Coping with the current rosters after all the releases and possible arrivals...

[Somebody's Gotta Die]

Things have changed drastically in WWE after a large number of cutbacks and releases... For me, the releases that didn't make sense were the Dudleys, due to the lack of teams and their experience and contributons, and Charlie Haas, a huge prospect that was never once pushed into the U.S. title scene... Another one I didn't really like was Akio because he could have done something with Tajiri and he was a very solid worker... The likes of Matt Morgan, Shannon Moore, Mordecai, Spike, Maven, Kidman and the divas didn't bother me so much... None of them were going to get over big at any point and some weren't the best workers around... Most of them were drifting aimlessly in the company and I guess they would be better served elsewhere... Guys that weren't even used on TV like Gangrel and Marty Jannetty make sense too, I guess...

On RAW, the company is left with a strong main event scene...

For the faces, there is the temporary return of Hulk Hogan, the amazingly over WWE champion, John Cena, the massively talented upcomer, Shelton Benjamin, and Rob Van Dam, who has been really hot after his shoot promo at ECW One Night Stand... To add to that, they have two big guys who had big runs in the past, Big Show and Kane... Although both have been booked very oddly, they still possess the power to get a pop and to put over some other stars... Neither will regain the WWE or the World Championship in the future, in my opinion... The future looks like it is heading elsewhere...

For the heels, there is Triple H, who seems to be taking a break from TV, which is of course a very good thing... Next, there's the very over and very talented Shawn Michaels who can put on an awesome match, get a huge reaction and put over a star anytime he chooses... This is followed by yet another massive talent, Kurt Angle, the very best in the business for the last few years... This is followed by Chris Jericho, who seems to be getting a main event push, which I am really enjoying seeing; he truly deserves it... Then, we have Edge, who is the master of X-Pac heel heat and can put on a decent show and piss on the crowd, however he is no amazing wrestler since his injury... Finally, there's the very over and very entertaining Intercontinental Champion, Carlito... He seems to be getting a nice push and is a very good candidate for a midcard title... Fans respond to him instantly in any arena...

The tag-team division is pretty crushed at this point... The only teams right now are The Hurricane & Rosey, a useless team and a bad choice since Rosey should be released and Hurricane should wrestle in the CW division, followed by the Heart Throbs, who are actually pretty funny and I don't mind them at all... They seem to be able to work a decent match... It's time to create teams with what they have at this point... Tomko/Masters would be a candidate since Jindrak is gone and Tomko is drifting without any direction... Then I guess you can reform the Dupree/Suzuki team because the division is going nowhere and these guys haven't been released and can work a decent tag combo... Next, you can put Eugene/Tajiri together upon Eugene's return... Or you can reform Dinsmore (Eugene)/Conway from the OVW days... I wouldn't mind Rob Conway or Danny Basham getting decent singles pushes... Keep Venis around as a show filler and I guess you can scrap Viscera with someone because he equals ratings... Too bad they released Gangrel... I want to see Kerwin White get a good singles push... Chavo as IC champion rules, whether or not he is Kerwin White... Snitsky is pretty funny to have around and I want to see a team with Heidenreich in the future...

The IC consists mostly of high midcarders that aren't involved in the main event feud so I like to see guys like Carlito, Shelton, Chavo and Edge fighting for the title... The women's division is completely dead, which is a good thing, because women's wrestling peaked a while ago and it hasn't been cool or fun to watch for a very long time...

With guys like the Rock, Foley, Austin and Hogan making casual appearances, it gives the show a special feeling it's been missing and lots of talent is getting over...

On SMACKDOWN!, things are looking pretty good as well, surprisingly...

First of all, Brock Lesnar, who appears to be signing soon, needs to come to this show and capatalize on massive heat... He was very over and a very talented superstar and I am really excited that he is coming back... If Lesnar does indeed return, I can definitely see him as a face for a little while before turning heel after a few months and possibly clashing with Batista for the World Title at Summerslam...

Aside from Lesnar, SD!'s faces are highlighted by a credible World champion, Batista... Followed by the UnderTaker, a very over veteran that brings a lot to the table and gets a huge pop... Next we have Chris Benoit, who can carry any division for the time being and who can have awesome matches down the road... He deserves one more World title run before he ends his career... Next, we have Booker T, who should be prominently featured in the U.S. title division against the likes of William Regal or something for now... He's pretty much past his prime, but I still like seeing the guy go... Then we have the reliable Rey Mysterio, which speaks for itself...

For the heels, the highlight is the entertaining and proven JBL, who had a great run as champion and is actually one of the funniest people on the show... I wouldn't be surprised if this guy is bringing in the ratings... He has also surprisingly worked some many good matches over the last year... This is followed by the talented over upcomer, Randy Orton... His feud with Taker can culminate with something good... Next, we have Christian and Eddie Guerrero, who both deserve a World title run at any point, however they should at least be featured prominently because they put on consistent matches and awesome promos... Lastly, there is Muhammad Hassan, a very over newcomer who works a lot of heel heat... He is not the best in the ring, but he gets great heat and his matches are not bad at all...

The tag-team division at this point consists of MNM, a decent newcomer team that has nobody to wrestle, which is killing the credibility of the division... If Nova/Richards are kept as a team permanently, it would be a very good idea... Next, we have Big Vito who is coming in, so it would definitely be a good idea to feature him with Nunzio and this could be a decent tag-team contender... Next, you can put Mexicools together and let them contest the tag titles... Putting the titles on Hassan/Daivari in the future could also be a decent idea because teams are a necessity at this point... I want to see Doug Basham work as a singles wrestler, however I'm not too sure why Sylvain Grenier is still employed... You might as well team Holly/Heidenreich or Regal/Holly or Regal/Heidenreich if they are not going to use any of them in anything else... Regal deserves a push... Heidenreich is all right as a singles wrestler in these short little things, however his true partner is Snitsky... And Holly is a decent filler on Velocity, I think, much like Val Venis is a decent filler on Sunday Night Heat...

Hopefully, more teams like Roadkill/Doring and Mahoney/Rotten are brought to the company and tag-team wrestling is brought back soon...

People think the cruiserweight division was killed after the releases, however only Akio affected the division... Shannon Moore, Billy Kidman and Spike Dudley are hardly the best around and none of them were over at all at this point in their career... Kidman has had some phenominal matches, but he is clearly past his prime... Shannon Moore doesn't get any kind of reaction out of the crowd no matter what he does... And Spike is just pretty useless...

Right now, with Paul London, Nunzio, Funaki, Psicosis, Super Crazy and Juventud, something can be done in the division... S2H hardly counts... It is a shame that Hurricane and Tajiri are being misused on RAW, however, it's been a long time coming for this singles push for Chavo... I can see this trio of Mexicools blowing up down the road and possibly having a 3-way showdown for the title on PPV, which would definitely be an exciting cruiserweight match... When guys like CM Punk, Frankie Kazarian and Kid Kash are given more consideration, they can possibly add some rejuvination to the division... When his feud with Eddie is done, Rey should definitely return to his cruiserweight roots just to have a few matches with the likes of Crazy and Juvi because it would be a great show... Crazy vs. Rey =

By SummerSlam, WWE could have a huge card set up that will go over huge:

John Cena vs. Edge or Jericho - WWE Title
Batista vs. Lesnar - World Title
Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels - Legends Match
Randy Orton vs. UnderTaker - Grudge Match
Kurt Angle vs. Shelton - Grudge Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Carlito - IC Title
Rey Mysterio vs. Christian - US Title
Eddie vs. Benoit - just good watching

This is fully not considering well over half of the roster...

Things may not be as they seem, depending all on how WWE decides to deal with the situation after all the cutbacks...

[ddpBANG]

Thanks for writing a fucking book.

[Joey Slugs]

Amazing post. You really threw everything down and made a ton of sense out of all this fucking mess that we are watching right now.

[Joey Slugs]

Originally Posted by ddpBANG Thanks for writing a fucking book.

Come on. Don't be a dick.

[The Mackem]

They always seem to come out of these huge roster cuts that happen every now and then better that what you think at the time.

[Nark Order]

They'll continue te Eddie/Rey fued at least til Summerslam.

[Somebody's Gotta Die]

Originally Posted by deadlyheaven They'll continue te Eddie/Rey fued at least til Summerslam.

Will the feud really last another two PPV's considering that they've already engaged in 2 prior PPV outings?

[Face Heely]

Originally Posted by Somebody's Gotta Die Will the feud really last another two PPV's considering that they've already engaged in 2 prior PPV outings?

Eddie finally gets his win over Rey at GAB through his most underhanded tactic yet: blackmail. After the match (either at the PPV or on TV that week) he reveals the secret anyway. Rey struggles mentally with his demons while struggling physically with Eddie, in a role-reversal of the first part of their feud. Finally, Rey gets the feel-good, feud-ending win in a huge blow-off match at SS. There's a simple (and likely!) outline that'll get 'em through the summer.

[Somebody's Gotta Die]

Originally Posted by Face Heely Eddie finally gets his win over Rey at GAB through his most underhanded tactic yet: blackmail. After the match (either at the PPV or on TV that week) he reveals the secret anyway. Rey struggles mentally with his demons while struggling physically with Eddie, in a role-reversal of the first part of their feud. Finally, Rey gets the feel-good, feud-ending win in a huge blow-off match at SS. There's a simple (and likely!) outline that'll get 'em through the summer.

I'd like to see Eddie win the rubber match, though...

[Marcyo]

Edge in the IC title scene? I dunno... he's pretty much main event level right now...

[tucsonspeed6]

I haven't been paying too close attention to the news lately. How viable is this Brock deal anyway? If he is seriously coming over, I could see him having a pretty good match with Batista. It wouldn't be great, but it wouldn't be terrible either. Just as long as the WWE doesn't blow their wad and have a title match the minute he comes back. Sure, it'd boost ratings for a week or so, but bandaids don't fix broken bones, and Brock's surely got a lot of ring rust he'll have to work out.

As for Edge, I don't see him as Main Event right now. I think he'll cruise around the upper mid-card for a while. If Matt Hardy is seriously coming back, a feud between the two could generate more heat for Edge. Frankly, though...they haven't been doing anything original with him lately and I'm tired of defending him. He was interesting as a heel who didn't back down from a fight. He had a problem with Benoit and HBK and attacked both of them. Storyline-wise, he was probably on equal ability terms with the two. Now he's the typical WWE cowardly heel. Kane shows up and he runs out into the crowd....horse shit! Why not bring back the invasion while you're at it, WWE. Does it get Kane over as a face? Maybe a little. Not as much as if he were attacking somebody the crowd thought was his equal. Kane comes out looking like a bully and Edge comes out looking like he has no chance in hell of winning the title when the time comes. Great booking, WWE. [/Edge rant]

[Mr. Nerfect]

Great post, man.

Edge is about IC Title level. Right now, though, the WWE is seeming with talented heels, that are slightly more interesting than Edge is at the moment. The WWE needs to kill the Edge/Kane feud right now. Preferbly by having Edge cash in his MITB title shot, and beating Batista after he defens the title successfully against JBL at TGAB.

With Lesnar probably returning, you can set-up the perfect Lesnar vs. Beoit feud. With Chris Benoit likely winning the WWE United States Championship in the future, I can easily see that match being added to the Summerslam card for the title.

Shawn Michaels should go over Hogan at Summerslam, so he can enter a program with John Cena over the WWE Championship. Hopefully Jericho looks strong against Cena at Summerslam, so he can then enter a full-fledged heel program with someone like Shelton Benjamin. Angle should get some strong wins in coming weeks, and then put over someone like Shelton Benjamin at Summerslam.

I don't care what anyone thinks, Kane can still make money for the WWE, and with a book and movie on the way out, it makes sense to push the guy. The WWE has recaptured some of his heat, and if they get him away from Edge, he can be a top babyface on RAW. Have him feud with Triple H, Chris Jericho or Kurt Angle heading into Summerslam, where he picks up a win. Keep him undefeated in PPV singles matches this year, and have him shatter his record of most eliminations in the Royal Rumble next year. Hell, even have the guy win the match, and face a top heel at WrestleMania 22.

The IC Division seems a little strange to me at the moment. The WWE has run Carlito vs. Shelton dry, so now you basically have Val Venis and Tajiri as the only faces left. Maybe Eugene as well when he returns (I'd turn him heel and have him rejoin Rob Conway as The Lords of the Ring, though). Val Venis doesn't have much hope (unfortunately), so Tajiri seems like the only logical choice to push to IC level. Unless of course they keep RVD, The Big Show or even Kane at IC level, and even put the title on one of them.

The World Tag Team Division is in rubble. I'd personally have Edge & Gene Snitsky win the World Tag Team Championship in the near future. Maybe as early as next week. Snitsky can use a title run to get some more heat, and Edge is basically the fall-to guy if the tag division needs a boost. This would make it his 11th World Tag Team Championship run, and his 12th Tag Team title as a whole. Shortly after, have Edge go to SD! using his MITB contract, leaving Snitsky on his own to defend the World Tag Team Championship by himself. It might acually get Snitsky over as a threat again. Eventually have some face team beat Snitsky and take the belts, though, before moving Snitsky into the IC Division to feud with a face Champion. RVD vs. Gene Snitsky in a Hardcore Match for the IC Title would be pretty entertaining.

SD! is looking pretty good now, and I really like how they're stocking up on confirmed matches for The Great American Bash. For some reason, I see The Undertaker beating Muhammad Hassan at the PPV, though. Batista vs. The Undertaker would probably get the best out of both men, and 'Tista could use the title defense against The Deadman. I'm predicting Christian getting the US Title sometime before Summerslam. I can easily see him winning a #1 Contender's Match for the title against Booker T as The Bash, and then winning the title only 2 days into Chris Benoit's reign, maybe with help from a new Problem Solver.

I really like the idea of Edge going to SD! somehow. This can lead to Kane vs. Lita at Summerslam (it wouldn't be pretty, but at least it would end the feud), with Kane Tombstombing the defenseless Lita, putting her on the shelf until she is ready to return. Edge can actually gain some heat for leaving Lita for Kane, and if he won the World Heavyweight Championship from Batista with some help from Christian (have Edge help Christian win the US Title to seal the deal) and Randy Orton (who just doesn't like Batista) you can set up Edge for matches with his former partner Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, The Undertaker, Booker T & Batista. It also allows Edge to grow into his own seperate character, and it lets him have a chance at becomming top heel for SD!. If Edge doesn't seem credible as Champion, you can just have him off the title to Lesnar, Benoit, Batista or even Mysterio.

I'd personally like to see CM Punk and Doug Basham made into SD! heels as well. I don't kow why, but I can easily see these men getting over as top heels on the SmackDown! brand. If the WWE can use Danny Basham effectively on RAW, they should make the most out of it. I'd personally mark out for a Triple H vs. Danny Basham feud, with Basham going over.

Oh yeah. PUSH WILLIAM REGAL AND VAL VENIS!!!!!! These two are probably the most criminally under-used talents the WWE have available. At least give them an IC/US Title reign in the future.

[Ruien]

How you gonna say Maven can not get over? You people forget how much heat he got before the Royal Rumble.

[Somebody's Gotta Die]

Originally Posted by Ruien How you gonna say Maven can not get over? You people forget how much heat he got before the Royal Rumble.

In simple terms, Maven is a very generic wrestler...

In today's industry, generic wrestlers are viewed as "boring" and Maven wasn't even especially talented...

If a guy like Charlie Haas, who can work the stick if given a chance, is released, then Maven simply can't be what the company is looking for...