Official Raw is Draft Thread (6-23-08): Place your bets!

[TerranRich]

So what happened on TNA exactly?

[HeartBreakMan2k]

Well, he's not dead this time. Time for him to not remember shit.

[ClockShot]

I'll have a review up tomorrow.

All I can say is that if there's no overnight trades or moves going down, kiss ECW goodbye.

Goodnight.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Given what happened with TNA recently. And the one year anniversary of Benoit. If Matt Hardy goes insane, will this angle end, or does he WWE not care about Matt enough?

[Zeeboe]

This is REAL. Wanna know why? Cause I paid some dudes to do this in the event that I did not win. They were waiting there for my call. I'm from Austin, so it was very easy to send my guys down there to take out Vince.........oh, this is stupid, belated and crap even for my taste. Fuck this.

I'm outta here. Good-night fuck faces, and hey, enjoy watching this wrestling shit.

[TerranRich]

Obvously, Vince was talking to Big Show, when he said "Paul". Duh.

Or maybe it's a link to Undertaker, where he's calling for Paul Bearer. HEY it could happen!

[Jeritron]

rofl

[HeartBreakMan2k]

lol, so are we going with who tried to kill McMahon as opposed to who killed McMahon this time?!

[RawRocks]

Didn't the Draft end in similar fashion last year? ie.. limo

[Xero]

Well, he's not dead this time. Time for him to not remember shit.

Actually, my guess is that they're doing the same concept of a "Whodunnit" without actually "killing" him.

I find it hilarious that they actually did this again.

[Jeritron]

rofl at HHH's sprint over to the scene. I need to see a gif of that

[Zeeboe]

One more thing....

FourFifty - If you was a real man, you'd send me all your winnings to make up for the disrespectful comments you made towards me tonight.

[Jeritron]

and of course Cena tries to lift the set off of him on his own

[RP]

Wait he called him Paul? Shit its real..

[TerranRich]

FOLEY! FOLEY!

[KingofOldSchool]

THAT.WAS.AWESOME.

[TerranRich]

Of course it's real. It's wrestling, ain't it?

[TerranRich]

So, what happened on TNA? I'm too lazy to leave this thread.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>They never once said anything about a Supplemental Draft....so I'm guessing the rosters are now set.

Hard to believe Carlito is still on Raw......plenty of midcarders I would have switch too.</font>

[HeartBreakMan2k]

What happened in TNA?

[Xero]

So, what happened on TNA? I'm too lazy to leave this thread.

A stage hand died while they were disassembling the set at the last PPV.

[Fox]

They should have had him fall from a harness in the rafters, or take a botched powerbomb from D'Lo Brown (he's back in the company, right?).

Anything is better than the crap we saw.

[James Steele]

I called this shit with McMahon.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Pretty good episodic TV, though. Are you at least not a little interested in just who is behind this? My guess, Shane McMahon upset that Vince is blowing his future millions. Or Stephanie is in on it, too. But again, I am going to say it should be a lower-card wrestler, because they are the only ones that should be dissatisfied with their positions and Vince McMahon enough that they will risk their livelihoods with attempted murder.

Someone like John Cena would lose so much by having Vince whacked, whereas Paul London could be angry enough to the point where he'd risk it. I'd mark out for Charlie Haas being behind it. "I'm not so boring now, am I, Vince?"

Or the WWE can bring in FourFifty, and revealed he used the $250,000 to pay someone to get rid of Vince.

[Xero]

Honestly, it wouldn't have been so bad if they actually pulled it off like the set was really collapsing. Instead it was some smoke, break-away flooring and terrible camera angles showing that Vince was in no danger whatsoever.

[CYCLOPTERSAURUS]

Hahaha, look at WWE.com... they ALREADY cancelled "million dollar mania". That was quick!

[NeanderCarl]

Ah well. Night, y'all.

[James Steele]

Tazz seemed to be really legit pissed off about ECW getting raped.

[Mr. Nerfect]

<font color=goldenrod>They never once said anything about a Supplemental Draft....so I'm guessing the rosters are now set.

Hard to believe Carlito is still on Raw......plenty of midcarders I would have switch too.</font>

I think there will be a supplemental draft. Or at least some trades. Mid-carders like Val Venis should move, but the televised stuff was just for the shocking moves.

[owenbrown]

Please tell me this was a work.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It'll be Mr. McMahon himself, just to cancel out on giving people money. I mean in storyline terms, as well. He'll be back to evil bastard Vince, and will win the ECW Title again.

Although, did anyone find it funny that Gabe wasn't around this week? It's almost like he knew the stage would collapse...

Sherlock Helms needs to debut and investigate this case acting independently from official authorities.

[HeartBreakMan2k]

115 (45 members & 70 guests)

Well, I say they accomplished what they wanted to.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It's a work. They're already using it to cancel Million Dollar Mania. If it were real, the WWE would have just reported the tragedy.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>I'm intrigued to see what they do with Tazz......he definitely seemed a lot more bitter tonight, bringing up the fact that ECW got hosed.</font>

[owenbrown]

I move Val Venis be banned. Who's with me?

[RGWhat316]

This was quite an episode. Some of the draft picks shocked me, some were fairly obvious. And who the hell knows what to think now with another possible Vince death angle. Apparently this is their new yearly tradition.

[Sepholio]

While the IWC obviously knows HHHs real name is Jean-Paul and that he goes by Paul, this is the only time I recall that he has been called by his real name on WWE programming. This led me to think that Vince botched his own 'accident' and really hurt himself. Also didn't see the usual logos before they cut the feed or after for that matter. Hell the cut was way sloppier than usual.

Conclusion.....Vince trying everything he can to make this look legit so he can save face on this garbage.

[KingofOldSchool]

I hope there is a supplemental draft, because there is a few loose ends that need to be solved.

Like ummmm...

ECW?

[Jeritron]

Are you people serious? You've been watching wrestling for longer than 5 minutes right? Some of you actually think this is legit?

[Legend Killer]

It'll be Mr. McMahon himself, just to cancel out on giving people money. I mean in storyline terms, as well. He'll be back to evil bastard Vince, and will win the ECW Title again.

Although, did anyone find it funny that Gabe wasn't around this week? It's almost like he knew the stage would collapse...

Sherlock Helms needs to debut and investigate this case acting independently from official authorities.

LOL

Stand Back, there's a Clue coming through!

[Xero]

While the IWC obviously knows HHHs real name is Jean-Paul and that he goes by Paul, this is the only time I recall that he has been called by his real name on WWE programming. This led me to think that Vince botched his own 'accident' and really hurt himself. Also didn't see the usual logos before they cut the feed or after for that matter. Hell the cut was way sloppier than usual.

Conclusion.....Vince trying everything he can to make this look legit so he can save face on this garbage.

Stephanie has called him Paul on TV, I'm pretty sure.

And please, if he got hurt he did it when he got down on the floor. That thing was a good two feet above him.

[Xero]

It'll be Mr. McMahon himself, just to cancel out on giving people money. I mean in storyline terms, as well. He'll be back to evil bastard Vince, and will win the ECW Title again.

Although, did anyone find it funny that Gabe wasn't around this week? It's almost like he knew the stage would collapse...

Sherlock Helms needs to debut and investigate this case acting independently from official authorities.

Oh shit, doesn't Cena's new movie involve him being a detective?

I think we're more likely to see Detective Cena.

[KingofOldSchool]

Here's the shocker of the night...for about 6 days Smackdown will have both World Titles.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Pretty interesting shake-up. I'm really interested in the aftermath. WWE.com could play a major part in that. Now that it is RAW's top title, the ECW Championship should be renamed the "RAW Championship," at least until it ends up back on ECW.

Theodore Long needs to make a statement on losing his World Champion, and what he plans to do about it. The US Title wasn't good enough to headline his show when they lost John Cena in 2005 -- is it good enough now?

If I were Joey Styles, I'd ask Jim Ross and Vince if I could run an angle where it would be reported that Jim Ross has given his notice to the WWE, unhappy he was drafted, and that he may not be on SmackDown! doing commentary.

How is Vickie Guerrero going to react to the US Title basically being a confirmed ECW title now? Is Big Show going to win the RAW Title from Kane, and make it the SmackDown! Title? Is SmackDown! big enough for three World Champions?

The WWE needs to voice those questions, if only to promote Night of Champions the week's television.

[Xero]

Here's the shocker of the night...for about 6 days Smackdown will have both World Titles.

And in about six days Super Cena will be back on top.

Oh joy.

(And yes, I do believe it'll be Cena going over Hunter and not Batista over Edge.)

[NeanderCarl]

If I were Joey Styles, I'd ask Jim Ross and Vince if I could run an angle where it would be reported that Jim Ross has given his notice to the WWE, unhappy he was drafted, and that he may not be on SmackDown! doing commentary.


Which would lead to what? Enough of the announcer angles already. They cannot be resolved in the ring, which is what the business is all about. It's just wasted TV time.

"JR's gone... again!" won't sell a single PPV, won't especially encourage very many people to watch SmackDown, and won't make a blind bit of difference when he's back behind the desk three weeks later.

Fuck it, they needed to take him and Lawler out of their comfort zones anyway.

[KingofOldSchool]

And in about six days Super Cena will be back on top.

Oh joy.

(And yes, I do believe it'll be Cena going over Hunter and not Batista over Edge.)

FACT: Hunter prefers the Big Gold Belt

[PorkSoda]

There will obviously be a supplemental draft because they do it ever year. Keyboard is mental, so obviously everyone goes insane.

Triple H will most likely still be on Raw. Remember when he got moved but still stayed on Raw a few years back? He pissed until he got his way-hay!

American Woman!

[Xero]

FACT: Hunter prefers the Big Gold Belt

FACT: Hunter prefers RAW

This creates quite the quandary.

[darkpower]

My personal thoughts:

- There were some major shakeups, alright. I was calling the entire HHH or HBK being moved being THE shocker, and it happened. HHH got the nod to move. Rey moving from SD was expected for me, but to RAW? ECW got ass-raped this time, I agree. Kennedy, for me, was a weird move last year, but they corrected this a year later (let him be face on SD). The Umaga move was expected (I actually liked the different name Adamle gave him instead of Bulldozer. It fits him a bit more now that they don't have him squashing every single person.)
- Also, was it me, or did every single commentator dog on Adamle the entire night? At least Adamle seemed to not mind it any (even played around with it a little bit. Did he say that he was being RIBBED left and right during that Umaga stuff? That's the first time I've heard ANYONE use THAT lingo on-air before).
- I like that Cole got promoted to RAW. Good for him. The guy deserves it, though I didn't expect the JR move. I was expecting more of an Adamle/Cole switch for some odd reason. Hearing JR on SD will feel VERY weird. Still, nice to have the WWE try this. And I'm very happy for Cole. He gets shitted on by the IWC too much when he does really well.
- I'm confused with this whole McMahon thing. Outside of writing off the Million Dollar stuff, what else was it supposed to accomplish?
- I don't know if anyone else caught it, but when the camera went to Triple H following us finding out about his drafting to SD, Cena was upset about something in the background, pulling on his RAW shirt. Not sure what that was about, but something tells me he was legit shocked at that. Maybe he was told he was going to SD and they changed it at the last minute (maybe he wanted to go to SD, too). I'm interested to find out what that was all about.

[Shaggy]

Im really psyched about smackdown now....dont care much for raw but now smackdown has become a better brand to me. And im really excited because im going to Smackdown ECW taping tomorrow night in Houston. Its gonna be the best live event ive been to since Mania.

[RP]

My personal thoughts:

- There were some major shakeups, alright. I was calling the entire HHH or HBK being moved being THE shocker, and it happened. HHH got the nod to move. Rey moving from SD was expected for me, but to RAW? ECW got ass-raped this time, I agree. Kennedy, for me, was a weird move last year, but they corrected this a year later (let him be face on SD). The Umaga move was expected (I actually liked the different name Adamle gave him instead of Bulldozer. It fits him a bit more now that they don't have him squashing every single person.)
- Also, was it me, or did every single commentator dog on Adamle the entire night? At least Adamle seemed to not mind it any (even played around with it a little bit. Did he say that he was being RIBBED left and right during that Umaga stuff? That's the first time I've heard ANYONE use THAT lingo on-air before).
- I like that Cole got promoted to RAW. Good for him. The guy deserves it, though I didn't expect the JR move. I was expecting more of an Adamle/Cole switch for some odd reason. Hearing JR on SD will feel VERY weird. Still, nice to have the WWE try this. And I'm very happy for Cole. He gets shitted on by the IWC too much when he does really well.
- I'm confused with this whole McMahon thing. Outside of writing off the Million Dollar stuff, what else was it supposed to accomplish?
- I don't know if anyone else caught it, but when the camera went to Triple H following us finding out about his drafting to SD, Cena was upset about something in the background, pulling on his RAW shirt. Not sure what that was about, but something tells me he was legit shocked at that. Maybe he was told he was going to SD and they changed it at the last minute (maybe he wanted to go to SD, too). I'm interested to find out what that was all about.


I think Cena was upset cause he didnt know if he was still getting his title shot.

[Dorkchop]

HHH to Smackdown? Are you fucking kidding me?

[Dorkchop]

HHH probably wants to hold down Edge

[The Optimist]

I'm pretty confused/excited. Alot of change has occured. I think the JR will be back on Raw within a few months, but other than that I have no idea what will happen. Not to say that I don't like Mick and JR as a team, in fact a friend and I were discussing how amazing that would be earlier, but JR didn't seem happy and Micheal Cole/King is not good television.


Also, I'd rather they retry the death angle than have a paralysis angle or whatever else this might mean. Magdalene said the ambulance should have blow up after the show, that's the best idea I've heard so far.

[darkpower]

I think Cena was upset cause he didnt know if he was still getting his title shot.

Then he would be the stupidest fuck ever to live because they said countless times that the NOC matches would go on as planned regardless of how the draft went.

And if it was in kayfabe, then the WWE must think that we all have THAT short of memories (then again, why do I actually expect the WWE to roll like that?).

[Zeeboe]

I move Val Venis be banned. Who's with me?

There's no need to ban me because I'm leaving. If you check my post history, you'll see I only show up around here every few months. This is the first time I've rattled the cages of the boys in years. I won't be a problem. I only posted on here tonight out of boredom. Now that the contest is over, I especially won't be posting. Not in the wrestling section anyway at the very least. I hate today's wrestling.

I'm going. Bye.

[Sepholio]

Holla:wave:

[Mercury Bullet]

To sum the whole show up, I liked the draft picks, didn't like the Vince angle, and I hope Melina wasn't seriously injured.

[The Optimist]

I will reserve my thoughts for a week to sum up if I like the transitions or not. The Melina spot looked pretty worked to me.

[Londoner]

I fell asleep after the first half hour, seems some crazy stuff happened.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

PWInsider is saying Melina has a legit ankle injury after the match, but not sure on the severity.

[Londoner]

Can anyone sum up what happened on raw? Ill rep you for it.

[Super V]

Tazz seemed to be really legit pissed off about ECW getting raped.

Yeah lol. His comments throughout were funny.

[Super V]

And Mike Adamle's sarcastic sounding "Well ECW is of course now much stronger with Matt Hardy" was great as well.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Which would lead to what? Enough of the announcer angles already. They cannot be resolved in the ring, which is what the business is all about. It's just wasted TV time.

"JR's gone... again!" won't sell a single PPV, won't especially encourage very many people to watch SmackDown, and won't make a blind bit of difference when he's back behind the desk three weeks later.

Fuck it, they needed to take him and Lawler out of their comfort zones anyway.

Yes, they did need to be taken out of their comfort zones. To be honest, I think it will either make both better, or will make Jerry Lawler so unbelievably bad that he needs to be released.

As for that angle I suggested, it plays off JR's attitude. It talks about why JR is as upset as he is that he was moved from RAW to SmackDown!. What does he have against the blue brand? Commentators are how people relate to the action, and having a grumpy commentator will effect that. The more in-depth the WWE goes with it (without giving it major TV time, of course), the more people sympathise or dislike JR for it. The commentators are a major part of the dynamic a show creates.

It won't be a ratings boost, or anything, but it creates a story for SmackDown!. "Who will be calling SmackDown! this week?" is a question that piques interest, much like "Who will Ted DiBiase's partner be at Night of Champions?" or "Who will be drafted next?" Real marks care about those sort of aspects of the show, and not looking after your commentators, referees, lower card talent and mid-card talent can effect people's level of attachment to the show.

[The Optimist]

Can anyone sum up what happened on raw? Ill rep you for it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_WWE_Draft

At the end while Vince is giving away fifty thousand dollars a bunch of stuff on the set explodes and a large sign falls on Vince. He's not dead, but yells "I can't feel my legs."

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm curious as to the direction ECW is heading. I'm actually convinced the WWE has a plan here.

[Londoner]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_WWE_Draft

At the end while Vince is giving away fifty thousand dollars a bunch of stuff on the set explodes and a large sign falls on Vince. He's not dead, but yells "I can't feel my legs."

wow what a crazy draft show i must watch the replay! lol@there even being a wiki page on this. :lol:

[NoRoolz]

Yeah, they tried to make it all look real by having Vince call HHH 'Paul'.

The way the whole thing happened though like the set falling apart was really cheap-looking and looked more fake than Cena's punches.

[Xero]

And even more fake when Cena couldn't pick the structure up by himself and FU it.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>My thoughts on each pick:

Rey Mysterio: Solid move...I definitely saw Rey moving although I had him ticketed for ECW. I'd love to see Jericho and Rey revisit their old WCW rivalry.

Jeff Hardy: Another good move...could work a program with Edge. He actually has a chance at shining on Smackdown.

CM Punk: Another guy I saw getting drafted, although I got the show wrong. Punk on Raw could be all kinds of awesome though.

Matt Hardy: The US Title on ECW could be interesting, and it'll stay on that show since Chavo and Matt are fighting over it at NoC, both on ECW. If the ECW title stays on for the long haul, I'm sure they'll either add a new belt to SD or bring one over.

JR/Cole: Good for Cole. He really deserved a promotion IMO. Hearing JR on Smackdown will also be very different, probably the first time he's called the blue show since the Alliance angle in 2001 before Tazz took over full-time.

Batista: Saw this one coming a mile off. I like it though because Bats badly needed to be freshened up. I'm sure his never-ending rematch clause will finally cease to exist on Raw.

Umaga: This one needed to be done. I think he'd fit better on ECW, but whatever. Hopefully they won't make him jobber to the stars on SD as well.

Kane: This one genuinely surprised me, didn't see it coming. I love Kane, but I fail to see how he won't get lost in the shuffle on Raw. I can see either Kane or Batista turning heel for a feud with one another.

Mr. Kennedy: Good to see them undo a move that never should have been made to begin with. And he already has an unresolved, custom-built feud with Edge ready to go. Kennedy seemed to be pointing at Edge when he got picked, reminding Edge of how he once screwed him over.

Triple H: I figured either Cena or HHH was moving...but my money was on Cena, because I was certain HHH didn't wanna work Tuesdays. This greatly helps Smackdown, although I do worry that Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy will stay as upper-midcarders, hence why they need a second singles title on that show.

--------

All in all, awesome job of shaking things up. I'm thinking the fact that ECW lost Punk and Kane...plus Tazz seemingly being furious about ECW getting hosed, helps plant the seeds for the eventual Raw merger. And the title situations intrigue me.</font>

[Innovator]

I must say that was the most I've ever enjoyed Khali...ever

[Loose Cannon]

I liked the CM switch, but I swear I see the guy on Raw all the time. I dunno. I hate Rey, but Vito brought up a good point of him and Jericho maybe feuding. It's going to be strange not having Ross around anymore. HHH gone is a plus for me. I don't know why Kane is moving to Raw. to be a jobber I guess. Didn't care to see Kennedy go. Batista is cool because I haven't seen him for a while and he can feud with Orton. Jeff leaving is no big deal. Not really a Jeff Hardy fan.

The one move I was dissapointed about was MVP not coming to Raw. Come on..

[Dorkchop]

I must say that was the most I've ever enjoyed Khali...ever

[ClockShot]

I'm pretty much in the same boat with Vito a few posts back.

Rather surprised that none of the Divas got switched around. We'll see what goes down on Night of Champions on the Smackdown side.

[Heyman]

You know what I find a little funny?

-I find it funny how Triple H semi-hugged Batista before the Inter-brand battle royale began....like they were best buddies or something. I mean - isn't Batista the guy that kicked Triple H's ass not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES back in 2005? (one of matches of which, took place at Wrestlemania). Why haven't these three ass-whippings "burned a hole" in Triple H?......like the ONE loss to John Cena did? (two years ago).

If Ultimate Warrior gets inducted into the hall of fame next year, can we expect Triple H to attack him with a sledge hammer? Warrior beat Triple H in less than 10 seconds if I recall correctly. Perhaps that is still "burning a hole" within Hunter?

[NYDon]

Warrior didn't beat anyone in less than 10 seconds. That was his last hurrah, he got embarrassed in WCW shortly thereafter. HHH had the last laugh.

[CSL]

Only just watching this now. Khali + Vince = :rofl:

[MrSpikeLee]

My first post before I get started, all though I have been checking out the tpww forums on a weekly basis...

After being a wrestling fan for almost 11 years, I've seen some awesome storylines and match's. The Raw draft this past Monday was awesome from a standard point of view.

I am glad JR moved from Raw to Smackdown because when Cole called Raw back I think was 1999 when they where planning on turning JR heel. Cole was a lot better at calling it to be honest. And I can see why they ditched good old JR to Smackdown because Smackdown need an extra hand at the moment.

But please for the love of god, I seriously hope they do not make another Cole and Jim Ross feud, because it only lasted a week or two last time because the fans still chanted for Jim Ross.

Anyway back to the draft, Triple H being drafted to Smackdown I can see why this happened because Smackdown need the ratings and in order to do that then they need to bring some good top selling guys in such as Umaga and Jeff Hardy etc. But why also move Matt to ECW if they wanted Smackdown to be a success then they should have kept the Hardy Boys together as a tag team.

And as for the ending of Raw, Well that is WWE for you, I would have to say it is Owen Hart coming back from beyond the gravy and causing mayhem. What next??? Vince Mcmahon highers Ghost Hunters to sort out the problem.

I can see where there going with this though, Does the "leg angle" remind you of the storyline beetween Kane and Undertaker and McMahon remember when Kane slammed the steel steps on McMahons legs back in 1998 which forced Vince to be wheel chair bound. Wonder if it will all be because of The Undertaker??. and we might see Taker vs Cena this year thank god.

Well that is my two cents on the draft.

If I am talking out of my ass forgive me, it's really late over here in the UK, and I've been up half the night ha ha. So sorry if I've talked alot.

Peace
LEE

[NeanderCarl]

I would have to say it is Owen Hart coming back from beyond the gravy

Is he bringing biscuits with him?