Supplemental Draft Thoughts & My FINAL Night of Champions Predictions (I Hope)
As expected, the WWE held its supplemental draft to reorganize the lower-card talent since Raw's Draft seemed to only involve the upper-card talent. My thoughts:
Mark Henry to ECW - He's already on ECW all the time since ECW & SD have that 'talent exchange' program. Once ECW and Raw start taping together I expect him to be a semi-regular fixture on Raw too. Not a big fan of Henry in the first place and now I'll probably get stuck watching him battle Raw's very top-heavy roster.
Jaime Noble to Raw - I am a bit of a fan of Jaime Noble so I am looking forward to this. Hopefully he won't get lost in the shuffle.
Trevor Murdoch to Smackdown - Whatever happened to the Murdoch/Cade feud? I'm not sure how far this singing gimmick is going to take him.
Big Daddy V to Smackdown - Prediction---Trips will squash him.
Deuce to Raw - I don't really care about Deuce very much at this point. An image makeover is in order here. The whole 50's gimmick worked as a tag team, but these types of gimmick for individual are stale.
D.H. Smith to Smackdown - I don't care. He won't be on T.V. there either just like he was never on Raw.
Hornswoggle & Finlay to ECW - These were actually 2 seperate and nonconsecutive picks. I suppose a fresh start is in order for these two, but it doesn't really make a difference to me where they are.
Super Crazy to ECW - Back to his roots I guess.
Kendrick to Smackdown - Has he even been on Raw in he past 3 months?
Striker to Raw - I find him entertaining so this is probably a good thing.
Maria to Smackdown - She was one of my favorite Divas and would have rather seen her stay on Raw
Shelton to Smackdown - This is a big surprise seeing as how I had heard that he was going to become a major player on ECW.
Carlito to Smackdown - I heard that Carlito was going to once again ask for his release and wouldn't be recinding it this time. Perhaps this is one of those instances where a wrestler gets traded and released. Perhaps he was sent to SD since he has been very outspoken about how Raw had too much backstage politics. I'm not sure if that will remain true with Trips now on SD too.
Layla to Raw - I liked her at first and then gradually I started to not really care anymore. She needs to improve her skills a bit and there are plenty of Divas on Raw to help her tweak her skills. A good move I'd say.
Kofi Kingston to Raw - I haven't really seen too much of him, but I've heard some good things. We'll wait and see how this turns out.
Ok, the first version of my predictions was a mess. I was trying to organize all of the draft details, the rumors, and all of the possible scenarios. Seeing as how the supplemental draft took place and that a whole slew of wrestlers have new brands I figured that I would just re-do the whole thing. Here goes.
ECW Championship: Kane (c) vs. The Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Dave Says: Wake me when this one is over. Big Show wins.
I Say: Yes, this is now a triple Threat. Since Kane is now Raw, Big Show is still Smackdown, and Henry is now ECW the logical pick is Henry, right? I'm going to stick with my original pick of Big Show. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that Henry is World Title material (as if Chavo was).
WWE Championship: Triple H (c) vs. John Cena
Dave Says: Y'know kids there was a time when a champion took on all comers. Now it's just the same two or three guys battling over and over and over... Trips wins. Snore.
I Say: I still think that Trips will somehow end up back on Raw, but let's assume for the time being that he will stay on SD. Smackdown needs a champion since Batista will probably win the World Title from Edge and take it with him to Raw. Trips retains the belt.
World Tag Team Championship: Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Ted DiBiase and TBA
Dave Says: The mysterious "J" has a great tendency to pick TBA and TBA always loses (he also always thinks TBA will be someone exciting and it never is) however in this case I'm picking Ted Jr. and TBA.
I Say: DiBiase has been rumored to have told some brat fan that his partner will be the 'Son of a Bulldog'. That obviously means D. H. Smith. He is now on SD so let's pretend that it won't be him. Perhaps the WWE has someone else in mind. Not that I think that DiBiase will become a major WWE star I can't imagine that him losing in his first WWE match could help his cause. DiBiase and TBA win.
WWE Diva's Championship: Natalya vs. TBA - This will be used to inaugurate the Diva's Championship by determining the first champion.
Dave Says: WTF??? I protest. I refuse to pick. If you want to count this as a loss fine. Here is where I make my stand.
I Say: I read the SD spoilers and it didn't seem like an opponent for Neidhart was announced so I am assuming that it's still TBA. The WWE either has no clue as to whom it will be, in which case look for Cherry, Michelle McCool, Maria, or some other SD diva to be plugged in, or they are planning a big surprise with a returning Trish or something like that (highly unlikely). My pick is Nattie. Yeah, I know that I picked TBA in my first set of pick, but I've had a change of heart.
World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) vs. Batista
Dave Says: I'm a die hard Edgehead and it broke my heart to see him switch brands. I pick Edge.
I Say: Raw needs a champion and Batista looks like he will be it. Edge's wedding to Vicki next month will be interrupted by 'Taker's return. I am assuming that 'Taker will go on to defeat him fairly quickly and I can't see them putting the title on him yet so Edge can't have the belt. Batista wins.
WWE United States Championship: Matt Hardy (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero
Dave Says: Ummmm, Matt Hardy I guess.
I Say: I agree Hardy will win.
WWE Tag Team Championship: John Morrison and The Miz (c) vs. Finlay and Hornswoggle
Dave Says: Miz & Morrison.
I Say: I can't see Finlay and Hornnie winning the titles as anything more than a novelty. I think that the will win though by DQ or something.
WWE Women's Championship: Mickie James (c) vs. Katie Lea Burchill
Dave Says: Wow. Two women I actually recognize. I don't think the WWE is going to give Burchill the title just yet. She seems kinda separated from the rest of the women. Mickie James keeps the title.
I Say: Yeah, Dave's right. It's too soon for Burchill to get the title. For that reason she'll probaly win. My pick is James. Here is a possible scenario. James loses to Katie Lea, gets traded to Smackdown and becomes the TBA in the Nattie Neidhart match. I'll stick with James though in this match.
Summary
Dave Says: Big Show, Trips, DiBiase & TBA, No Pick, Edge, Hardy, Miz & Morrison, & Micki James.
I picked: Big Show, Trips, DiBiase & TBA, Nattie, Batista, Hardy, Finlay & Hornswoggle, & Micki James.
NOTE: I am about 90% confident that the PPV will result in a World Title being on each show. That means that I will either get both of my World Championship matches right or they will both be wrong; there can't be a split.
I am also hearing rumors that Y2J's IC Title will be on the line at the PPV (perhaps replacing the SD Diva match). I would have to say that C.M. Punk cashes in his MiTB title shot. Yeah, I know that that would be a bit of a waste, but it wouldn't surprise me.
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