Sorry I've been away for over a week. To be honest, the logic of the draft trades didn't really fire me up to give a damn, and as a result I didn't really have the interest to post anything.
I mean, let's look at the logic: you can't trade the champions, or you have to either strip them of their titles - which no one would be happy with - or just let the title scene get murkier.
You also can't break up the woman's division on RAW or the Cruiserweights on Smackdown!, or those divisions that are special to each brand are lost.
~ pause ~
The specific trades themselves were first a little letdown. 6 talents from each brand don't really shake things up much. The results themselves? Let me see:
RAW
1. Shelton Benjamin - He didn't really work well with RAW when he first debuted there. Hopefully now he'll get better treatment.
2. Nidia - This trade makes a lot of sense. Now that she's broken off from Jamie Noble, there isn't a lot for her to do on SD!... and unlike the other ladies there she actually knows how to wrestle. She'll make a better fit on RAW.
3. Rhyno - again, here's a talent who was floundering on SD!. Hopefully a new field of competition will help - or he'll quickly prove my dislike by floundering here too.
4. Tajiri - This to me was a shame. I think this Cruiserweight phenom could do more where he was.
5. Edge - Back soon from injury, he would have just been another babyface on the SD! roster. Now, as long as they don't just put him in another feud with his "brother" Christian, he could go far.
6. Paul Heyman - This was a major head-scratcher for me... but when I think about it, this provided a way to get him off-screen without an undeserved job to Stephanie McMahon. Besides, it made for good shock value.
On the Smackdown! side:
1. Rene Dupree - Unless they give him a more interesting gimmick, he'll be nothing more than a Jobber to the Stars.
2. Mark Jindrak - I have no idea what they'll do with him either. If Sean O'Haire is still on the payroll, they could recreate their old WCW tag team... otherwise I can't see what they'll do with him.
3. Triple H - Possibly the highest profile trade. I liked how Heyman kept teasing at his trade throughout the evening.
I don't know what they'll do with him, but at least he won't be stinking up RAW anymore!
4. Rob Van Dam - let's face it: he's way over with fans, but he's practically been buried in terms of advancement on RAW. His talent was always more aimed to the more athletic SD!.
5. Theodore Long - Another head-scratcher. Outside of skill on the mic, I can't really see what he'll bring.
6. Spike Dudley - He's a guy who's been floating aimlessly on RAW for a while now. He can fit better into the Cruiserweight division rather than being a RAW JTTS.
The end shmozz was the first time I've seen a concrete feel for inter-brand rivalry. I hope this is the beginning of some good inter-promotional feuding.
It still feels like overall RAW got the better deal. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Note: I've already seen the spoilers for SD! tonight. I'm just reacting to Monday as it was.
