My Blog List

Could WWE be set for a new era?

A HOST of major moves on the annual WWE draft caught the eye this week.

Forget the silliness of John Cena's yo-yoing between brands, the real talking points were Rey Mysterio moving to Raw, Randy Orton jumping to Smackdown and a string of midcarders switching brands.
But for me two draft picks stood out among the crowd because of the impact their moves could cause in the make-up of the company.
The most eyecatching transfer of all was probably Alberto Del Rio leaving Smackdown, his home since he debuted in June last year, for Raw.
It was hardly a surprise as he has been pushed heavily in his short WWE career, and a move WWE's A-brand was heavily rumoured in the run-up to the draft.
But the last move of all could also be potentially significant.
Irish brawler Sheamus is the United States champion, and his switch to Friday nights means that he will join Intercontinental champ Wade Barrett, on Smackdown, leaving no 'secondary' title on the Raw brand at all.
After the draft, Extreme Rules, and The Rock's one-off cameo next week, WWE essentially will hit a reset button.
They need to find a big hook or two to keep us going through the summer, a big angle to define a new era for the company.
Is it possible that this major occurrence could be the unification of the company's major titles?
Del Rio has a world title match with Christian the PPV this Sunday. WWE may well give Christian his first major title and tip their hat to Edge in doing so.
But Del Rio is a golden child, hand picked for a major run by Vince McMahon. He is a Royal Rumble winner, and some speculate Edge was put over by the Mexican at Mania so that he could go out on a high.
Christian could win this Sunday, but that would mean a world title and two midcard belts all on Smackdown.
Should Del Rio win he'll head to Raw with the belt, putting both world championships on the same brand.
Now this has happened before, and WWE quickly found a way of re-maintaining the usual status.
But perhaps this time John Cena gets the best of Miz and John Morrison in their three-way cage match, earns his tenth world title and is subsequently paired with Del Rio.
It may not happen straight away — perhaps Summerslam may be a target destination — but a unification match could be on the cards.
WWE may well choose Del Rio to go over, claiming the undisputed title and bragging about his achievement a la Chris Jericho in 2001.
It is also not crazy to speculate that the Intercontinental and United States Championships could be unified too.
It would seem an odd choice to feature both titles on the same brand, watering down the concept of these formerly prestigious belts even further.
Marrying them up, while doing so also with world titles, would be a way of raising their value in the company.
Of course, we could be getting carried away and barking up the wrong tree.
But if, by the time Raw rolls around on Monday, Alberto Del Rio has some shiny gold to augment his bright white scarf, we could be about to experience a new era in WWE.

PUSH ... Alberto Del Rio
PUSH ... Alberto Del Rio

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...