Conversations

[MyLeeCyrus]

I really wanted to hold onto him. He was a shining jewel in my crown, performing at the highest level week in, week out. There were times this past year when I was really struggling, and he carried me through it, sometimes single-handedly. Losing him is probably the biggest blow I've suffered in the history of a draft, and I don't think thats an exaggeration. But I can carry on. I've been hit by setbacks before, and I've always managed to recover. I will always be the pinnacle of this industry.

Oh please, you've got nothing to complain about. How many big-name stars have you taken from me? Don't get me wrong, I like the youngsters on my show; they've all got potential, they've all got ability and, above all, they've all got time on their side. Friday night is the future, baby! But that doesn't help me now.

It doesn't help you at all. You know as well as I do that once the up-and-comers have done their time on your show, I'm gonna come in and take them away from you. I can catapult them to levels of stardom that they could only dream about when they were on your show. You watch the current batch I've got. MVP, Matt Hardy, Brian Kendrick?

The Brian Kendrick, actually. You don't even care enough to know his full name?

Whatever, whatever... The point is, they're at the crux of their careers. Nobody is defined by what they do on your show; all that matters is what they do on my show. I am what matters in this company, thats why I get the draft picks, and you have to make do with whoever I don't want.

You don't get all the picks. I got the one that mattered.

Are you really going to try to claim that you won this draft?

I've got to do a lot more work to make myself credible, even though everyone knows I'll be far more exciting to watch. You've taken nearly everything; you've effectively secured the tag division for yourself, you've got all the established good guys and you've got all the championships! Right now, there's nothing to play for on SmackDown but pride.

Thats ridiculous. I've left you some good-guys.

I've got a charismatic enigma that might leave in a few months, a mexican luchadore without an ounce of world-title credibility and a deadman who will quite soon actually be a deadman, at least as far as the wrestling world is concerned.

Well you've got the InterContinental title...

Gosh, really? Thanks.

You think you two have problems? You took the most watchable superstars from my show, split them up, and gave me a couple of nothing players in return.

Shut up ECW, nobody cares about you. You're lucky we even let you have Kozlov and Helms.

What do you mean, we gave you Kozlov and Helms? I gave them Kozlov and Helms! You didn't give ECW anything!

Stop your whinging, you knew how this relationship worked.

I thought things were changing. After last year, it looked like you were actually ready to sacrifice some of your own greed to make me look better... For a while, I allowed myself to believe that you might actually care enough to listen to me when I warned you that packing your main event with established superstars was bad for you.

I tried to help you, but at the end of the day, you just can't compete with me. I'm the best there is, the best there was, and the best there...

You're a dick.

Do I have to tell you twice? I'm better than both of you.

If thats true, then why did he come to me?

What do you mean?

You know exactly what I mean. You've taken Triple H, you've taken Big Show, you've taken The Colons, Mr. Kennedy, Maryse... But you gave me something so much better.

One Superstar doesn't make a brand.

What are you talking about? You just said he carried you, sometimes single-handedly, through so much of last year.

You're taking it out of context.

No he isn't, thats exactly what you said.

Would you stay out of it? We're trying to have a grown-up conversation.

You guys never take me seriously.

To be fair... well, why would we?

Stop dodging the point. You've taken some huge superstars from me, but I've taken the best one of them all from you. I don't need big-name, established faces when I've got him. Your main event is a clusterf**k of easily-bruised egos; mine is a wealth of new opportunities.

Yours is nothing.

Mine is everything. You've got the star names, but I've got the key to the future. I don't care if you think I can't rely on one star; you're wrong. Punk, Morrison, Ziggler, Truth, Shelton... He can lift all of them above themselves. He can turn all of them into main-eventers.

You're deluded.

I'm right.

I've got everything. You both wish you were in my position.

In a year, I will be.

You will never be the A-Show, do you understand that? My name alone carries more weight than anything you've got. I am the gold standard, I am the man, I am...

Sparta?

Yes, I am Spart... No!

You know what you are? You're history. Nobody wants to see Triple H, Batista and John Cena trade the title between themselves. Nobody wants to see you bury the United States Championship like you buried the Intercontinental title. Nobody gives a crap about Matt Hardy as a heel without Jeff there.

I've got more than that.

Yes, you do. You've got an embarrassment of riches, but you don't know how to use it. What are you going to do with The Brian Kendrick? Or MVP? Or The Miz, Carlito, Kennedy, Regal, Kofi... Hell, even Goldust and Chavo have the potential to be main-eventers. But you won't do anything with them. You'll either turn them into jobbers for the bigger stars or you'll 'CM Punk' them; give them a push and then run away from it, leaving them in a worse position than they were before.

But I... I know how to use an opportunity. You can see it already; Dolph Ziggler was a million miles away from any sort of championship when he left Raw, now he's already a challenger for the U.S. Title. Morrison's last two matches have been absolute gold, and he's won them both. C.M. Punk and Kane are at the start of a feud that should elevate both their profiles by the end of it.

Even he has a better idea of how to book a show than you do.

You can't rely on big name after big name, old superstar after old superstar... That was what killed WCW, and thats whats killing you at the moment. There's no excitement in booking Triple H versus Randy Orton for the 20th time, Triple H versus Batista, Batista versus Randy Orton... Raw Is Evolution is not a tag-line that the people want to see. You need a balance, which you have, but you also need to know how to utilise it.

Why should I listen to either of you? I've been the pinnacle of sports entertainment for 15 years, I've achieved ratings that you two could only dream of.

And now you're living in the past.

Do you know what I think is incredible?

We don't care.

One pick makes the difference here. If Raw had held onto that man, SmackDown would be sat in a closet, crying his eyes out, wondering how the hell he was going to continue existing... Instead, with that one selection, the balance of the entire company has been shifted. I know I'm not much more than a glorified developmental territory, but you two have completely changed places in a lot of people's eyes. And its all thanks to him.

He's never been a credible Champion; nor has Edge. Neither of them has the ability to dominate a brand. You're crazy if you think that'll change.

Neither of them ever had the opportunity. How could they, when you've got Cena inspiring millions of children all over the world, Triple H and Batista trying so hard to look out for themselves and Vince McMahon's Randy Orton fetish ensuring that Legacy get more opportunities than anyone else?

Randy Orton deserves to be where he is.

Agreed, but not at the expense of the other top heels. There is room at the top for the three of them, but only if everyone is willing to share; and on your show, they aren't.

On your show, all anyone cares about is themselves.

On your show, there is no sense of unpredictability.

On my show, there is everything.

I can't believe you still think that. You really needed to keep him. I mean, you really needed to keep him. He can take any angle, no matter how doomed it seems, and turn it into the story of the year. He makes everything seem fresh; it doesn't matter if he's already feuded with someone, he's a whole new character now; he's reinvented himself into one of the greatest heels in the history of the business. In a year or two, we may well be calling him the single greatest heel ever. And you let him go, for what? Triple H? Well done.

Shut up. I'm untouchable. Raw is the greatest wrestling show in history. Raw is the flagship of the WWE. Raw is the longest-running weekly show in the history of cable television. Raw is entertainment at its very best.

You can say that all you want, but all those accolades, all those grand claims, they count for nothing; eventually, people will get tired of watching the same old fights, featuring the same old fighters. The glass ceiling is what killed WCW, and right now its killing you too.

Rubbish. Triple H, Batista, John Cena, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Big Show... These are huge names in this business.

They've all fought each other before. Your main event is completely stale, but you're so wrapped up in your own press that you can't see it; you're completely ensconced in your bubble. Its ridiculous for you to claim that you have the better show when its axiomatic to everyone else that you've shot yourself in the foot by being selfish.

Actions speak louder than words.

Yes, they do. But its too early to fully judge the actions, so all we have is words; and right now, I can say three words that mean so much more than all of your past accolades put together. Three words that show why I feel so confident about my future compared to yours. Three words which will shape the face of the WWE for the next year. Three words which mean SmackDown has gone from being a developmental league for the stars of the future to being the home for the new stars of today; a place where they can go from mid-card to World Champion without being squashed by greedy, power-hungry 'stars'.

And what would those words be?

SmackDown is Jericho.

[NightofDay]

Well this was different on the whole 'draft reactions' thing that always happens around that time of year. I'm assuming this is a scenario between the three GMs?

I guess this is a way around the whole '7 Things I hate about you'. Hopefully you bring it back because it's a very entertaining gimmick but you were being held back by the confines of a gimmick. But you should definitely do this kind of thing on occasion.

There were some grammatical errors though. For example, when you say "good-guys" you should mean "good guys". There is no hyphen in between. "InterContinental" should be spelled "Intercontinental". Sorry if that last bit bugs you but I'm really picky when it comes to championship names.

Good read, and I'm looking forward to your next one.

[Hustle]

I've got to admit.. I really liked this. A fresh take on a not-so-fresh topic? Brilliant.

You really copped a squat on Raw here, and while I don't think the Red Brand is anywhere near as bad as this column made it out to be, I do agree that Smackdown came out of the Draft smelling like a rose. Jericho will definitely shine on Friday nights.

Very nice job.

[James_A]

As a fan of Jericho I loved this. As I fan of the Draft that just went down, I loved this. Lol @ ECW being in pink font.

I love how SmackDown brought up the point that RAW's shot himself in the foot by selfishly wanting and taking all the big, established names. His main event is looks to be stale in a couple months and it would only get worse with one guy holding the belt for ages (bar Orton since he had his title reign cut short by a certain someone.) Meanwhile SmackDown's in a position where they can elevate multiple guys to the top. CM Punk is about to be on a show with only about two top faces who are going to take a part time schedule. The guy he's feuding with is in a better position for a title reign now more than ever. With HHH leaving and Jericho coming, it leaves SmackDown with the main event that's filled with talented young legs who can step up at any moment. ECW's picks weren't bad either as I think Hurricane Helms could become a top face for the brand if they book him correctly.

Anyway, enough of my own opinions aside, I thought you did a good job with this here column. Watch those little errors that NOD pointed out and you'll be silky smooth.

[Martin Riggs]

Sweet. good idea, good execution. I loved how ignorantly arrogant Raw was. It was great, like the dumb jock at highschool.

[Leonard]

These folks above me already said the most important stuff. I just wanted to chime in and say that this was a great idea, and was well executed. You know...watch the spelling/grammar stuff. Otherwise, great work, friend. Read you again soon.

--Leonard

[BeyondKnight]

First things first. Shrink down your sig banner. I hate have to scroll horizontally to be able to read a column.

That being said I was glad I did because this was quite an enjoyable column. Although the grammer didn't support it, it seemed that it was the personna of the shows themselves speaking which I enjoyed. Raw's voice did seem a little stunted. In the future, don't let the opinon you are trying to convey over-ride the narrative of the piece.

Keep up the good work,

~BK

[Mike]

Very entertaining read! Lots of humor while also getting your thoughts on the Draft across. The characters of each brand were great as well.

Keep it up, I'll be reading!