So, the 2011 WWE Draft kicked off on the April 25 edition of Monday Night Raw and continued the following day on WWE.com. There have been a lot of roster changes within the last 24 hours with a few shocks taking place in the process. 8 draft picks were made throughout Monday Night Raw while another 22 were made via WWE.com on the afternoon of April 26.
Below you will find the full list of the draft results as well as my opinion on how some of the roster changes may affect these superstars for better or worse.
- John Cena drafted to Smackdown
- Rey Mysterio drafted to Raw
- Randy Orton drafted to Smackdown
- Mark Henry drafted to Smackdown
- Sin Cara drafted to Smackdown
- Big Show drafted to Raw
- Alberto Del Rio drafted to Raw
- John Cena drafted to Raw
- Daniel Bryan drafted to Smackdown
- Jack Swagger drafted to Raw
- The Great Khali drafted to Smackdown
- Jimmy Uso drafted to Smackdown
- Kelly Kelly drafted to Raw
- JTG drafted to Raw
- Alicia Fox drafted to Smackdown
- William Regal drafted to Smackdown
- Yoshi Tatsu drafted to Smackdown
- Drew McIntyre Drafted to Raw
- Natalya drafted to Smackdown
- Curt Hawkins drafted to Raw
- Chris Masters drafted to Raw
- Jey Uso drafted to Smackdown
- Kofi Kingston drafted to Raw
- Ted DiBiase drafted to Smackdown
- Tyson Kidd drafted to Smackdown
- Tamina drafted to Smackdown
- Tyler Reks drafted to Raw
- Alex Riley drafted to Smackdown
- Beth Phoenix drafted to Raw
- Sheamus drafted to Smackdown
Firstly, for those that are not aware of this and may think that I have made a mistake by naming John Cena twice, I haven't messed up. John Cena really did get drafted to Smackdown and then back to Raw again during the show. Quite stupid really!
Since it was announced on the April 18 edition of Monday Night Raw that the annual draft would be taking place the following week I knew that some BIG changed were going to be made with some of the bigger superstars being moved around. I told my younger brother and a few friends that I thought that Randy Orton would definitely get drafted to fill the gap left by Edge. I also predicted that Alberto Del Rio would be drafted to Raw.
For me the biggest draft shocker was saved until last with Sheamus being drafted to Smackdown. This now means that Smackdown now have both the United States and Intercontinental Titles held by Sheamus and Wade Barrett respectively. I liked Sheamus on Raw but with some of Smackdown's other big players being drafted to Raw for example Big Show, Rey Mysterio & Kofi Kingston it was obvious that someone like Sheamus would have to go in the opposite direction. With Daniel Bryan also being drafted will his rivalry with Sheamus continue, or will Daniel Bryan turn his attention to former fellow NXT rookie Wade Barrett and the Intercontinental Championship?
Alex Riley being drafted to Smackdown is great news for his own career. He couldn't be in the shadow of The Miz forever so it was only a matter of time before he finally had the chance to show what he can do. He can stop carrying that briefcase around with him now too! I do expect fairly big things from Riley in the future, whether it involves forming a new tag team and going for the gold or staying solo and challenging for the Intercontinental or United States Title. Time will tell but he's definitely got talent. I still wouldn't be surprised if he gets involved in the WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules, maybe to save his buddy and now former employer The Miz one last time!
Could we now see a reunited tag team in Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase after the drafting of Ted? And who knows, if Orton was to turn heel again could we even see a Legacy reunion? I highly doubt it due to Orton now being the main face on Smackdown but it's there as an option in the future should Orton become a heel once again.
The Diva's have also been given a big shake up too. It will be interesting to see how and where Awesome Kong, sorry... KHARMA will fit in when she finally debuts!
I've seen some people writing on Twitter, Facebook etc that they think that Smackdown has benefited the most from the draft! I really don't see things that way at all.
What do you think? Are you happy with the draft results? Which show do you think has benefited the most? Post your replies, I'd love to know what other people think.
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog, I appreciate it!
Robert Evans
P.S Follow me on Twitter! @1RobertEvans
So, the WWE rolled into my hometown Birmingham, England on Saturday 16th April 2011 for the Wrestlemania Revenge Tour at the LG Arena with their flagship show RAW. I've been a huge fan for over twenty years so whenever the WWE are in town I always attend. I have been lucky enough to have had front row tickets on the last few occasions that the WWE have been here which makes the live experience even better. Once again I managed to get front row tickets this time around too.
Matches:
Santino Marella (w/Tamina), Vladimir Koslov & Evan Bourne Vs The Uso's & Tyson Kidd
Percy Watson Vs Primo
Brie Bella (w/Nikki Bella) Vs Eve Torres
Sin Cara Vs Alex Riley
Randy Orton Vs CM Punk
John Morrison Vs Dolph Ziggler
Sheamus Vs Daniel Bryan (w/Gail Kim)
The Miz Vs John Cena
RAW got underway with Santino Marella, Vladimir Koslov & Evan Bourne Vs The Uso's & Tyson Kidd in a match that was quite entertaining and got the event started nicely. Santino was great with his usual comedic actions and Evan Bourne was up to his usual high flying tricks. It was also good to see that Vladimir Koslov was back in action after being attacked by The Corre at WWE Fan Axxess in the build up to Wrestlemania 27.
The crowd were popping big for Santino and they were soon popping even bigger when he delivered the Cobra which was then followed up by Evan Bourne with his Airbourne finisher for the victory.
Next up was Percy Watson Vs Primo in what was a pretty pointless match to be honest. Primo attacked Watson from behind when he was on his way to the ring. Primo was in control of the match until Watson hit him with a Facebuster for the win.
It was now time for the WWE Divas Championship match between Brie Bella and Eve Torres. Nothing out of the ordinary here. A typical Divas match so to speak. The Bella Twins pulled their famous 'Twin Magic' which was enough to distract Eve and allow Brie to hit the Facebomb to retain the Divas Championship.
After the gorgeous Divas had vacated the ring it was time for someone that I had been really hoping to see LIVE, Sin Cara. He was up against The Miz's Vice President of Corporate Communications, Alex Riley.
The way Sin Cara enters the ring is amazing. He easily cleared the top rope without touching it. Some of the offence in his arsenal truly is amazing to watch, especially up close and in person like I was. Riley, who had his left leg taped up performed well. Once he is given a bigger chance to shine I honestly think that he's got the potential to become a big star in the company.
The crowd were loving Sin Cara and when Riley attemped a Powerbomb which Sin Cara reversed into a roll up pin to take the victory, Sin Cara got the ovation that his performance deserved.
Next on the agenda saw Randy Orton take on CM Punk. This match was probably the best match on the card. CM Punk is a fantastic heel and he played the crowd very well including pretending to high five kids at ringside which I thought was hilarious. When Randy was on his way to the ring, Punk was mocking his viper stance which again I found funny.
Ring announcer Justin Roberts asked the crowd to choose whether they wanted to see a street fight or a 2 out of 3 falls match. When it was decided that the match would be a street fight Punk grabbed the mic and said that Justin had planned it to happen. Anyway, the match got underway and they were fighting outside the ring right infront of where I was sitting and for a moment I thought that CM Punk was going to land on me when Orton had thrown him against the guard rail. Randy grabbed a chair out of the crowd and hit Punk with it. Once PUnk had started to recover he threw a soda at Orton. Whilst Randy was down Punk grabbed a mic and told the crowd that we should have chosen a 2 out of 3 falls match instead before smashing the mic across Orton's head. The action finally got back in the ring and after both superstars had taken turns to take control of the match including a few countered finisher attemps, Randy was able to hit Punk with an RKO to pick up the victory.
R-Truth & Melina came to the ring to host a dance contest. The winner of this contest would get the chance to go backstage. Truth picked four kids out of the crowd to get in the ring and dance. The crowd were surprisingly lively when this was happening.
It was now time for the intermission.
After the intermission John Morrison squared off against Dolph Ziggler, thankfully minus Vickie Guerrero. To be honest it was a fairly average match which ended when Morrison hit Ziggler with the Starship Pain.
Now it was time for Sheamus to put his United States Championship on the line in a match against Daniel Bryan. This was a decent match. Sheamus, as you would expect was in control. Bryan had a few chances to mount an offense but when Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick it was all over.
The time had come for the main event of the evening. The Miz was facing John Cena for the WWE Championship. I am a big fan of The Miz and he cut a great promo before the match started. Once the action was underway it didn't take long for Alex Riley to try and get involved. Riley was then banned from ringside. It was a decent match with both men on the offense. Cena then took control and when he locked in the STF Riley came running back to the ring just as The Miz was about to tap out. Cena then got up and nailed Miz with the Attitude Adjustment and went for the pin but Riley interfered again, this time hitting Cena with the briefcase which consequently caused the match to end via disqualification.
Riley continued to hit Cena with the briefcase before Sin Cara came to the ring to help Cena.
The anonymous RAW general manager then beeped in with a message to ring announcer Justin Roberts. The message was pretty obvious and said that the match would restart as a tag team match which meant The Miz & Alex Riley taking on John Cena & Sin Cara.
When the match started Miz and Riley took it in turns to punish Sin Cara before the tag to Cena was made to a huge crowd pop. Cena came in and took down both Miz and Riley. He then hit Riley with the Five Knuckle Shuffle whilst Sin Cara hit Miz with a Lionsault. Cena then dropped Riley with the Attitude Adjustment and picked up the win via pin fall.
It was a great event overall. It wasn't a sell out crowd which was unfortunate but I'd say that it was 90% - 95% full. The crowd were in good voice. The biggest pops were for Cena, Orton & Sin Cara. The most heat went to The Miz, CM Punk & Dolph Ziggler.
One thing that I was a little disappointed with was the fact that the last time the WWE were here for the RAW World Tour in November 2010, John Cena was against the The Miz. Now five months down the line it's the same match. This was also the case for the Santino match as in November 2010 it was Santino & Koslov Vs the Uso's.
I was also disappointed to hear that when the WWE come back in November 2011 it will be SMACKDOWN here instead of RAW. Obviously I'm looking forward to seeing SMACKDOWN but I'd much rather see RAW. Oh well, it looks like I'll also be making the trip to London to see RAW. Can't complain really! Bring on November!
Hello and welcome to my blog.
My name is Robert Evans and I'm a very opinionated person. Having this blog enables me to speak my mind and share it with the world.
I have many different interests that I will be blogging regularly about including Football (Soccer), Wrestling, MMA, Music, PS3 and Movies.
There will also be alot of random blog posts from myself because as I say, I'm very opinionated and I like to speak my mind for others to see!
That's all for now, I hope you enjoy reading my blog posts as much as I enjoy creating them. If you want to contact me about anything then please feel free to do so.
Thanks for checking my page
Robert Evans
