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Other than the last five minutes, Raw was PPV-quality. The matches weren't necessarily "the best" and some of the decisions to draft certain individuals to other places seemed a bit odd, but I seriously sat through the entire three hours, wondering what was going to happen next.
I even thought JBL's constant mention of Torrie Wilson was kind of funny.
Kudos to WWE for mixing things up. Let's see where they go with this....
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WWE went too far with the storyline of Vince being mentally ill and then his limo exploding. In my opinion, it was very insensitive to those who have depression and other problems of that sort. The rest of the show was solid, the matches were good except for the Umaga/Balls match...we get it, he's a monster who almost no one except Lashley and Cena has been able to stop. Didn't much care for Moolah/Mae doing the "bark like a dog" bit, either. They're two elderly women and I don't think the majority of male fans wanna see that.
Jeremy Moses
Florence, Kentucky
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The draft proved once more how WWE feels about each brand if you look at it RAW gets Lashley, Booker, and Kennedy who become instant challengers and in the mean time another "monster" Snitsky for John Cena. ECW I think is going to be fine in terms of getting Benoit (notice I won't mention the Boogyman nor Little Boogey) because of what Benoit did for MVP he can do for talented guys like Burke, like Cor Von, and even for a CM Punk and who knows what happens to the ECW belt. Smackdown wasn't helped losing two top heels and getting Chris Masters, Torrie Wilson, Khali, and Ric Flair what can and do they add to that brand. Hopefully they clean up the rosters during Wednesday drafts because there are some mid card guys on all the rosters that can be moved and given fresh starts. The whole limo blowing up thing and Vince being "dead" is a horrible storyline but I see the bright side we wont see Vince on our TVs for a long long long time and I am all for that.
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They managed to make the lottery gimmick dull. In the past with the various GM's making picks it was almost like watching an NFL type draft. This year the computer generated concept reminded me of a Daily Show skit where they pull the lever of the God machine with various religions popping up then they do a bit on the one it landed on.
If you write for Smackdown you must be thrilled about the loss of Benoit and Booker and the addition of the dynamic Khali and Masters. Raw made out best as usual, but somebody please put a shirt on Snitsky or maybe even a mask. The guy bombed once and he is probably one reason WWE is dragging their feet on HDTV.
I flipped around during much of the show. They did have some good matches, but the more Vince I see the less I want to see. I tuned out before the big limo blast, I thought they had already done that one before. But if any group knows about blowing it is the current WWE creative staff that comes up with one stale idea after another.
Mike
Buford, Ga.
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I was excited for the draft what I got was...
"Boring."
"Lame."
"Stupid"
Michael Killion
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THOUGHTS ON THOSE DRAFTED
GREAT KHALI from Raw to SD: Terrible. Thank goodness Edge is a heel, so Khali can’t immediately go after the title. Of course, this is a guy who has moved brands before, so this had little impact whatsoever. But this is not good for Smackdown.
BOOGEYMAN from SD to ECW: Whatever. And this is probably the most “random†selection there’s ever been.
KING BOOKER from SD to RAW: Even worse for Smackdown, but good for him. A Cena vs. Booker feud should be a good thing.
CHRIS BENOIT from SD to ECW: At least I give them credit for having him referred to as an “ECW original.†He should be able to give a good shot in the arm to the in-ring product of WWE’s #3 brand, but like Booker, this is another blow to Smackdown.
TORRIE WILSON from RAW to SD: If JBL is really excited about this, he’s the only one. This woman hasn’t been exciting for a little over three years now, and the switch does little to improve the diva picture on Smackdown.
CHRIS MASTERS from RAW to SD: See the Great Khali.
LASHLEY from ECW to RAW: At least the ECW title is now vacant. Now a suggestion for Vengeance: Benoit vs. Punk for the title!
RIC FLAIR from RAW to SD: All I can say about this is that this is a long-needed change of scenery for Flair. But this benefits the midcard only.
SNITSKY from ECW to RAW: Is Heat still around?
KENNEDY from SD to RAW: What were they thinking? Now Kennedy can’t get revenge for Edge stealing his MITB shot. But then, maybe they’ll keep him heel and send him after Cena. That too would sell!
The main draft was a real dud, especially for Smackdown. And that’s a terrible thing, because now I am really convinced that Creative sees RAW as their only true top-tier show. Hope the supplemental draft makes thing better.
Ken Kibby, California
