With most of their major stars gone and no other place to sign away new stars, WWE is now in the middle of going with a new plan for the future. They have moved most of their stars, marketable talent, and quality athletes to RAW, and hope to create extreme gimmicks on Smackdown. The plan is to take average wrestlers and stick them with gimmicks that hopefully turn them into stars (ala The Undertaker).
WWE is fully aware that they do not have many young guys left who can turn into the next Kurt Angle or Brock Lesnar, so now they are trying to make up for that. Vince McMahon also has always loved creating extreme gimmicks since it shows that he has more to do with making a star than the actual wrestler.
Rene Dupree (with his dog), Mordecai, “The New Millenium Narcicist” Mark Jindrak, the new John Bradshaw Layfield, and the dropped Hirohito, as well as additions to established gimmicks like Booker T’s voodoo pouch, are examples of this new direction.