Shaking Things Up

Well, things are heating up. Business is picking up. Whatever you want to say, things are getting interesting in the WWE. RAW has a new champ and a new Heavyweight belt, SmackDown! is finally becoming watchable, and JR and Mick Foley are learning to mesh.

Let's start with some changes on RAW. I predicted after the draft that RAW would end up with the World Heavyweight Championship, but I thought it would be through Batista winning it at Night of Champions. I was wrong, though I'm glad now I was. I think it's great that RAW now has 2 new champs in Kofi Kingston and CM Punk. Neither are long time WWE wrestlers, and it's good to see fresh faces getting big pushes. CM Punk looks pretty good with the World Heavyweight Championship, my favorite belt, by the way, and could be a great champ for RAW for some time to come. Punk showed on ECW that he can get a fan base, and on RAW, that fan base should swell. The only problem with him becoming champ is that he doesn't feel proven. He's fought guys like Edge and Chavo Guerrero, but he hasn't rumbled with other big names. His win over JBL even seems a bit off considering what happened. Luckily with SmackDown! on the rise, and a major matchup at this next pay per view, they have time to build Punk up. One thing that would be nice to see is the WWE letting off the Cena Throttle, though. Even though a match between JBL and Punk at the next PPV seems likely, and would probably be good, Cena suddenly has to fly into the picture. Now it seems likely that a Triple Threat is set for the Great American Bash. Which does make some sense, since then they'd have 2 main event vets in JBL and Cena in the ring to help Punk adjust to the new big time spotlight.

It's interesting, and in my opinion, a good thing, now that RAW seems to be highlighting some younger talent. While it'd be nice to see Chris Jericho as Champ, it's just as nice to see Kofi Kingston get his spotlight. I'd said when Kofi first won the belt that it didn't seem right, that they needed to get him some wins on RAW first, but I think it's better the way it turned out. He gets his name out there right away, and becomes the second ECW guy to take a RAW belt. The WWE can help Kingston out big time, and get some good feuds going in the IC division. While Kingston doesn't seem the type that would feud over anything, he can still do some amazing moves, and make a good match. He'd be a great one to add to the MITB WM25 match. The other new faces getting belts around their waist are Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. Both had fathers who had good careers in the WWE, and both are solid enough on the mic that they can be solid heels. What the WWE really needs to do though, is get them in a stable. If they could do something with JBL, Rhodes, DiBiase, and someone else, then you'd have a potentially great heel stable. They are connected through money, and are all great on the mic. You'd just need to add a Chuck Palumbo type, someone who's big and muscular, but not good on the mic, an enforcer. JBL, Rhodes, DiBiase, and Palumbo would be a solid stable, and could really help out the wrestlers involved, not to mention some faces on RAW.

Next up is SmackDown! The brand has really boosted its credibility through the draft, and is ready to move back to MyNetwork TV. Triple H had a mic segment with MVP this past Friday bashing Vickie and Edge. As I've said before, I haven't watched SmackDown! much, but last I saw, MVP is/was a heel. He seemed fairly facelike to me this past week. He was laughing with HHH and making jokes about Vickie, I'm just not sure if he's face or heel. It actually makes him more interesting. It'd be nice if he was both, if he were just doing anything he could to boost himself, whether it's helping a face or a heel. Anyway, good to see Kennedy get a US title shot. It's too bad news has come out that it's believe he won't move up the ladder, though I guess with past events in mind, he can stay in the mid card for a good 6 months to learn a little lesson. With Triple H, SmackDown! can do lots of new matchups. In fact, they have a monster matchup for the Great American Bash in a couple weeks. Triple H vs Edge for the WWE Championship. It was well set up too. They had Vickie make the match, to set up a big match for GAB, then later in the night she and Edge fight and it looks like they're splitting. While the stable they had didn't last too long and wasn't exactly strong, it did serve a purpose in developing some heat for Edge and Vickie from the fans. If Vickie and Edge split, it's hard to tell who will go face. One would assume Vickie would go face, but the fans love to hate her, so perhaps they'll both stay heel.

Jeff Hardy moving back to SmackDown! was a good move, as that gets a popular guy back on Friday nights, which should help viewership. Plus since ECW and SD! seem to interlock still in terms of 'talent sharing', it looks like we might see some Hardy Boyz re-appearances. John Morrison had a singles match against Hardy this past Friday, though his entrance looked fairly pathetic considering Jeff Hardy just sat in his corner the whole time and barely watched it, and looked rather bored. I think it's about time to switch the tag belts off Miz and Morrison. Miz, in my opinion, should just be released. People joke that the WWE has a reality TV star on their show, and he doesn't really do anything to better the program. It strikes me as funny that Carlito and Umaga got moved in hopes they'd get more spotlight, yet sine HHH and others moved too, they probably won't. At this point it would have been better for them to have stayed. Carlito really needs a stable, that's the only way I can think of now to get him some TV time.

Overall, the draft was a great thing. It really spread the talent between brands. RAW kept Randy Orton, a heel that is slipping from people's minds with his injury. He'll come back and be a main guy on RAW. They have faces in Rey Mysterio, Punk, Cena, Kane, and HBK. SmackDown! doesn't have as many main eventers, but still has some powerhouses. Guys who can definitely challenge right now for the WWE belt are Big Show, HHH, Edge, and Jeff Hardy. Other guys who can probably challenge any time for the WWE belt are Great Khali, Umaga, Big Daddy V, and even MVP and Mr. Kennedy can be bumped up.

With ECW on its last leg, the WWE is focusing on SmackDown! and RAW. This draft shows that they are focusing, and it's a good thing. It's time the WWE starts building both brands. The last, and main thing I think they need to do to boost SmackDown! is move it to Wednesdays. Nobody is around on Fridays to watch it. I think moving it to Wednesday would instantly give it at least a .2 rating boost, probably more. I know I'd see it more often, though here in AZ it shows at like 6pm anyway, so I usually miss it due to work.

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