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Hey everyone, I hope all is well and I’d like to welcome you to another “Walking the Aisle”. Remember that any feedback is more than welcome and can be sent to ncattles@gmail.com.
In this edition I’d like to take a look at the draft and see how it could help some young talent that are this close to the main event picture get either closer or to the top. Off the heels of a WrestleMania that was a well above average show, but in my eyes did nearly nothing for the younger talent, this Mondays’ draft is crucial. April 13th could do a lot towards making the WWE feel fresh and get new talent at the top as we head towards WM XXVI in Arizona. So, with that in mind, here are some of my ideas.
The first step is to reenergize the main event picture and though I’m not sure we’ll get a full overhaul in a year with these moves, it’d be a start. I’d mix up the top tier, moving HHH, Edge, UT, The Big Show, MVP, Henry, and Finlay to Raw. Smackdown, meanwhile, would receive The Legacy, Jericho, CM Punk, Kane, Jack Swagger, Christian and Mysterio.
Now I’m sure some of you are looking at the above paragraph and seeing an obvious imbalance and I agree with you. However, with the rumor of WWE wanting to send more top guys to Raw this year, it makes more sense. Moreover, Raw has and always will be treated as the #1 show in WWE. If you had any doubt of that, it should’ve been squashed by how the Mania build was delivered. So, with those factors in mind, I’d make Smackdown the breeding ground for guys that are within a year or so of being headliners. With the current rosters in mind, this is what Smackdown’s top 10 would look like:
Heels Faces
Orton Jeff Hardy
Jericho CM Punk
Matt Hardy Mysterio
Umaga Mr. Kennedy
Jack Swagger Christian
In my eyes, that’s a steady mix of veterans and younger main event potential. This kind of mix would truly give the ball to Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Kennedy, Christian, and Swagger, while providing the safety nets of Orton, Jericho, Mysterio and Kane (not listed, but drafted to SD). Not only that, but Smackdown would also have a young and promising mid-card that would offer some great wrestling: Dibiase/Rhodes, The Colons, Mike Knox (drafted), The Miz, Shelton Benjamin (still seems young), and DH Smith (brought up to join The Legacy).
Now let’s look at Raw. It would truly be the A-Show and focus on the headliners. So, here we go:
Heels Faces
Edge Cena
Batista (turn) HHH
The Big Show Undertaker
MVP (turn) HBK
Mark Henry Fit Finlay
What I see in the Raw roster is the balance of top established guys, while giving a true shot at stardom for MVP. Also, Finlay and Henry get a chance at making a difference on Raw. Don’t forget the McMahons either, because they’ll forever be floating around.
My final move when it comes to changing the wrestling rosters would be a chance to really change things. I’d make ECW a 230 lbs. and under brand. Now, I wouldn’t even come out and say that this is the 230 lbs. and under brand, because if I’m the WWE I don’t want these wrestlers labeled as “small”. When they prove their worth in ECW, I would want to bring them to either Raw or Smackdown as viable contenders to a World Title. Here’s my ECW Roster:
Heels Faces
John Morrison Evan Bourne
The Brian Kendrick Kofi Kingston
Chavo Guerrero Gregory Helms
Tyson Kidd DJ Gabriel
To me, that’s an unbelievably exciting brand to watch. With other possibilities such as Jamie Noble, Paul Burchill, the artist formerly known as Senshi, etc., there could be some truly unreal matches coming out of this talent pool.
In my final move of the draft, I’d shift announce teams around a little bit. I’d keep Josh Matthews on ECW and I’d put Michael Hayes with him. For Raw, I’d put the band back together with JR and The King. Finally, for Smackdown, Michael Cole and Matt Striker would be the team there.
There you have it, my draft ideas. I’m sure many of you have questions and some have criticisms of a few or more things I did. That’s why in my next column, before the draft officially takes place, I will attempt to explain why I chose to do what I did with the talent (even announcers) and look at some of the feuds it could create. Hope you enjoyed this column and will check out my explanations and breakdown of it in the next “Walking the Aisle”. Until then, remember to suspend your disbelief.
