Hello, Wrestling-Online fans, and Welcome to the Jumble! I apologize for not writing a column for a few weeks. Life sometimes gets in the way of even the best intentions.

So earlier this week we had the 2008 WWE Draft. Forgive me if I don’t sound too excited about it because I’m just not. Yes there were some interesting picks this year that should spawn some great new feuds, but overall I just wasn’t impressed with what happened. Why is that? Normally I love watching the Draft and wondering who’s going where. It’s the same element of surprise I feel while watching the “Royal Rumble” and wondering who’s coming to the ring next. So what made this year any different?

I think the problem for me lies with how close the Draft is to the next PPV, “Night Of Champions.” Every title is on the line at “NOC” so no matter who was drafted they would still face the same opponents at the PPV. That’s okay with me. I mean, that’s how it should be. Cena should still face Triple H, Big Show should still face Kane, et cetera. No problem there. (Well, okay, I have a problem with Mark Henry being drafted to ECW and put into the title match at “NOC” but I digress!)

Why even bother having the PPV now? The titles are going to change hands one way or another. Triple H may currently hold “Raw’s” Heavyweight belt but he’s been drafted to “SmackDown.” Obviously they’re not going to keep both Heavyweight belts on one show which means Hunter’s match against Cena must end one of two ways - either Cena wins and becomes the new champ or Trips wins but must be stripped of the title so that it goes back to “Raw.”

I could see Matt Hardy keeping the U.S. Title on ECW if ECW was going to continue touring with “SmackDown,” but I’ve read that they will start touring with “Raw” instead. “Raw” has the Intercontinental Title so what would they need the U.S. Title for? And if they were to keep the U.S. Title as an ECW championship, then what does that mean for “SmackDown?” They would be short a belt. Would they come up with some brand new title to replace that one or just leave it at a Heavyweight belt and the tag team belts?

And what does this mean for Kane? He’s a “Raw” superstar but he’s still the ECW Champion. If ECW starts touring with “Raw,” does that mean Kane will be appearing on both shows? I’m thinking he will have to give up the ECW Title but stranger things have happened!

Guess who WON’T be winning a title at “NOC” unless he’s stripped of it following the show? If you guessed Batista, you’re right! Batista has now been drafted to “Raw” so there’s no way he can take the “SmackDown” title with him if he were to beat Edge at the PPV. Doesn’t exactly seem fair to me.

Why didn’t WWE just wait and have the Draft AFTER the PPV? Keep the champions on their respective shows and choose picks from the remaining roster. That way the belts would stay put and there could still be potential new feuds in the works. Maybe even wait a week after “NOC” so that any re-matches could take place before the Draft. This way, people like Batista would really have a shot at winning a title and actually getting to keep it for more than a day or two. It would also make for a more interesting PPV since there wouldn’t be this feeling of “Well, even if he wins, he still loses.”

Continuing on with my Draft issues, can anyone please explain to me WHY Jim Ross was drafted to “SmackDown??” J.R. has been the voice of “Raw” for a very long time! I wouldn’t have been surprised if Jerry Lawler and Mick Foley had been switched since Lawler has commentated on “SD” before and would do as good a job there as he does on “Raw.” Even switching around the “SD” and ECW guys would’ve made more sense! Perhaps team up Michael Cole and Mike Adamle on ECW. I didn’t think much of Cole when he first started on WWE programming but he’s really grown into his role over the years and his experience could definitely benefit Adamle! Then they could put Tazz back with Adamle in the future and move Cole back to “SD.” That just makes more sense to me than moving J.R. around.

So what in the world happened at the end of the show? Vince gives away half a million dollars and suddenly the entire set starts collapsing. Very weird. Perhaps Linda, Shane, and Stephanie are sick of watching Vince give away THEIR money? Things that make you go hmmm.

There is another possibility, although I’m thinking if revenge is the motive for the set collapsing it would’ve been “SmackDown’s” set and not “Raw’s.” That possibility is the return of The Undertaker. He could’ve used his “otherworldly powers” to cause the set to collapse but I don’t think he would’ve done that to Vince since it was Vickie Guerrero who made the stipulation that he must leave WWE if he lost his match. However, Vickie has to clear things with Vince so it’s definitely a possibility that Taker is going to take out his frustrations on the boss who gave his okay to the stipulation in the first place. It would be a fun way to bring Taker back and Vince could easily say he’s lifting Taker’s ban from WWE so that Vince can force him into matches with wrestlers like his brother Kane who is also now a “Raw” superstar. It feels like it’s been forever since Taker was around (even though it’s obviously not been quite that long) so it’s time to bring back The Deadman one way or another!

Well, that’s going to do it for me this time! Take care, everyone, and I’ll see ya in The Jumble!

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