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From Parts Unknown

FPU: Analysis On The WWE Draft 2007

Yo, it’s been a while! I won’t get into why I haven’t posted for a fair bit (nothing shocking or bad, hence why I’m not saying anything). Instead I will look at the recent draft and looking at if it benefits the wrestler and the respective brand.

#1 The Great Khali (to Smackdown)
Well what else was there for Khali to do on Raw? He served his purpose of making Cena the second coming of Hulk Hogan even more and he”s pretty much squashed everyone else beforehand.
Not that there”s much for him on Smackdown though. Edge is a heel and no one wants to see Edge vs Khali anytime soon let alone another Khali match! I doubt Khali would be effective as a face and pretty much everyone else is going to be squashed. Really the only match that would make sense at the moment would be getting into a feud with Batista. I”ll leave you to decide if that”s a bad thing or a very very bad thing?
#2 The Boogeyman (to ECW)
Gotta love this guy. Any gimmick that looks out of place in today”s wrestling world – hell even in the 90”s – and gets over is okay in my book.
ECW is a good move for the Boogyman since ECW has been the place for eccentric characters. And yes I am taking into consideration that the current ECW is WWE”s vision.
#3 King Booker with Queen Sharmell (to Raw)
Can you dig it sucka?! King Booker is a good edition to the main event scene on Raw you could tell watching last Monday”s Raw.
Potential feuds with Cena and HBK are potentially fantastic (we”re excluding HHH for a reason) and he could help Lashley up his game. I”ll miss him being on Smackdown due to JBL”s comments though.
#4 Chris Benoit (to ECW)
Hmmmmm”It”s really a case of while Smackdown benefited from Benoit, he wasn”t essential being there. Still, he could have had some cracking matches with Ric Flair and had a good mini feud with Edge.
Still in ECW he can help the younger stars become more elevated (and improve at the same time). Matches with Elijah Burke or CM Punk have MOTY potential (if they ever happen). Surprised WWE didn”t switch him to Raw though.
#5 Torrie Wilson (to Smackdown)
A fan of Torrie Wilson and you watch Smackdown? Well this will make you happy then. The rest of us couldn”t give a damn!
#6 Chris Masters (to Smackdown)
Well, WWE are so indecisive about this guy it”s hard to care. Smackdown doesn”t benefit from him as he doesn”t bring anything to the table that makes me excited and I don”t see him being any kind of champ (or rather a good one) until he improves and WWE don”t get cold feet (again). May go up against Batista or Ric Flair in the future.
#7 Bobby Lashley (to Raw)
Makes you wonder why he won back the ECW title only to be stripped of it weeks later. Anyway, I like Bobby Lashley as he”s got great potential and he”s getting over every week, but even I think he”s not ready for Raw yet or at least the main event level. He needs to vastly improve his mic work and needs to stop looking lost at times in the ring. Still he seems to be a man who”s undaunted with pressure so we”ll see if he can rise to the challenge.
#8 Ric Flair (to Smackdown)
Proof that Vince doesn”t care about Flair anymore or that he feels Smackdown needs some star power? In my opinion I think it”s the former. Ric Flair hasn”t been used that well recently, with the butchered Carlito vs Flair feud as evidence and I”ll assume he was moved to Smackdown just because they had nothing for him on Raw.
While I feel Flair shouldn”t wrestle anymore (and instead be a manager) he still has his uses and with the right person he can have a great match. A feud with Edge – done right – would be fun to see.
Don”t be surprised if Batista and Flair become Smackdown tag team champs.
#9 Snitsky (to Raw)
Watch as Snitsky gets lost in the shuffle and gets relegated to heat matches. WWE instead should have let him stay in ECW as that was a natural place for him. Nothing more to say to be honest.
#10 Mr Kennedy (to Raw)
Thank you WWE for scrapping a potential feud between Edge and Mr Kennedy. It was nicely set up as Mr Kennedy is miffed that Edge got the better of him and comes back for revenge. Following some great promos, a few stellar matches and maybe Kennedy beating Edge for the title could have made for some fun watching.
But in their quest to beef up Raw, they decided to take one of the hottest acts from Smackdown.
At least Mr Kennedy stays as a heel and is a fresh challenge for Cena. Even if he”s not pushed to the main event scene, he”s still damn valuable as an upper-midcarder. A tag team between Booker T and Kennedy sounds like a riot.
#11 and #12 Brian Kendrick and Paul London (to Raw)
While many may feel this move weakened the tag team division on Smackdown, many would argue Kendrick and London needed to move on. This also helps strengthen a solid tag team diversion on Raw and hell seeing Slice Bread #2 (best finisher name ever!) is always a bonus.
#13 Kenny Dykstra (to Smackdown)
Woot! Any chance to strengthen the cruiserweight diversion (no matter how much WWE overlooks it) is fine by me and while Dykstra still needs some fine tuning, the cruiserweight diversion is a great place to improve and plus, he”s shown great agility and cockiness to be a good cruiserweight. Still the WWE might not go that route which would be a shame. Also hope they make him stop wearing that cringe worthy roadkill scarf round his neck.
#14 Viscera (to ECW)
Speaking of roadkill, could big Vis be the next “Roadkill the Amish Chicken Killer”? Well I doubt it but in any case, this is another one of those drafts moves you just don”t really care about. If they happen to use Sexual Chocolate V2 effectively then it”s all good. But we”re not gonna be surprised if Big Vis ends up lost in the shuffle.
#15 The Sandman (to Raw)
Unless the Sandman is suddenly in WWE”s good graces (and unless I missed a rumour, I doubt that”s highly unlikely), I see Sandman”s use is just to be a glorified jobber, which he basically became in WWECW. Probably be put up against Snitsky just so Snitsky can build some momentum.
#16 Bob Holly (to Smackdown)

While I don”t like the guy, I do admit that before his injury, he did have some solid matches in ECW. So it”s a shame for both ECW and Bob Holly himself, to be moved to Smackdown. Maybe Holly will be put to good use and have some more solid matches, but I feel he was more at home in ECW.
#17 The Miz (to ECW)
Very good move and I”ll explain why. The Miz is someone you just have to hate (it”s the law in WWE) but credit to this guy he seems to just revel in it more then John Cena himself and in a weird way it makes you like him. So moving him to ECW will give him more heat and people will just want him to get his ass handed to him. Since him and Matt Striker have similar heat (love to hate them), they would make a good team but on his own, with his cocky stride and his crap eating grin, he”s a decent act on his own. Maybe I”m seeing more into him then I should, but – while I do find him annoying – he”s entertaining in a screwed up way.
#18 Daivari (to Raw)
And the point of this trade is? Unless Daivari has some feud with Santino Marella, claming that winning the intercontinental title off him would be justice for his people who suffered under the hands of Italians in the past (WWE never let complete bollocks get in the way of a good story), I just can”t quite see some use for Daivari on Raw, where as on Smackdown he could have at least lounged around with the Cruiserweights.
Unless they put him against Cena where he can declare that Cena is a the epitome of sin in his country, where people who wear flashy clothes, listen to hip-hop and do lame finishing moves get shot in his country?
#19 and #20 The Major Brothers (to Smackdown)
Not really seen much of these guys in action. But I”ve heard they are decent and they make up for the loss of Kendrick and London. So I”m happy.
#21 William Regal (to Raw)
I really do hope Santino Marella retains his title against Umaga and Regal is one of the reasons why. There”s a saying that goes “sometimes the preparation of the party is more fun then the party itself” and so while a match between Regal and Marella may not be all that exciting, the promos from Regal – who when it comes to insulting cultures is funny as hell with his smug “I”m superior then you” look – would be entertaining to watch. Regal may not add much star power to Raw, but he his able to entertain when used right.
#22 Victoria (to Smackdown)
Why send someone, who”s best used as a wrestler, to a place where the divas take part in potential wreslecrap nominee matches and contests? Maybe the WWE hope Victoria can help make the divas on Smackdown look better, but (and in no part is this Victoria”s fault) I just doubt this will be the case.
#23 Jillian Hall (to Raw)
In Victoria”s place we get this waste of space. Okay, she was decent as JBL”s manager, but now as she has this crappy Brooke Hogan impersonator gimmick that amounts to nothing, she”s not really useful in any brand and is pretty much another trade not to give a damn about.
#24 Eugene (to Smackdown)
Once upon a time, there was a special person who was funny. But then as we kept on seeing this special person and his persona, it got less funny each time until the point where we stopped caring. That is the case with Eugene who WWE still think Nick Dinsmore should be saddled with this gimmick. A move to Smackdown may help refresh this stale act and comments from JBL are bound to be funny. But if that is the case the benefits will only be short term.
#25 Johnny Nitro (to ECW)
He has the midcard ECW feel to him but it”s going to take WWE deciding to push him and use him wisely that will help Nitro avoid getting lost in the shuffle. Not exactly an ideal trade but who knows, Nitro may surprise us and end up being something good.
That concludes my look at the trade. While it wasn”t crap, it wasn”t all that good either, with some trades just making you scratch your head. Ah well we have to make do with what has happened and hope WWE make the best of it.
Just don”t hold your breath.