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My Thoughts On The 2011 WWE Draft

Well the 2011 WWE Draft is now complete, we have had a reshuffle of both Raw and Smackdown, and on paper, it looks like Smackdown got the better of the Draft. Right now I'm going to cast my views on all the Draftees.

Moved to Raw:

Rey Mysterio – surprised by this as I thought that it would be Cody going to Raw. This could be Rey's last big run as many think he's coming to the end of his career, the prospect of Rey vs. Miz and Rey vs. Morrison do appeal to me and could be very good matches, but ultimately I would've preferred Rey on Smackdown as most of the Cruiserweight wrestlers are there.

Big Show – Always seems like Big Show moves every Draft so no surprise this time, though it doesn't make any real sense as being one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, he is eligible on both brands along with Kane, so are they going to lose the belts soon?? Watch this space.

Alberto Del Rio – Very happy that Del Rio has moved, he has proven to be a sensation since his debut. Putting him on live TV was the next step as Raw is considered the main show, question is, will be be World Heavyweight Champion on Raw next week??

Jack Swagger – Expected this to happen to go with the Cole/Lawler/JR feud going on, but possibly after Sunday a Swagger face turn will happen as it would seem Raw is short of fan favourites at the minute. Swagger needs to be re-pushed again, he can wrestle with the best of them and there is some good potential on Raw, I'd like to see Swagger and Punk going at it.

JTG – Not expecting him to make an impact, just some different matches to feature on WWE Superstars I'm guessing, but if he was to go heel, could he and R-Truth be a good team??

Curt Hawkins – I like Curt's work on Superstars, has an attitude in the ring, but was never pushed, could this be the reformation of him and Zack Ryder?? I wouldn't say no.

Drew McIntyre – I thought Drew would move also, new show may work wonders for him, if he can be as intense as he was at the Elimination Chamber then he should be a top contender within the year I think.

Chris Masters – Masters isn't the same man who was in the WWE in his first run, Masters is a hell of a lot better in the ring now. He could be pushed as the main mid carder on the show waiting to get his chance, maybe just needs a few moves in his arsenal to go with the Masterlock.

Kofi Kingston – Did they move Kofi because Orton went to Smackdown and to avoid him getting yelled at by Orton?? Anyway's could Kofi be getting re-pushed?? Faces are in short supply on Raw, but will Kofi be going for the WWE title or the U.S./Intercontinental Title???

Tyler Reks – This I also expected, I would like to see Raw push Tyler, they could do promos the same way that WWE did for Ezekiel Jackson, just hopefully he will get a good push, put him and Masters in a match on Raw and they'll show you what they've been doing on WWE Superstars.

The WWE Divas

Does it really make much of a difference switching the Divas onto different shows when the Divas champion can go on both shows?? Disappointed that Beth Phoenix and Natalya are on different shows, that could've been an awesome match, and depending which show Kharma will be on, either one of them Divas will pose the big threat to her, would also like to see Tamina show her stuff in the ring too now away from Santino, she could pose a threat to the Divas title if used properly.

John Cena

When Cena was the first draftee of this year, I was totally shocked and surprised, then I thought it could be because Smackdown was always considered The Rock's show and The People's show, yet The Rock has only been appearing on Raw since his return, so what use would it be having Cena on Smackdown and Rock appearing on Raw? So with Cena getting re-drafted back to Raw really made the battle royal totally pointless and did kill the mood of Raw at the end of the show, however I do see him going at it with Alberto Del Rio sometime soon.

Moved to Smackdown

Randy Orton – Very surprised here as I thought this would be CM Punk's move, this virtually guarantees Orton as World Heavyweight Champion within a few months as he will be the main man on Smackdown. Maybe Raw was too big for him and John Cena??

Mark Henry – I didn't think much of this when I saw that Mark would be going to Smackdown, then fast forward to the Raw main event and you have instant heel turn! Mark has inserted himself into a possible World Heavyweight Title picture sooner rather than later it seems, I don't see it lasting too long though.

Sin Cara – No surprises here, live TV wasn't doing him any favours as he was making too many mistakes, possibly due to nerves or not used to performing in front of such big crowds, a recorded and edited show would benefit him so much. It's a shame that Rey went to Raw and that Evan Bourne didn't come to Smackdown, as we could have had a relaunched Cruiserweight division, but other draftees to Smackdown may balance this theory out.

Daniel Bryan – Much needed move for the American Dragon, Smackdown is a wrestling show whereas Raw was always filled with promos and not a lot of in ring action. Bryan gets his time to shine now and the chances of him becoming a major player in 2011 just got more realistic.

The Great Khali – Another one, much like Big Show, who is always seemingly moving on every WWE Draft, I really don't expect to see anything from Khali, he's very limited.

William Regal – An interesting move here, seemingly so Regal can commentate on NXT, but I would really like to see Regal get some more in ring action, with Smackdown being the wrestling show, Regal is one of the best in the business, and could provide a vital 'Role Model' affect on many of the young guys there.

Yoshi Tatsu – Hopefully Yoshi gets back to wrestling and forgets the Maryse factor, I can see Yoshi having real good matches with Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara so fingers crossed for Yoshi in 2011.

The Uso's – Well I'm surprised this team stuck together, does this mean a Tag Team Title push for The Uso's??? Tag Teams are a dying breed in WWE so are The Uso's wrestling on borrowed time?? We shall see.

Ted DiBiase – Finally away from Maryse, Ted needed to breakout and going to Smackdown will help him, however now you have all 3 members of Legacy back together, surely they wouldn't bring the faction together again?? Would they?? Would like to see Ted get more in ring time and push himself, he could easily be an Intercontinental Champion and with his bloodline, there's potential to be a major player in the future, I would say he just needs more personality and charisma.

Tyson Kidd – Another good move and good development for a guy who wasn't getting his chances on Raw thought if you watch Superstars, you will have seen his work with Daniel Bryan, it had people begging for a U.S. Title feud when Bryan was champion, but it never happened, now both on Smackdown, why not let it happen in a build up for a Intercontinental Title challenge.

Alex Riley – Time for the apprentice to fly solo it seems, one of the few success stories that has come from NXT, be interesting to see what he does on his own. I think that A-Ri has a lot of potential, he is very good on the mic and has a lot of charisma too, all the ingredients for a top quality superstar I would say.

Sheamus – The last, but certainly not least, Draftee of 2011 and a real good move for The Celtic Warrior. Sheamus has gone over as Unites States Champion, could this be vacated? But what if Del Rio wins the World Heavyweight Title at Extreme Rules and takes that to Raw? Will both major titles be on Raw and both mid card titles be on Smackdown?? Personally I don't think so, both shows will have a major and mid card title, it's just which title is left on Smackdown. If Sheamus is to vacate the U.S. Title, then he can, and should be pushed for the World Heavyweight Title.

Well they're my thoughts on all the 2011 WWE Draftees, now lets see if things get better on both Raw an Smackdown.

Future Endeavors - Draft

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If you have yet to watch Monday Night Raw or heard the news about hte WWE Draft, go check out what the guys at Future Endeavors thought who was going where, and also the thoughts on the Supplemental Draft, which will take place later this week.

WWE Draft 2011 Thoughts

Well It's that time of year where WWE decides to change things up on both Raw and Smackdown, yes it's the annual WWE Draft, in this next article, I'm going to give my thoughts on who I think should move brands and the reasons for this.

I have always wondered why it is that WWE announce the Draft when they have already booked matches for their next event, to me it just doesn't make sense, and sometimes can make the outcome of one of these booked matches somewhat predictable. I always think that the WWE Draft should take pace the night after a PPV because then you have the entire 4 week period to build up your next feuds, but that's just my opinion.

Both shows need a good balance, but it does seem that Raw is more promo based and has less actual wrestling and Smackdown is the opposite, though Raw is a live show and there can be some stars in the WWE that may not be their best on live TV, they may get nervous and obviously with it being live, it cannot be edited.

This upcoming Draft, I am hoping, will provide us with some well needed balance and something new, but not just a quick fix, something that can last for a long time, a chance to make new stars, to push the guys and girls on the brink on the top level. Here are the people I would like to, or expect to see Drafted.

CM Punk to Smackdown

CM Punk is arguably the best performer in the WWE at this moment, quite easily the most affective heel on the mic but whilst on Raw, besides Miz, there seems to be no getting past the superhero duo of John Cena and Randy Orton. Punk needed the win at WrestleMania to push him, yes his match was very good but getting beaten by Orton, and thus seemingly sending him further down the pecking order in line for the WWE Championship, by sending Punk to Smackdown almost guarantees Punk a title shot within 3 months, plus I can see him working well with a lot of the Smackdown roster.

Alberto Del Rio to Raw

This will depend on the outcome of the Extreme Rules main event ladder match, but if Del Rio is to lose, I think that he can go to Raw and still be a main contender, it would be interesting to see him up against the likes of Cena and Orton and whether WWE decide to put him over, over their two posterboys.

R-Truth to Smackdown

Before this was to happen, somewhere on Raw this week, we would have to have a Truth vs. Morrison match, WWE does not want to leave this laying and miss out on the chance of making a great impression with a heel R-Truth. I admit that i was one of the guys who questioned Truth's belonging in a WWE title match, it seems this was just a developmental ploy, but it's a move in the right direction, an instant heel, moving into a possible match/rivalry, if Truth does move and the heel turn is a success, then is there a reason for not maybe pushing him for the World title on Smackdown??

Big Show & Kane to Raw

These guys, on every Draft, always seem to switch shows, it's like WWE just never has anything for them., so it wont surprise me in the slightest to see these two guys BACK on Raw AGAIN.

Natalya to Smackdown

If WWE took their womens division seriously then how could Natalya or Beth Phoenix not be the champion?? These are the two most powerful women in the WWE and by having the wrestling “Divas” on Smackdown and the Barbie Doll Babes on Raw would be better, as I would prefer wrestling than anything else the Divas have to offer. Note for WWE, The Divas title is undisputed so the champion can go on both shows and now just stay on Raw

Layla to Raw

Just for the sheer fact of everything I said above and what also seems to be an expected break up of Lay-Cool, Michelle is a better wrestler than Layla so this is why I see this happening, in all truth, I wish WWE would let the women perform with due time, watch some of the Divas matches on WWE superstars, real good action, yet on Raw and Smackdown, these matches are lucky to last 5 minutes.

Sin Cara & Evan Bourne to Smackdown

I've put these guys in the same comment due tot hem being quite similar, they're high flying guys, yet when was the last time we saw Evan?? Imagine the matches that they could have and if you throw Rey to the mix then these can be very mouth watering, I personally would like to see the return of the Cruiserweight title to WWE, it could be made undisputed so the champion can appear on both brands but to get some high flying action once again in the WWE would be something we ain't had for many years and a very welcome return in my eyes.

Jack Swagger to Raw

Judging with the past couple weeks and possible developments at Extreme Rules, there could be a possible face turn for Swagger at Michael Cole's expense , but if Swagger does go to Raw, will he be main event level?? Highly unlikely, but Jack isn't doing much on Smackdown these days so could be a step in the right direction for him and maybe some in ring TV time which would be much needed for him.

The Draft has so many possibilities, but also there is the Supplemental Draft which takes place mid week after the main draft, so now, here are the guys/girls who may go to Smackdown in the Supplemental Draft:

Sheamus

Daniel Bryan

Gail Kim

Zack Ryder

Maryse

Tyson Kidd

And who I expect to go to Raw in the Supplemental Draft:

Wade Barrett

Tyler Reks

Drew McIntyre

We shall se next week what is in store for us all.

Future Endeavors - Living On The Edge

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This episode of Future Endeavors is in dedication to Adam 'Edge' Copeland. Also discussed are the weeks events in WWE, MMA & a small mention of TNA

Future Endeavors is one of the best, if not, the best Wrestling/MMA podcast out there, very independent and pulls no punches. Follow the presenters on Twitter @DXDONMEGA @CoreySantiago @FatManAfterDark and the show itself @FutureEndeavors

Future Endeavors will now be appearing weekly on The Atomic Hiptoss

Livin On The Edge 04/17 by FUTURE ENDEAVORS | Blog Talk Radio

Livin On The Edge 04/17 by FUTURE ENDEAVORS Blog Talk Radio

Reflecting On Adam Copeland AKA Edge

Monday night on Raw, Adam Copeland, known to us all as Edge, told us all that he is having to retire due to injury. As upsetting as this is for all us fans, and for Adam himself, least he can have his retirement as healthy as possible and he won't be in a wheelchair. Not many people come back from a broken neck, look as Darren Drozdov AKA Droz, who was injured in the ring in a match with D-Lo Brown when his Sky-High move went wrong on Droz and now Darren is paralysed from the neck down and has been since 1999, that could have been Edge.

I remember seeing Edge first debut on Raw against Jose from Los Boruiqua's I believe it was, his build up was different, a man just running through dark streets, pulling people out of phone boxes, screaming at people in cars, sitting on the floors of train stations, you didn't know what this man was going to do, yes when he came to WWE, he was quiet, never spoke a word, it was all part of the persona. Fast forward his career, The Brood, The Ministry Of Darkness, Edge & Christian, ECK, The Rated R Superstar, Rated RKO, The Ultimate Opportunist, he has lived a storied career, the most decorated WWE Superstar in history, winning more titles than anyone past and present. His record shows:

7 Time World Heavyweight Champion

4 Time WWE Champion

12 Time World Tag Team Champion

2 Time WWE Tag Team Champion

5 Time WWE Intercontinental Champion

1 Time WCW United States Champion

2001 King Of The Ring

2010 Royal Rumble Winner

2 Time “Mr Money In The Bank” (Though the second time he bead Ken Kennedy for the briefcase)

In a way, I feel like I watched his entire career before my eyes, through the good and bad times of what he did, he always excelled in the ring, as I'm writing this, I'm watching the “Decade of Decadence” DVD and at the moment its SummerSlam 2001 against Lance Storm, looking at the match listing, I remember all of them, he was a breath of fresh air when brought into the WWE, Shawn Michaels may have made the ladder match famous, but Edge, along with Christian, Hardyz and Dudleyz, redefined the ladder match and made tag team wrestling exciting, a lesson that WWE could well worth learn again today.

Thank you Adam Copeland, AKA Edge for everything over your career.

WrestleMania 28 Planning

Well we have had a very interesting week haven't we, it's unprecedented that the WrestleMania main event is announced 1 year in advance, but with the two competitors are John Cena and The Rock, these are the two men who defined the current era and the attitude era respectively. So is it a surprise that we're t have a one year build up?? Not really but I have y concerns that WWE can make this last one whole year before they actually go 1-on-1. Will Rock show up to Raw on regular occasions with his movie career growing and growing? And what for John Cena? After the beatdown from The Corre once they made the match, is this Cena to be going against Barrett again in the future??

The Cena/Rock main event for WrestleMania 28 should be one of the best matches in years, but will it live up to the hype? Could this eagerly anticipated match sink quicker than Goldberg/Lesnar from WrestleMania 20?? Granted them two was leaving WWE but if you're leaving, then go out with a bang, that match stunk like sour milk and I'm fearful that this match may be more shocking than electrifying, but hopefully that's just me being pessimistic.

WWE Tough Enough returned also last week (not to UK TV screens though, so it's YouTube for me). When the first series was aired 10 years ago, I loved it, an aspect of the business that I had never seen, it opened up my eyes to what a Professional Wrestler goes through daily to make a living. Fast forward 10 years to the current season and, to me, it is much better, mainly due to Stone Cold Steve Austin, he pulls no punches and takes no BS from anyone, but also credit to Bill DeMott, Booker T & Trish Stratus, Bill is an awesome trainer, yes he was involved in past Tough Enough's but he and Austin together just work so well together, Trish and Booker also providing these hopefuls with good advice in many areas of the wrestling business from character development to taking a bump/slam properly and how to sell it. Now in reference to the first eliminated competitor from Tough Enough, whose name I cannot remember, nor does it deserve remembering for what I'm going to say, if you say that your favourite match of ALL TIME, is Melina vs. Alicia Fox, then you ain't a wrestling fan and you just caught an episode of WWE Superstars last week. For the record my favourite women's match in the WWE is the 2002 Women's Title match at Survivor Series between Trish and Victoria, just for the sheer fact, it was the first time WWE let the women go Hardcore and they we're quite innovative, there are more likely many better women's matches, just this one stands out to me.

Rumours seem to say that Triple H vs. Undertaker for WrestleMania 28 with the streak vs. career stipulation being used once again, if this happens, this makes Hunter the most used opponent for Undertaker, I can't see them topping their match from WrestleMania 27, they left it all out there in the ring and both were drained, so can they do it again?? Yes why not but not at WrestleMania, a new opponent is needed for Undertaker in my view and I have an idea of how WWE could build this up from after the Royal Rumble. It could be done one of two ways:

1: There could be a King Of The Ring like 16 man or 8 man split evenly by both Raw and Smackdown and week by week the matches take place leading up to the Elimination Chamber event, where the final match would take place, once there is a winner crowned, the lights go off, Undertaker appears in the middle of the ring, gives his signature throat slash tot he winner, and then lights go off and he's gone.

2: There could be 6 qualifying matches, 3 on each show, with the winners advancing to Elimination Chamber, though after a competitor has qualified, some sort of Undertaker supernatural affect would happen around him. Each of the 6 competitors would have qualified to enter an Elimination Chamber match at the said event with the winner facing Undertaker at WrestleMania 28, The Elimination Chamber match proving to be the ultimate test of the will for a competitor who thinks he can end Undertaker's streak. Once there is a winner, there could be the same said Undertaker interaction as in scenario 1.

In the weeks leading to WrestleMania 28, there could be a lot of supernatural affects that resemble the build up to Undertaker vs. Kane at WrestleMania 20, thus making the opponent thinking “Do I really want to do this?” If this is done properly, then WWE could have a real good build up and something for fans to look forward too as well as Rock/Cena, it would be good if there was a new challenger to the streak, preferably someone who has not faced Undertaker at all (Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson come to mind) and if one of the above formats was used, then that person would be considered a worthy opponent and a threat to the Undertaker's undefeated streak.

WrestleMania 27 Thoughts

So WrestleMania is in the books, billed as the biggest in history and, as The Rock called it, the most memorable WrestleMania in history, well, if you're like myself and watched the event, I think you will strongly disagree with that statement. Now I don't like to bash or criticize WWE but there come times where you just have to say something, so here I go to vent my frustrations.

Rule number 1: always show what you have advertised!!!!

Now it wouldn't have been a main event match but surely the Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan U.S. Title match deserved to go onto the main card and not be bumped for the dark match, and even be turned into a battle royal that The Great Khali went on to win??? There is no logic in that and also, can the WWE be sued for false advertising on this??? I know that once fans had got wind of this on Twitter that there was uproar, but we, as fans, just deal with it and accept it now, but WWE should listen to their fans, they want us to “Stand up for WWE”??? Well how about the WWE stand up for their fans for once.

Rule number 2: squash matches that don't feature celebrities should never happen at WrestleMania!!!!

So, you're going to the ring to compete in your first WrestleMania match, part of a group that has been getting a huge push in the last few months, beating up everyone that comes along, including 2 of the biggest men in WWE history, and what happens?? You go get beat in under 5 minutes!!! Again bad booking from WWE, I have no problem them not putting The Corre over, if it was a standard match that lasted a good amount of time, but not in this instance, no one really got adequate ring time, and they has teased the confrontation between Big Show and Ezekiel Jackson for some time now, and we didn't get it again. I felt sorry for Kozlov getting bumped off the match for Kofi, but seeing the match pan out, would he have wanted to be involved in that???

Rule number 3: NEVER do a double count out in your WrestleMania main event

OK we know there was a reason for this, so The Rock can come out, restart the match and cost Cena the match, but there could have been a better way of doing this, when the ref gets knocked down, have The Rock come out and add himself as the new official, then both wrestlers have heat with the ref and arguing with him, THEN he can cost Cena the match by Rock Bottom, rolling in Mike Chioda and letting him count the 1-2-3 on Cena. Having it play out the way it did was pretty lame, but up until the double count out, it was a good match, Miz was looking good and credible as a champion and I hope he has a good long reign as WWE and the Raw side of things are losing, and not developing top contenders for the WWE title.

When in the hell does a World Heavyweight tite match begin most PPV's let alone WrestleMania, in my view a very poor choice as a show started because what was in between failed in comparison, Rey and Cody should have started, it was a solid match and a deserving Cody Rhodes got the win, hopefully he will move onto that next level and be a top contender for the World title, and hopefully he doesn't suffer 'Kofi Syndrome' where he seems to be on the brink of a huge push and suddenly the carpet is pulled from under him, sometimes I have no idea what the WWE bookers are thinking when they go over their cards, maybe they just want to screw the fans over and take our money.

Edge and Alberto Del Rio would have fit in nicely in the middle of the card, it was another solid match, in which there was a few high spots from Edge, turning back the clock, and we also finally got to see Alberto wear that robe that he had in the match card trailer videos in the build up for WrestleMania, for a guy performing in his very first match on the big stage of WrestleMania, Alberto did not look phased at all, he took it in his stride and looked very comfortable, Edge was also good, once again, wanting to have he best match of the night, as he always does when performing at WrestleMania, the addition of Christian and Brodus Clay at ringside, also made many of us think that a title change and possible screwjob by Christian to happen, but no, a clean title defence took place, something rare in these modern days of Pro Wrestling.

Orton and Punk was a very good match, second best of the night in my opinion, and I was surprised at how good Orton could be, he just doesn't seem to perform at that level most of the time, but that could be the opponents he faces, CM Punk, again in my view, is underrated by WWE, this man IS a top contender for the WWE title, and really needed this win to propel him up again to that level, but it was decided that SuperOrton was to go over in this match, no doubt making him the number 1 contender for Miz's title, so where will this leave Punk, he has no Nexus no more as Orton has buried that deep deep underground, so when it comes to Extreme Rules, who will Punk face?? There doesn't seem to be any possible angle's open for him to go into, so expect a rushed angle to take place, unless the WWE Draft takes place this month and then some major shake ups can take place.

I was really happy for Jerry Lawler to get his WrestleMania moment, but I'm sure deep down, he would have either wanted a better opponent or a better match, Lawler looked the part, looked in good shape, awesome new ring attire, but working with Michael Cole, nope I'm sorry it was awful, maybe if Lawler took on Swagger with the chance to get Cole alone for 5 minutes may have been a better option to take but this 'match' with them two was just awful, and that is the reasons that WWE should never book an announcers feud ever again.

The one crucial error that was made, and they've done it before and not learned from their mistakes, was not putting Undertaker/Triple H on last, because any match that went on after that, the crowd just wasn't into their match, Undertaker and Hunter showed everyone, not only in WWE, but also in all of Pro Wrestling that that is how you go out and tell a story and how ring psychology is used, they told an epic story, had an epic battle and was quite easily the best match of the night, and probably the year, the Hell's Gate submission hold was applied longer than the TNA Victory Road main event!!!. The one flaw that I would have with the match, is that both Hunter and Taker agreed for Taker to take a head shot with a chair, it made me cringe watching it, and looking at the very end of the match and after it, I think Undertaker was genuinly hurt and possibly concussed from that shot, and I don't want him going out that was, on a kart, going to a hospital and being told that your career is over, so I'm hoping Taker is healthy and good to go soon enough so he can go 20-0 at WrestleMania next year.

Overall, to me, WrestleMania was average to good, which hurts me to say, it should be the best show of the year, I'm hoping the draft takes place soon so we can change things up and hopefully some new feuds are created and make it more entertaining for us as fans to watch.

Here's how I would rank the matches:

1: Undertaker vs. Triple H

2: Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

3: Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio

4: Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio

5: John Cena vs. The Miz

6: The Corre vs. Kane/Big Show/Santino/Kofi

7: Dolph Ziggler/Lay-Cool vs. John Morrison/Trish Stratus/Snooki

8: Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler