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WWE Draft Coverage 2011 Hi, sports entertainment fans, I’m Del Kiper, Jr. and I’m a huge WWE fan. After years of loyally watching WWE programming and PPVs, they’ve hired me to be their official WWE Draft analyst. A little bit about me before we get started. I’m from Baltimore, Maryland and my family is full of draft experts of different kinds, the most famous of which is cousin, Mel Kiper, Jr., who is the face of ESPN’s annual coverage of the NFL Draft. So, it’s in the genes. However, I’m not quite as trite as Cousin Mel, nor as controversial. You won’t see me favoring the clients of any agents during my coverage and you won’t read me taking myself too seriously…yet. My favorite match of all-time is Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart because I enjoy a simple story told in the ring and it doesn’t get any simpler than brother against brother, especially when it’s real brothers and it’s rooted in real life animosity. I enjoy a good glass of Scotch and, of course, my faithful companion, Jericho. I famously predicted that John Cena would be the first pick in the 2005 WWE Draft – seriously, I called that. So, you know I’m good. Without further ado, let’s get going with the coverage of the 2011 WWE Draft… Setting the Stage The WWE has moved up the date of their annual draft from June until this coming Monday in April. My sources tell me that it is mainly due to the unexpected retirement of Edge. The Rated R Superstar had become the face of the Smackdown brand over the last few years; the kind of guy that had a 5-star rating capable of putting him on the flagship Raw program all the time, but was moved to the B-Show in order to keep it relevant. He was the locker room leader, a role he accepted more and more when the Undertaker started taking more and more time away from wrestling to deal with injuries and such. Replacing Edge is priority one for the Smackdown brand. They head into the draft this year with a gaping hole that only an 11-time World Champion and four year running World title headliner at Wrestlemania can leave. It puts the WWE in a difficult position, forced to move one of their top stars from the Raw brand over to Smackdown. Also, there has been a solid year for the WWE to re-establish that there are just two brands after several years of there being a 3rd brand (ECW). Raw and SD are finding their new identities, with Raw heavily dependent on personalities and characters and SD allowing more of the sports side of the business to be emphasized. Raw doesn’t need guys that can’t get over with their words because they aren’t going to give guys opportunities to wrestle for very long unless they are established top level performers. Smackdown doesn’t necessarily need a whole bunch of flashy, colorful characters because they place a greater emphasis on the in-ring performance. We could be seeing a shift toward characters being developed on Raw while the wrestling skills are developed with stints on Smackdown. There is an obvious need to create new stars, but they aren’t going to be able to build consistent new guys for the top spots on just one show with the current way that they go about things. So, there are going to have to be dynamic and adapt in this new era. There is a strong possibility that the mid-card divisions could be completely overhauled, with a half or more of one brand’s stars mix and matching with the other brand’s in a fairly extension talent shuffle. The Big Board (As determined by previous draft trends and the current needs of each brand) 1) Randy Orton – Raw has a top babyface and SD needs one. Orton leaves a void, but fills a greater need 2) The Miz – The company’s top heel needs to keep his distance from the company’s top guy, overall 3) Alberto Del Rio – Too good a character not to be tried out on the flagship brand 4) Sheamus – He’s pretty much done all he can do on Raw, but is the kind of character they covet 5) Jack Swagger – A talented performer with a much hated current partner in crime 6) Big Show – Has been as frequently drafted as any other superstar 7) John Morrison – He’s on the cusp of the main-event and would do best on a wrestling-oriented show 8) Kofi Kingston – Another guy on the brink of breaking into one of the vacant top spots 9) Cody Rhodes – A rising star in the heel ranks that is just the kind of character fit for the Raw brand 10) Drew McIntyre – Had a potential star-making moment at Elimination Chamber; just needs a shot Breaking it Down Raw Needs: Secondary babyface characters; Heels that can carry their end on the microphone opposite John Cena; Talkers to fill air time that would otherwise be dedicated to in-ring action Who They Should Draft: -Alberto Del Rio – This guy is a talker with a polarizing character and guys like him need not be on Smackdown, but be showcased on Raw. They’ve done an admirable job giving this guy a chance and he’s done a great job of maximizing his chance to become an elite player. I see him coming over as the World Champion after defeating Christian at Extreme Rules and going onto have a lengthy summer feud with John Cena over the title. Time will tell what ADR can bring to the table long-term and if he’ll have the drive to keep going after being gifted a coveted top spot without being on TV for long, but they should definitely try to get a lot of out of him while they can. Del Rio vs. Cena is the rumored main-event for Summerslam and that should be quite a feud. Bottom line is that a character of Alberto’s caliber should be performing in front of a live audience and mixing it up with some of the better talkers in the game. It’ll be up to him to make the most of the opportunity, but I think we’ll see him at least get that opportunity come the draft. -Kofi Kingston – Kofi’s time on Smackdown allowed him to really grow as an in-ring performer, often being given the chance to shine in lengthy TV matches over the IC title. Yet, now it is time for some more character development. He’ll be thrust into a position where he cannot rely so heavily upon his in-ring work to keep himself over, so it will force him out of a comfort zone and into a place that should help him grow and improve on the microphone. If he can develop, quickly, that part of his game, then he could be a breakout star in 2011. It’s one of those scenarios where we are about to see what Kofi is made of. He may be the kind of guy made of main-event stuff, but he also may be a career mid-carder like Shelton Benjamin. I’m not about to speculate on that, but I will say that he’s gotten a lot better in recent years and the WWE, as a whole, are running low on really good quality babyface characters. -Jack Swagger – In my mind’s eye, I see one heck of a competition brewing between a lot of the younger heels on WWE TV right now and I see many of them being moved to Raw in an attempt find a diamond in the rough. Swagger certainly has the tools to become one of those new top guys that can be around the main-event scene for years to come. He’s got his detractors, but I’m very high on him and his all-around skill set that includes above average in-ring and microphone skills with plenty of potential growth in both areas moving forward. His tandem with Michael Cole can go or stay, but he’s got John Cena in his sights and a feud with the company’s top star could be a big chance for him to show the world – again – what he can do. -Ezekial Jackson – He can’t talk a lick, but he’s quite intelligent and has a freakish frame that would make him a valuable commodity on Raw if handled properly. With the giants over on SD, Zeke has a chance to become the monster on Raw. Built up as a monster, he could become a surprise hit over the next several months for the red brand. -Others would include Beth Phoenix, Layla, and Health Slater Who They Will Draft: -Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Beth Phoenix, Big Show, Justin Gabriel, Cody Rhodes, and Layla Smackdown Needs: A new top babyface; A high quality heel character; Wrestlers that can fill air time that would otherwise be dedicated to segments Who They Should Draft: -Randy Orton – He is the second biggest name left in the business that wrestlers consistently and he is easily the top babyface not named John Cena in the company. He has been around for long enough and has matured enough that he can carry a brand as its top star either as the top heel or as the top babyface and be counted on to impart some backstage/ locker room wisdom that will be missing with Edge’s departure. Without a shadow of doubt, he is the right choice to carry Smackdown for the next few years, especially as he continues down the road of being a protagonist. Remember that it was a red hot Edge that moved to SD and pretty much stayed there as their top guy for the last 4 years. Orton is a hot commodity, but there’s little use for him on Raw with the company’s alpha male spending his Monday nights there, too. Orton being on Smackdown opens up the possibility of actually keeping these two away from each other and building toward a potential title unification match or another match of that caliber down the road. -The Miz – The best thing that can happen to the Miz is to protect him against the likes of John Cena. It will be increasingly difficult for Miz to establish himself on Raw, as Cena will have to maintain a fairly sparkling win-loss record to ensure his uber-status heading toward a Mania 28 match with The Rock. Miz moving to Smackdown would be looked at as a downgrade, but he’d still be the top heel for a brand and it would allow him to grow as a wrestler while simultaneously putting him with some fresh faces to work with. He can come back to Raw at a later date and, honestly, he’d probably end up becoming the Chris Jericho type of guy anyway that floats back and forth between brands almost constantly because he’s such a valuable overall commodity. Changing his home to Friday Night Smackdown just allows him to stay away from dropping the WWE Championship to John Cena. A one-on-one rematch between the two should be saved for awhile. -Daniel Bryan – There’s just nothing for a guy like Bryan to do on Raw and he’s never going to get over wrestling for 3-minutes here and there since he’s not the type that has a glowing personality that they’ll trust 5 or more minutes of mic time to on a regular basis. Moving him to a brand where he’ll get more in-ring time to showcase his talents will be a big boost for him. He can immediately get involved in the IC title situation or simply shine in 10-minute TV matches each week. The WWE needs a reminder of what he brings to the table. They’ve clearly forgotten his PPV matches from last fall and the best way to remind them is get him onto the blue brand. -David Otunga – Smackdown has done a better job in recent years of developing young talent and Otunga is the kind of guy that has some raw potential, especially from a character standpoint. He needs a fresh environment, though. He’s gotten lost in the shuffle on Raw as part of the New Nexus and has pretty much run his course being involved in a stable of that sort. He’s got charisma and it’s time to create a new character for him and see what he can do with it. There’s no question he needs work in between the ropes, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he can develop into a good performer. It’s all about the work ethic with this guy because the foundation is there. -Others would include Evan Bourne, Natalya, Tyson Kidd, and Ted Dibiase Who They Will Draft: -Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Ted Dibiase, Eve Torres, William Regal, Michael McGillicutty, Alex Riley, Mark Henry Tune into my live coverage of the 2011 Draft, beginning Monday night at 8:30 EST.
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