Cena feud.. they have been overdone.

It would be a nice change of pace but like you said, it seems unlikely. It would be cool if they were both heels though, that might make it a little more interesting.

At 4/27/10 03:14 PM, Random-Her03 wrote: So to sum it all up, RAW gets 2 of Smackdown's biggest stars, plus 2 rising wrestlers AND they get more picks in the supplemental draft..

Smackdown: Fucked.

Raw drafted some good talent, true. But for me, the biggest draft pick for Smackdown was Christian. If they give Christian a title run, he would be an awesome champion. I mean, he's been in the WWE over 10 years (I remember being only 16 years old when I went to Wrestlemania and seeing Christian win the tag titles with Edge) and he's extremely popular among the fans (I would even go as far as to say Cena popular), plus he has excellent wrestling ability. I mean, he just screams champion! I swear if Christian becomes World Heavywieght champion, Smackdown will officially be better than Raw. As a long time peep, I'm pulling for Christian.

Here's the full 2010 Draft:

Supplemental Draft
1. Great Khali and Runjin Singh to Raw
2. Chavo Guerrero to Smackdown
3. Cody Rhodes to Smackdown
4. Natalya to Raw
5. Chris Masters to Smackdown
6. Ezekiel Jackson to Raw
7. Goldust to Raw
8. Hornswoggle to Smackdown
9. Rosa Mendes to Smackdown
10. David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd to Raw
11. Montel Vontavious Porter to Smackdown

Wrestlers Drafted on Monday Night Raw
Kelly Kelly to Smackdown
Big Show to Smackdown
John Morrison to Raw
R Truth to Raw
Edge to Raw
Kofi Kingston to Smackdown
Christian to Smackdown
Chris Jericho to Raw

Draft by Brand

To Raw
Chris Jericho
Edge
John Morrison
R Truth
Great Khali and Runjin Singh
Natalya
Ezekiel Jackson
Goldust
David Hart Smith
Tyson Kidd

To Smackdown
Kofi Kingston
Big Show
Kelly Kelly
Christian
Chavo Guerrero
Cody Rhodes
Chris Masters
Hornswoggle
Rosa Mendes
Montel Vontavious Porter

It was announced that JTG was drafted to Raw, but there was a correction that JTG was not drafted to Raw.

Smackdown still got hosed here, but I guess we'll finally see what guys like MVP really have to offer since the playing field over there now is definitely lacking in major star power. I think they may wind up rethinking some of this with trades or just not having "hard" brand splits down the line.

I also think it can be a fresh start for guys like Kofi. I still think he has the potential to be a main event level guy, but they need to be more onsistant with how they use him. MVP is another that has a lot going for him in terms of character. He might be better off going back to being a heel though. His face run hasn't done him too much good.

Its weird. I thought Carlito would end up being moved, but instead another guy they don't use much in Chris Masters did. I wonder if he'll actually get ring time? I also am suprised they bothered to move Goldust.

WWE is not listing on the supplemental draft page, former ECW stars Tyler Reks and Vance Archer have been added to the Smackdown roster page.

Additionally, the profiles of Curt Hawkins, Abraham Washington, Byron Saxton and Tony Atlas have all been removed from the WWE roster pages

I wonder if they are the next to be released?

At 4/28/10 10:21 AM, Outlaw88 wrote: I also think it can be a fresh start for guys like Kofi. I still think he has the potential to be a main event level guy, but they need to be more onsistant with how they use him. MVP is another that has a lot going for him in terms of character. He might be better off going back to being a heel though. His face run hasn't done him too much good.

I think that's a case of them not really focusing on him. Basically I feel like the fans turned MVP and they've since squandered any opportunity with him. Going back to Smackdown! could be good for him especially after Matt Hardy/Drew McIntyre issue is done (and I firmly believe Drew will be coming out the better in that one) MVP can slide right in there and maybe get a win or two off "the chosen one". The guy should at least be treated as a solid mid-card attraction.

Its weird. I thought Carlito would end up being moved, but instead another guy they don't use much in Chris Masters did. I wonder if he'll actually get ring time? I also am suprised they bothered to move Goldust.

I think Carlito is a guy they feel has burned up his chances, wouldn't be surprised to see him disappear and/or get released once NXT is over and done with. Masters? Yeah, that was a "what's the point?" move. The guy has only shown he can make his pecs dance, nothing else. Goldust I think is on RAW to probably do a comedy tag team with somebody or something.

WWE is not listing on the supplemental draft page, former ECW stars Tyler Reks and Vance Archer have been added to the Smackdown roster page.

Why do I think these guys are probably never making TV? Reks I know has been in trouble, and Archer hasn't been seen since ECW folded. Even guys Michael Hayes has pushed for haven't been able to make it (Jesse Gordy), so I dunno here. SD! may be having something of a dirth of talent, but I still think it'll be enough to put their shows together and offer decent PPV bouts till October when they build it back up for SyFy (yes, that is totally believed to be the plan, so we just have to deal with this depletion for the summer).

Additionally, the profiles of Curt Hawkins, Abraham Washington, Byron Saxton and Tony Atlas have all been removed from the WWE roster pages

I wonder if they are the next to be released?

FWOnline.com is reporting that TNA star Shark Boy's contract is set to expire soon, and it's doubtful that the company will re-sign him. While Shark Boy does regularly appear at house show events and there has been talk within creative about having him return to TV as an unmasked announcer, it seems highly unlikely that TNA will offer him a new deal.

As unlikely as it is, I'd like to see Shark Boy in WWE. He's got a fun character

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that the latest round of WWE talent cuts was not because of budget reasons but was because with the influx of new talent and talent coming into Raw and Smackdown from NXT, WWE needed to clear some room on the main roster.

I think budget probably had a hand in this too.

At 4/28/10 11:33 PM, Outlaw88 wrote: I think budget probably had a hand in this too.

I tend to agree. It makes no sense to be paying people you aren't going to be using.

For the news about Carlito, word has been going around that WWE might reform the Colon Bros. to feud with The Hart Dynasty for the Tag Titles.

Now I'm all for that as they never should of broken up, but the question is do you think they're gonna turn Carlito back to a babyface, or turn Primo heel?

At 4/29/10 07:44 AM, Random-Her03 wrote: Now I'm all for that as they never should of broken up, but the question is do you think they're gonna turn Carlito back to a babyface, or turn Primo heel?

I'd be up for it to, but I guess they would have to first explain why they got back together. If they are going to fued with the Dynasty it might be better to have them heel. not sure how they would do it with Primo though.

Know whats sad? I haven't seen Primo on TV for so long that I forgot he was even there...