It took me forever to figure out who Noble was. The camera never focused on him, and I didn't recognise the Punk-like arm tapings. Plus he was standing next to Dave Taylor, which doubly threw me.
Flair's certainly not a long-term answer to SmackDown's ME shortage, but I think people put too much emphasis on his age when discussing a main event push. He can still be carried to decent matches, he has TREMENDOUS goodwill with the crowd, and despite his sagging manboobs people see him as a credible world champion. Spending a coupla months noodling around with him and Edge as a title program is not a bad idea. The promos alone could carry it.
Now, Kennedy being drafted to Raw...that right there is grade-A silliness. He's guaranteed to be left waiting on either side of the alignment divide. HHH and Booker will take priority as top heels, and Shawn and Cena are immovable as top faces. The mind boggles on the thought process behind that one.
To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires, and lights, in a box.-Edward R. Murrow
Flair on Smackdown is a great move because Michael Hayes will push him for all the reasons he didn't like Benoit. Benoit getting away from Hayes is good; I think anyone going to ECW is a waste no matter what, but turning it into the Benoit TV Matches With Good And Mediocre Guys is probably a best case scenario. Kennedy to Raw on the surface is maybe the worst draft move ever. Why even do the angle with Edge? Kennedy should've just traded him the briefcase for a new dangling microphone if they're not going to fight about being screwed out of it.
Benoit -> ECW is kinda crappy, because now I may actually have to watch the show. The least they can do is move Noble over (with a push) to make it worth my while.
It took me forever to figure out who Noble was. The camera never focused on him, and I didn't recognise the Punk-like arm tapings. Plus he was standing next to Dave Taylor, which doubly threw me.
I was specifically looking for him, and was a bit disappointed when Vince didn't pass by him. Then Coach redirected him, and I caught him. But, yeah a weird grouping for him to be in: (somebody), Fink, Noble, Taylor, Brisco, Patterson.
It was all a setup so he could escape the humiliation of losing his title. We'll find out the limo was parked over a heating grate and he had a trap door installed. Might be a while that he's gone, still, but that's my guess.
The ending gives us at least a new direction for the on-air WWE as we no longer have the evil Mr. McMahon to bedevil the face champs. I do think it was overkill for him to go crazy and then get whacked. One or the other was sufficient. Still, his absence, opens the doors to a new authority angle. I'm intrigued until they screw it all up.
I liked the matches in general. Benoit/Lashley was great stuff and looked legit. I'm happy to see new folks on RAW as I don't watch too much SD or ECW. Benoit's movement to the latter makes complete sense following Angle's departure. But the Wednesday draft will determine just how good this exchange of folks really is.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
The only way this works for me is if Heyman bombed Vince.
I thought the draft picks were ok...nothing to big in my book. I actually think Benoit if used right can revive ECW on some level. I think Smackdown is the better written and paced show so I think elevating some guys like Hardy and using Flair in ME isn't a bad idea, while hopefully developing some more tag and crusier stories. (yeah right!)
Raw really is at the disadvantage becuase they did get some great talent in Booker and Kennedy but....they aren't going to know what to do with it.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoMatt Hardy and Finlay are Main Eventers by default now. How is that such a bad thing?
Not sure why anybody would assume this. The WWE seems reluctant to push either in the past, why would they start now? I don't think the loss of Booker, Benoit and Kennedy means they push Hardy and Finlay, it probably means they push Masters and Khali.
Kennedy on the other hand they have been pushing so I'm not sure why people think he's going to get lost in the shuffle. He's clearly a guy that the WWE wants to use and now he's on the A show, sounds like a good thing for Kennedy to me.
Originally posted by CajunManI also liked the "Press Your Luck" themed draft.
No Whammy no Whammy no Whammy STOP!! They could've picked a less annoying sound effect for the "random computer drawing", though ...
And it looks like two of Tommy Dreamer's predictions came true (picking up Benoit and dumping Snitsky) ... now if Shelton Benjamin and Johnny Nitro become ECW property after the supplemental draft, we just might have a show worth watching again.
Fabulous RAW. Best in a while. I'm hoping this goes the way of A-Team where we get awesome explosions each week and people with machine guns firing 700 rounds without hitting each other.
All that would be missing after that is some HLA. And maybe a five-assed monkey or two.
But weren't they pretty high on Carlito when he got drafted in 2005? Look where he is now. I mean, as someone else pointed out, where does Kennedy fit in on Raw? On Smackdown he had a ready made feud with Edge. On Raw, if he stays heel, he's below King Booker and he gets squashed by Cena. As a face, he's second to Cena until HHH returns and picks an alignment.
Cena can't be beat because he's some unholy genetic recombinate of superstars past. I mean, you might as well call him John "Realest of the Real, Sargent Rock - Cold - A - Mania" Cena.
Very typical performance of the WWE last night, take a winning forumula (the draft) and ruin it by turning it into some lame combination of an 80's game show and the Lotto. Not to mention combining it with Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night (a gimmick that could have been used on any other night).
The WWE wisely saw how popular pro drafts are these days. Hell, even MLB is airing their draft on ESPN -- but they screwed up the execution. Why not just have a regular draft with the leading honcho of each brand making the picks? What happened to assembling the entire rosters in the dressing rooms and having cameras back there to show them nervous with anticipation for their fate? Have a podium; have banners with "2007 WWE Draft"; -- in short, pay attention to the little things.
Having Mr. McMahon explode in his limousine is SO stupid and lame that it's actually smart and funny. However, they could have done this last week or next week or any other week. Why mess with the draft? It's a gimmick that if done simply, works well enough on its own.
I just realized that this is maybe the 5th time Benoit has switched shows since the brand split has been around.
He was drafted to Smackdown (1) in the original split (when Ric Flair was the Raw owner) in March of 2002. He never actually appeared on Smackdown, so maybe this one doesn't count. By the time he actually appeared on TV in June, Flair had already lost ownership of Raw, and they put Benoit on Raw (2) instead. Benoit appeared on Raw for June and July, then jumped to Smackdown! (3) in August. He was there until winning the Royal Rumble in January of 2004. Benoit came to Raw (4) to feud with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. He stayed there after winning the title at Wrestlemania 20. In June of 2005, Benoit got drafted back to Smackdown (5). He's been there ever since. But last night, he got moved to ECW (6).
And I can't believe that it's been 3 years since Booker has been on Raw.
Originally posted by HokienauticI'm going on record with a quote from the past:
Vince screwed Vince.
It was all a setup so he could escape the humiliation of losing his title. We'll find out the limo was parked over a heating grate and he had a trap door installed. Might be a while that he's gone, still, but that's my guess.
Also, the limo was parked on leaves with the engine running. That converter can grill steaks.
Originally posted by CajunManwhat are the odds on who did it?
Steph Shane Linda Coachman HBK HHH Bret Hart Hogan J.R. Russo Bischoff Ashley Cena Lashley Austin Rocky Foley Patterson/Brisco Flair Jeff Jarrett
That all I could think of right now, it has to be one of them
Paul London. He had that shit-eating grin on his face while Vince was walking out, and he once gave an interview saying that if he ever broke up with Kendrick, he'd blow Kendrick's house up.
Any push (as ridiculous as this would be) for London is okay with me.
I haven't watched RAW in a lonnnnnng time, but I checked this out to see old familiar faces like Ventura, Heenan, and Bret.
It was an ending straight out of the year 2000, and that's fine. But I actually enjoyed the "fight for a draft pick" gimmick they used through the night.