Well that was unexpected wasn’t it? I’m sure most of us knew that RAW needed freshening up a little bit, but when I heard the news that a draft (they called it a trade) was to take place, I felt sure that Smackdown was going to be ruined. At present, that show is awesome and so I was convinced that Vince would move their best stars onto RAW to get some kind of reaction in the ratings, but thankfully this hasn’t happened. So, as mentioned here, 15 superstars have changed brands, but what is in store for each one?

Firstly, let’s start with those who moved to RAW:

Evan Bourne: I was watching RAW live and just before he came out, I was saying “as long as it’s not Morrison, Bourne or Swagger, I’ll be ok with it.” Well it looks like my wish hardly came true huh? Evan Bourne is without a doubt someone fresh on RAW as the only guy I can think of with a style that is even remotely similar is Kofi Kingston, but I can’t help but think he isn’t ready for the big time. The guy was injured a while back and since then, his appearances on ECW have been somewhat sporadic, which hints to me that while an explanation for that could be the rotation system of stars on ECW, that perhaps Evan needed more time before moving to RAW in the next proper draft. As for the future, I’m hoping he becomes a serious competitor and doesn’t end up doing something silly with Hornswoggle just because they are both on the short side. A US title inclusion with this apparent Kofi and Big Show direction wouldn’t go amiss as I feel that Kofi vs. Big Show is going to happen at Night of Champions and having Kofi vs. Bourne for the majority of that match would make it much more entertaining. The primary wish will be for him to not get buried because of his size.

Jack Swagger: I’m a huge fan of Swagger and as I previously stated, this was one guy I had hoped they’d leave alone. While he’s one of the more capable newcomers on ECW, but I would have liked to see him stay in the ECW title picture for a little while longer, before moving to Smackdown in next year’s draft. As for his future on RAW….well, it seems as though something with Legacy may be in his future which is disappointing. I think he’s been put on RAW to be the eventual replacement for Ted DiBiase, though with Swagger not being 2nd/3rd generation, I fail to see the point as I thought that was a pre-requisite for being in Legacy. All I hope is that Swagger does not become Orton’s lackey as while I found Swagger’s little exit trick on RAW to be entertaining, especially given his facial reactions, I don’t want that to become a permanent thing as Swagger is the biggest thing that will ever come out of FCW and he has big potential.

Mark Henry: The newest main eventer and don’t we just love it (???). Not really sure what the motivation behind this move was if I’m honest. It would appear that Henry is turning face in this move which is something he’s not done since “Sexual Chocolate” I believe. I must admit to laughing a little when I saw him come out on RAW and I felt that Vince had lost the plot a little, but we’ll see where he takes this one. Henry obviously won’t be feuding for the title as that honour goes to HHH and Cena (surprise, surprise). In addition, Legacy appear to be busy with Edge/Jericho, I’d imagine, so that leaves Henry in a difficult spot. It’s anyone’s guess as to what he’ll do next. However, this move doesn’t bother me as long as we don’t see Henry competing too much.

Gail Kim: Hate this move a lot. Gail Kim in my eyes was the next Women’s Champion. Melina will have her inevitable rematch at NoC which she will of course lose, but that means that Smackdown would need an eventual face to defeat McCool, which would have been Gail Kim. However, now she moves over to RAW and has to face up to the reality that Mickie James will most likely defeat Maryse who has held the belt for what seems like forever. I don’t see a PPV match of a face diva vs. another face diva, so Kim will have to turn heel which seems a little pointless to me as she’s achieved nothing as a face. However, by the same respect, she hasn’t been given the opportunity to do so. As she’s come from TNA, she’ll probably be behind Kelly Kelly and Mickie James in the pecking order.

Alicia Fox: McCool loses her lackey as Alicia Fox rebounds to another brand. In the space of a year, she’s had so many moves that it’s hard to keep track at times. FCW > Smackdown > FCW > ECW > Smackdown > RAW all in about a year. Got to be honest, I’ve no idea what she’ll do on RAW and it’s not like RAW needed another heel diva, which Smackdown need desperately since they’ve got ONE! (Natalya excluded) Foolish diva moves.

RAW got some decent stars in this trade, though I question the logic involved in most of them, if not all. The only one I really don’t see a problem with is Mark Henry and even then, I don’t want him near the upper card. Vince is trying to bring in viewers, not bore them endlessly. Good job Vince (!)

Smackdown, which I’m sure will reveal some of the new guys in tonight’s tapings got the following guys:

Matt Hardy: Erm…why? This one has baffled me as he’s achieved nothing on RAW and is now moving back where we’ll no doubt see him get involved in the NoC match that will inevitably be Jeff vs. Punk again. I can’t help but feel they’ve done this to appeal to Jeff. By bringing his brother over to the same brand, this will possibly make Jeff happier and hopefully he will sign a new contract which can’t have long to go now as I believe his contract is into the final month. Anyway, Matt will probably get involved which may lead to another brother feud unless Matt turns face unexplainably. Alternatively, he was in the US title scene on RAW, so he could maybe have an IC feud with Rey who looks to be done with Jericho now (sadly). Who knows? It’s a strange move anyway.

Finlay: Finding it hard to care about this move also. I’ve stopped being a fan of Finlay for unknown reasons, so maybe this will give him a fresh start to win back over fans, though I feel that a heel turn may be in the works and this could give him a chance to feud with Morrison to give Morrison that experience of performing with such a talented veteran. I think this would be a good idea anyway as it is clear that WWE are pushing Morrison, but please WWE, get rid of the Hornswoggle music!

Hart Dynasty: See Bourne and Swagger for details on this one as I don’t feel these guys are ready. Tyson Kidd has been entertaining enough since his debut a few months ago, but Davey Hart Smith bores the crap out of me so much and so I wanted to see him stay on ECW to hone his skills a little more and learn how to put on an entertaining match as I haven’t bothered to sit through an entire match of his in a long time now. As for what they are going to do, well once again, I’m a little stumped. I would have thought an eventual shot at the tag titles, but they are held by heels and I don’t think live crowds would get too invested into Edge and Jericho vs. Hart Dynasty (vs. Legacy). Natalya is a heel diva, but when was the last time she competed? With McCool as heel champ, I don’t think Natalya will perform too often which is a shame as she’s the most talented diva on Smackdown now.

Smackdown did ok, but once again, I think their new stars were pointless moves. Hardy was pointless as it seems inevitable where he’s headed. Hart Dynasty aren’t ready and Finlay, I find hard to care about.

So at this stage, ECW have been slaughtered. They’ve lost Bourne, Swagger, Henry, Finlay and the Hart Dynasty. They got some poor returns and some decent returns. The first one being:

Shelton Benjamin: This leaves Charlie Haas in the lurch ever so slightly as I thought Haas was safe in that he had occasional tag team contests with Benjamin. I’d think Benjamin will replace Swagger as the main heel in the title scene and so it wouldn’t surprise me to see Dreamer vs. Benjamin at Night of Champions. This move isn’t too bad, but it must seem like a bad one for Benjamin himself who has only been out of ECW for a year. WWE have tried to desperately to get him to improve on the mic and it just isn’t happening, so the view here must be that WWE are sticking him back on ECW to carry on this poor attempt at improvement, where there are fewer viewers. The poor guy is talented and athletic but just cannot get over with crowds.

Goldust: Why? Unless Hornswoggle is following him, I don’t see the point in this one.

William Regal: Best move of this trade I feel. Those of you who read my column months ago about who I thought should move in the draft will know that I wanted this very move so that it could set up a British stable. Regal, the Burchills and Drew McIntyre (who will be called up very soon) will now hopefully set up a stable on ECW and could even be joined (at a push) by Sheamus O’Shaunessy, though I feel that he would be better placed on Smackdown with Finlay. I’m eagerly awaiting what they do with Regal and this is the one move that I’m glad about. There are a few moves that I’m intrigued about as to what they will do next, e.g. Bourne and Swagger, but this move is most intriguing to me considering my wish for this stable.

Brie and Nikki Bella: A few months after WWE enraged the fans by having one of these as the final supplemental draft pick, they are moving them again and I’m finding it hard to care about these. Is it me or is that my attitude for a lot of these moves? Kind of is an indication of the foolishness/pointlessness of some of these moves.

ECW have done ok out of this as at least half their new stars were sensible moves. As for ECW as a brand, they’ll now be supplemented by FCW guys.

My picks for FCW call-ups are as following: Eric Escobar, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus O’Shaunessy. I feel that those three guys are the most ready for the big time as the rest of FCW are possibly one of the worst feeder talent pools I’ve ever seen. The only other guy ready for the big time is Kaval (more commonly known as Low Ki/Senshi), but he’s got a long term injury at the moment.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this column. Any feedback as usual goes to alex@ifight365.com.

Alex Williams