DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – Supplemental Draft Analysis + Vengeance Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 1:12 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #236

Welcome one and all to the 236th edition of ‘The Wrestling Menu’, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Hmmm, I wonder what the chances are of getting through this entire column without mentioning Vince being blown up. Oh darn it, I just failed with that objective, didn’t I? I better touch on the topic then. In fact, I wouldn’t mind a dollar for every time someone has emailed me for my thoughts on the subject over the past 8 days!

In all honesty, there are 3 main reasons why I have yet to discuss the subject of Vince’s explosion; (1) I personally find the draft moves between WWE brands more interesting, (2) I am not as imaginative as some of my LOP colleagues, as there is no way I would have dreamed up the brilliance of either Aurora Rose Levesque or the World Wildlife Fund as being the murderers, and (3) I really don’t have much thoughts on it at the moment.

Am I offended by the storyline…??? No. Do I think it will most likely be a terrible angle…??? No. Do I think it will most likely be an angle that increases ratings significantly…??? No. Could it be valuable…??? Yes. Could it be awful…??? Yes. Basically, I am playing the waiting game here & am only hoping that the WWE have planned this out & know exactly where they are going with it all. Obviously, I also hope that they are on the correct side of decency as well. I felt that it was all a little awkward on SmackDown last Friday, but I suppose that a week’s respite should be given for the WWE to work out how the audiences are reacting so that they can tweak & tinker accordingly.

Today, alongside my predictions for the ‘Vengeance’ pay-per-view, I believe there have been a significant amount of moves made during the recent supplemental draft, so I shall deliver my thoughts on those additional wrestlers switching brands. Following that, I state a conclusion of sorts regarding all the moves made over the past week and a half, with a few things to especially to look for over the next 6 or so months for each brand.

On with the drafting…..


APPETIZERS – Raw Drafts…..

PAUL LONDON & BRIAN KENDRICK: I am not totally surprised that the former WWE Tag-Team Champions for almost a consecutive year have been moved and it wouldn’t have shocked me if they went to Raw or ECW. This roster switch does make sense as they were just beginning to get a little stale on SmackDown & their feud with Deuce & Domino had pretty much run its course.

While their wrestling styles would tend to suggest they are not suited to Raw, I do feel that the tag-team division on any brand is practically a separate island from the remainder of the roster to a large extent. Three other things that this move could arguably tell us are (1) London & Kendrick are not planned to be split up any time soon, (2) Rumors that Vince does not want The Hardyz teaming all that often are true, and (3) The improvement of Cade & Murdoch has been significant enough to suggest to WWE management that they can partially carry the division.

THE SANDMAN: Interesting switch that practically wasn’t predicted by anyone. I think most people will see this as the beginning of the end for Sandman & it’s hard to disagree with that thought. It could freshen him up for a short while, but at the very best, I think he will now be playing the role of permanent jobber. While his character may be missed on ECW to some extent, it is hardly going to be anything that is going to sink the ship & I think that whatever original ECW fans that still follow the brand would agree with that.

DAIVARI: As with The Great Khali, Daivari has bounced all over the place on all 3 brands over the past year anyway. So now he heads back to Raw for a reason I can hardly fathom. I seriously cannot see how he can be in any way useful on Monday nights, unless they have someone in mind for him to manage. In fact, the only reason that I could see for this move are the recent reports that suggest the WWE want to keep Daivari & Khali totally separate.

WILLIAM REGAL: I have already discussed this move in detail (in my column 2 weeks back), so won’t elaborate on it too much here. His move is the major one that is splitting up an established tag-team (excluding Nitro & Dykstra), although he & Taylor weren’t exactly setting the tag-team world on fire. I do expect a small push for Regal on Raw, but I am really not sure that it is worth it to be honest. I just hope he isn’t over-pushed, but with the replenished Monday night stocks now, I doubt that strongly.

JILLIAN HALL: A pleasant surprise of a move. I have been campaigning for about a year to switch Jillian over to Raw as she is a more than decent wrestler. However, with the push that Michelle McCool has been receiving of late on SmackDown, I was almost certain that the WWE had changed their mind & decided to move McCool over to Raw. But, in a wise decision, it appears as if the WWE have thought for the medium term & not just the next 3 months as Jillian will undoubtedly be the better contributor to the Women’s Division in the long run. She may not challenge for the title immediately, but she will eventually. Oh & unfortunately, I wouldn’t bet your life savings that her singing gimmick will be ditched either!


ENTREE – SmackDown & ECW Drafts…..

SMACKDOWN DRAFTEES

THE MAJOR BROTHERS: Relatively young & with a good look, The Major Brothers also appear to be half-decent in the ring. Having debuted on ECW a couple of months back, the lack of a tag-team division on that brand meant that this team was headed towards a dead end. With London & Kendrick departing for Raw, a nice hole opens on SmackDown for these youngsters. But are they up to such a prominent role at this stage of their WWE careers? I’m not sure either way, but I get the feeling we are going to find out soon enough!

HARDCORE HOLLY: Nooooooooooooooooooo! I feared this move big time. I would have preferred to see Holly in the upper midcard of ECW rather than anywhere at all on SmackDown! For mine, he should be nothing more than an undercard veteran jobber on SmackDown, but as he is apparently fairly close to JBL & The Undertaker, I worry that he will be way over-pushed on Friday night’s now. Even more of a ridiculous move seeing as though Holly was on SmackDown a year or so back!

KENNY DYKSTRA: I considered Dykstra for this switch a couple of weeks back but ended up giving the role to Shelton Benjamin. All the appropriate boxes are checked when it comes to Kenny moving to Friday nights. He had become lost in the deep Raw midcard, his wrestling style fits SmackDown better, while the Friday night brand has also better served young up & comers in the past. My concern here is that I fear this move may rush his push a little too much. Kenny is so young that there is absolutely no hurry to push him past the midcard & as long as that doesn’t occur, I am quite happy with this move.

VICTORIA: On the face of it, this move makes absolutely no sense as Victoria’s forte is wrestling & that isn’t a strength of the SmackDown females. But in essence, this is a straight swap between heels Victoria & Jillian. So really, there is no negative there. There also may not be much positive in the eyes of some fans, but at the very least it provides some freshness for both ladies & both Women’s divisions. I’m certain that Victoria will practically go straight into a feud with Michelle McCool, which actually may be decent. After that, she can take on Ashley. After that, she can take on Torrie. And after that, my guess is she will just wander back across to Raw some time early next year!

EUGENE: This move was always a big chance & judging by the feedback that I have had over the past couple of weeks, it should prove to be a popular one. The underlying thoughts behind the switch are that (a) the Eugene character had well & truly run its course on Raw as he had been demoted to jobber, and (b) Nick Dinsmore’s mat-based technical wrestling style would suit SmackDown a lot more than it would Raw. I can’t argue with that too much, although I would still like to see some sort of change (whether character or wrestling-wise) in order for progression to be made. If not, I can see Eugene becoming old fairly quickly after an initial small push.


ECW DRAFTEES

VISCERA: In feedback, I was actually surprised that so many fans predicted this move. It just goes to show that Big Vis still has his fans. Personally, I think he is well past his use-by date, but I suppose he is not horrible & his size is occasionally handy. Very much treading water on Raw, this move to the lesser brand could see some sort of recognition for Viscera & one last hurrah. Of course, it could also lead to one hell of a scary tag-team with Old Man Boogey!

THE MIZ: This is an intriguing move that I considered initially, but felt a little too risky to make. This switch had its supporters in feedback & I can see why. It will be interesting to follow Mizanin’s progress over the next few months as he was showing improvement on SmackDown, even if it was rather gradual. I can’t quite put my finger on why The Miz wasn’t getting his character through to the audience, but I suppose there is a chance that he could be more successful on the theoretically more edgy ECW. It could be a risk though because if gets lost in the weaker ECW roster, it could prove to be the death-knell for his entire career!

JOHNNY NITRO: I predicted this move & like it very much. Presuming he is booked well, I can actually see this being the wild-card of the entire draft! Nitro was basically undercard talent on the Raw roster, but who could suggest that he may not be at main-event level in ECW before the year is out!? We know he can definitely hold his own in the midcard & it is arguable he has just as much, if not more, to offer than Elijah Burke & Marcus Corvon as the top ECW heel! The icing on the cake is mouth-watering potential feuds against Chris Benoit & CM Punk. The more I think about this, the more it is a no-brainer!


MAIN – Draft Conclusions

I will keep this as short as possible, as I am not adding all that much to my concluding thoughts from last week. Overall, I am more pleased than upset with regards to all the draft moves from the main draft & the supplemental draft. As I said last week, some may find that the moves were a little ho-hum, while others will feel that Raw got way too good of a deal. While both these points can be argued to some extent, I don’t think either factor was over the top.

I really feel that the WWE found approximately the correct balance with all their moves. Sure, there were a perplexing couple of switches (and/or non-switches), but considering that 25 wrestlers swapped rosters, it was going to be difficult for us to agree with all of them. But what we now have is a very interesting WWE Championship scene on Raw & a chance for many other wrestlers to prove themselves on the ECW & SmackDown brands. Although, it still does befuddle me how Umaga & Super Crazy were wrestlers who were not switched to SmackDown & ECW respectively!

While the Cruiserweight division was not addressed in any real way, I actually like what the WWE did with both the Women’s & Tag-Team divisions. The straight swap of Victoria & Jillian may not be anything earth-shattering, but it does provide some freshness, while Torrie is best suited to SmackDown if anything. More importantly, I had been dreading some tag-teams being split up & that didn’t really happen to the important ones. London & Kendrick should provide freshness for Raw to refrain from keeping the divisions from status quo, while The Major Brothers may break out on SmackDown.

If anything, we won’t know the extent of how successful these drafts have been for a good 6 months yet. At this stage we will find out if the likes of Nitro, Miz, Masters, Eugene & Dykstra have taken the opportunity to refresh their characters & move up the card. We will also find out if the Raw brand has become top heavy when Triple H & Shawn Michaels return from injury.

Getting a little more specific to the brands, I will just outline some things to look for over the next few months on each brand:

On RAW, the main issue is clearly a matter of who falls into what position in the main-event scene. They can’t have a 4-5 man main-event each & every month! Will the WWE initially ignore the draftees & go ahead with a Cena vs Orton feud? Would the WWE consider yet another face vs face feud in Cena vs Lashley? Could Lashley even take the title without that happening? Will Kennedy remain a heel well into next year or could he turn face while 2007 is still going? And which of these guys will have to take a tumble down the card when Triple H & HBK return from their respective injuries.

With ECW, the main-event scene is still wide open and like Raw it will be interesting to see who slots in where, especially when it comes to the heels. Will the WWE push Nitro straight to the top or will Burke and/or Corvon hold sway? On the face side of the fence, will Punk simply go from being #2 behind Lashley to #2 behind Benoit, or does this mean he will be pushed higher?

SMACKDOWN may have the most question marks concerning it, but I am more optimistic than most that it can overcome the odds & succeed (once more). As I stated last week, they have kept important roster members such as Matt Hardy, MVP, Rey Mysterio, Edge & The Undertaker. And maybe with the exceptions of Edge & MVP, it was rumored that any of the remaining 3 could have switched brands along with Kennedy, Booker & Benoit. All these should be able to step up now & I think that they can.

The major issues then become who will be the face(s) that challenges Edge for the title while Undertaker is still healing his injuries? Personally, I feel that Matt Hardy can step up, while I would never say “no” to an Edge vs Mysterio feud. The other issue that will be intriguing to watch is how many of the newcomers to the brand will be able to step up to a genuine midcard status; Flair, Masters, Dykstra, Eugene & The Major Brothers all have the potential to, but will they?


DESSERT – Vengeance Predictions

MVP vs RIC FLAIR for the United States Title: “1… 2… You hear the clock ticking...” Is it only me or has that entrance theme grown catchy? Anyway, between that & the crowd-popping “Whoooooo”, I figure this is the bout that should do the job as opener. This match-up was announced out of nowhere on last week’s episode of SmackDown & it was a little disappointing to not see more reference made to it. Hopefully, the build-up is cranked up this Friday, but realistically that is a little too late to build sufficient interest. That doesn’t mean it won’t be good, although I do have my doubts as to the quality that we will end up seeing on the night. It is yet another genuine test for the up & coming MVP and while I believe he will pass the test in time, it may not be immediately during this bout. Seeing Flair with the U.S Title would be a nice touch (& I wouldn’t be too surprised with a short reign now), but I still believe it is best to keep MVP strong at the moment. Winner: MVP

CHAVO GUERRERO vs JIMMY WANG YANG for the CruiserWeight Title: They may as well rename this belt “the title that the WWE forgot”. Seriously, as much of a fan of cruiserweight action that I am, even I have written off the division of late… And having Chavo as the titleholder hasn’t helped as he doesn’t exactly set my world on fire. Watch for him to ground Yang here to the accompaniment of the live crowd chanting “boring”. Something needs to be done & while it most likely will lead to not much of an improvement, the WWE may as well give the Asian Redneck a try as champion! I wouldn’t put money on it though as that may be more what I want to happen rather than what I think will happen. Winner: Jimmy Wang Yang

LANCE CADE & TREVOR MURDOCH vs THE HARDYS for the World Tag-Team Titles: A nice little feud has developed here and Cade & Murdoch have lifted their game to deserve the push. You can tell that they are really trying as even with the awkward flipping powerbomb finisher of Murdoch, experimentation is better than stagnancy (unless it injures someone). The turn back to heel for the cowboys was a little anti-dramatic to be honest, but it wasn’t terrible & most knew it was coming anyway (so it was a bit of a lose-lose situation in that regard). This match should be a solid one between the 2 teams, but the real interest here is how the WWE will book the ending to not bury The Hardys while keeping the titles on the heels. A DQ win to Matt & Jeff is possible, but I would prefer if Cade & Murdoch cheated to win myself. Winners: Cade & Murdoch

SANTINO MARELLA vs UMAGA for the InterContinetal Title: Everything about this match-up is forced & I hate the booking of it. In fact, I hate the way the InterContinetal Title has been booked full stop of late, but more on that next week. If you are going to build a match around the David vs Goliath storyline, wouldn’t it be logical to actually build up a story? I’d love a 1 minute Umaga squash here & that could occur as I have yet to hear a reason for Umaga remaining on Raw. But my gut feeling is that Umaga will get disqualified or counted out or something stupid. But, as per the cruiserweight title match, it seems I’m in the mood to predict what I want to happen this month. Winner: Umaga

CM PUNK vs CHRIS BENOIT for the ECW World Title: I initially thought this was going to be a fatal fourway including Burke & Corvon and I think I would have preferred that to be honest. I know I am most likely in the minority with that opinion, but I think I have already had my serve of face vs face matches this year (& we aren’t at the half way mark of the year yet). That won’t stop this bout from being darn good though & I really hope that it is given at least 12 minutes to tell a story. It’s going to be interesting to see how good Punk can be when he is in the ring with such a professional as Benoit. While many believe that Benoit will win here for certain, it wouldn’t surprise me if Punk got the nod as the next ECW champion, as Benoit has often played a secondary role on whatever brand he has been a part of. But if I had to make a call, I suppose it is the rabid wolverine. Winner: Chris Benoit

MELINA vs CANDICE MICHELLE for the Women’s Title: The quality of this match will depend on the flavor of the pudding! Oh, this is a straight-up wrestling bout… Then it could be good. Melina has been adding to her repertoire of late whilst consolidating her heel character, while Candice has been steadily improving in the ring as well. Presuming that they don’t take this too long past the 6-7 minute mark, I am expecting something fairly solid here. The great thing about Melina is that she has the ability to get the crowd involved & that is often the downfall to woman’s matches. Therefore, I actually think that this may be the correct time to try an upset title change as the fans could really get behind Candice as opposed to some of the eye-candy of the past that she has been compared with. Winner: Candice Michelle

EDGE vs BATISTA for the World HeavyWeight Title: I am pretty much over this feud as I have felt that these 2 guys simply haven’t conveyed the story (both in & out of the ring) of their angle effectively. It is wise that the WWE have added the ‘Do Or Die’ (or whatever they are calling it) stipulation as it does add a hint of unpredictability to the result, but more importantly, should add some fuel to Batista’s fire. Hopefully, he comes out here & portrays a man on his last chance with the correct intensity. If so, this could be decent. If not, the repetition of this bout could put me to sleep. Either way, Edge will emerge with the title still around his waist. Winner: Edge

JOHN CENA vs RANDY ORTON vs BOBBY LASHLEY vs KING BOOKER vs MICK FOLEY for the WWE Championship: If you could bet on wrestling outcomes at ppvs, bookmakers would have Cena a short-priced favorite to retain his title here. It just doesn’t seem like the correct time for any of his 4 challengers to win the title at the moment. But I have a funny “swervy” feeling about this bout & it dates back to the Backlash main-event where I am almost convinced that a fourway was set up to remove the title from Cena (probably to HBK). But things didn’t eventuate with Cena’s challengers at the time & I just wonder if this bout is revisiting that original plan. All I’m saying is that I will not be at all surprised if Lashley emerges with the title here & I think he is a strong chance to. Of course, I don’t have the balls to predict it as Cena is involved in the bout! As for the quality of the match, it will most likely be all over the place & unsatisfying for the most part, but the WWE has a knack of getting good entertainment value out of their multi-man main-events. Winner: John Cena

Ok, so there is ‘Vengeance’ as it currently stands. There is one more title remaining & that is the WWE Tag-Team Championships currently held by Deuce & Domino. They could be defended in a dark match or on the card proper & if they are, it will most likely be against the newly arrived Major Brothers. That’s probably not the best way to start a feud (see MVP vs Flair, Umaga vs Marella & Edge vs Batista from 2 months ago), but that’s the in-built weakness of the WWE draft unfortunately. The heel champs should retain if such a match takes place.

Overall, this card is ok, but nothing special considering that all matches have a title on the line. Some bouts seem forced, while others simply don’t have enough build-up. Add on 2 main-events where the quality isn’t assured & this event does have a chance at being very ordinary. But at the same time, I would think that there are enough bouts that “could be” good & in all likelihood some of them will be to make this a more than passable affair. Plus, at the very least, the draft switches cause some intrigue as to which direction the WWE is heading in with some titles.


That is all for column #236. If you would like to send me feedback on any of the topics that I have discussed today, you may do so by emailing me at DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com. My PPV Predictions are always popular in discussion, and I am sure that my thoughts on the supplemental draft will also be of interest. As per usual, I will reply to everyone. But if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=217&page=6.

And while you are on the LOP Forums, why don't you check out my weekly contributions to the Album Review thread. So far, I have reviewed 2 albums each by groups such as My Chemical Romance, Muse, Rise Against, Razorlight, The Killers, Kasabian & The All-American Rejects. Just click on the following link & scroll down: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=99&page=2.

Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', I should finally find the opportunity to discuss the tri-branding of WWE pay-per-views. Furthermore, I will also have my review of the ‘Vengeance ppv event. The third item on the agenda (for now) is something concerning one of the WWE’s titles that I have been meaning to get off my chest. As per usual, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.


DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2007

Exclusive To LordsOfPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com










***DIRECT LINK*** The BILLION DOLLAR HOTTIE! Stephanie McMahon - HUGE NEW HOT GALLERY!!

• Quick Links -
  [Back to LOP] [News Archives] [Results] [Columns] [Forums]