Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the No Chance column, I’m Joel Leonard, and it’s drafting time.
This past Raw featured the yearly draft, the time that we are told that the WWE landscape as we know it is going to change. And it does…kinda…sorta. Ok, so maybe the draft isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be but it can’t be all pointless right? There’s only one way to find out. Let’s dive in.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I actually enjoyed the John Cena back and forth that took place in the Draft. Yes, I guessed that Cena would be back on Raw before the end of the night, but I still found the whole thing entertaining. Some of the Raw stars seemed genuinely shocked to see Cena getting picked. It also backed up WWE’s long-standing claim that anything can happen at the draft, a claim that has never really been put to the test. But if you had asked me at eight on Monday I never would have guessed that Cena was at risk of getting drafted, or they would ever draft the same guy twice in a night (something I’ve joked about happening before but never expected). Plus, some lucky Raleigh fan caught the only Smackdown shirt that Cena wore during his short time on the brand. How’s that for a souvenir?
Orton’s drafting was far less surprising. With Edge gone, Smackdown needed a big face, stat, and Orton could fill the “loose cannon†type of face role the best. However, with Alberto Del Rio moving as well, I don’t have much of a guess as to who Orton’s first opponent is going to be. The Corre? I hope not, because Orton just got through with fighting a Mid-Card Wonder card back on Raw.
I was questioning Sin Cara’s ability to leap straight to the main event on Raw, but I think that he’ll have a much better chance on Smackdown, especially now that there’s a large absence of Rey Mysterio on the Blue Brand. Not to mention that it might behoove him to be on a taped show for a while seeing as how his first couple of matches have been plagued with more than their share of mess ups.
The other big switch of the night involved Big Show moving back to Raw. (Notice how I used “big†just then? Nice right?) I suppose that there isn’t technically a problem with splitting up the Tag team champions as they can theoretically be on both brands, but it seems like with the two of them on separate shows, they’re going to start getting there own storylines and rivalries, and slowly drift apart. Kinda like those friends from high school you promise to keep in touch with but never really do. The next time Kane’s going to hear from Big Show is when he wishes him Happy Birthday on his Facebook wall.
Next day drafting:
But that’s not all. Even though Raw was over, more superstars were to switch places. Stars like:
Sheamus to Smackdown: So are both mid-card belts going to be on Smackdown now or does Sheamus have a match to lose his title this Sunday? I had expected Sheamus to move this draft, but I would think that a titleholder merits movement on the actual show, rather than just a note the next day.
Swagger to Raw: No real surprise here. Swagger has been on Raw so much recently with the whole Announcer’s brawl, he’s probably going to continue to hang out with Cole even after the whole feud is over.
A total of 38 moves were made (really 36 thanks to Cena’s double draft) which seems like a lot to me. The group of friends I watch Raw with refuse to watch Smackdown, so I have to wonder how they are going to react when a bunch of unfamiliar stars starts showing up next week. (Del Rio won’t be a problem, because he hasn’t missed a Raw in months, but they aren’t going to know what is going on when Drew McIntyre comes out)
In other, Non-Draft news:
R-Truth has found his calling as a heel. Last night he cut a heel promo that was far better than I had expected it to be. Not the best heel promo cut by far, but the best promo that R-Truth has cut in recent memory. The “Little Jimmy†segment went on a bit too long, I felt, but the interaction with the crowd was great. And the fact that Truth had somebody backstage trying to frantically time a censor button humored me. I guess there’s a risk that he’s going to seem insignificant to the heelish mannerisms of Miz and Del Rio, but if he continues to rile crowds the way that he did this one, he’s got a good shot of staying relevant.
There are no words for me to explain how much I want this commentator fight to end. What happens to Cole afterward? I don’t care. Will JR stay on the show? Don’t care about that either. What is next for Jack Swagg- Do. Not. Care. This is the prefect example of how to destroy a storyline with promise. And to think it was just a few weeks ago when I was looking forward to their outcome at WrestleMania. Now, I can just hope that Extreme Rules is the end of the feud.
This has been Joel Leonard and the Draft of the Year. I have decided to be optimistic about the results of the show, through sheer determination if necessary. New faces on both shows and new rivalry opportunities. I’m going to hope for the best until I’m shown otherwise (which will probably happen by the end of the week)
Unrelated side thought of the column: I have a friend who’s favorite wrestler is R-Truth (I don’t know why. Maybe he feels a North Carolina connection.) So last week I wanted his take on Mr. Truth’s heel turn, and after a bit of complaining, he concluded that now that he wasn’t supposed to cheer for Truth, his new favorite was going to be Mark Henry (again I can’t figure out his reasoning). So after I see him this weekend, I’ll find out who the next heel turn is going to be, predict it way ahead of time, and seem like a wizard of some kind.
