Draft lottery hard to predict

If you’re looking for any insight as to what’s going to happen during the special three-hour RAW draft lottery special this Monday, you’re going to get very little since the draft lottery changes every year, so we don’t even know the rules yet, let alone who will be moving brands.
This will technically be the sixth WWE draft since the only true draft in 2002. The year 2002 was the year RAW and Smackdown split brands and the general managers of each came out and selected superstars. Since that time it’s been different every year. In 2004 each roster received six random superstars from the other show. In 2005, Cena and Batista switch brands and brought their respective world title belts with them along with a handful of mid-carders. In 2006 ECW was added to the mix and was allowed to pick from the pools of the other two brands in a limited supplemental-style draft. And, in 2007, the draft was determined by the results of inter-brand matches with the match winner’s brand getting a draft pick. Confused?
The only advice I can give you going into Monday night, aside from making sure you go to wwe.com and re-register for McMahon’s million bucks which he is going to give away one more time during the three-hour RAW, is that generally we see 10 to 12 picks happen during these drafts and then we have several mid-carders changed around during post-draft trades which usually continue weeks after the draft. The chances of seeing a 2002-style draft where the brands are totally re-distributed is between slim and none as, like I’ve said before, I see this as a draft aimed at beefing up the RAW roster like last year, since it is the A-show.
With that said, I believe we will see some major stars moving around. My gut feeling, and from what information I’ve been hearing, is that Umaga will go over to Smackdown. His recent clean losses to Jeff Hardy and John Cena on RAW seem to signal such a move as often high-carders will job to other contenders just before jumping brands. And, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Randy Orton heading over to Smackdown once he returns from his collarbone injury since the Age of Orton involved feuding with most of the present RAW roster.
On the opposite end, I look for WWE to pull the trigger and finally move Mr. Money in the Bank, C.M. Punk, to RAW. I think RAW will also get the Animal Batista, although I don’t know if my wish of getting Evolution back together will happen. Now, if these moves do happen, I look for another major face to move to Smackdown unless they turn Batista heel. Right now it would appear Jericho is being groomed as the top heel on RAW given his turn on HBK and his new alliance with Lance Cade. I don’t know where this turn leaves JBL since he and Y2J are mortal enemies, unless there are plans to send him back to Smackdown.
Now, for what all of you are wondering about ‘ the Undertaker. As far as I know he is not draftable so his change to RAW will come about some other way. I’m unsure if he will make a grand entrance Monday night or if he’s on another one of his extended vacations which he always used to take after the Royal Rumble years ago. But, if the rumors of the Undertaker’s move to RAW are true, this really leaves RAW babyface heavy. It’s one thing to scavenge the bones of the other shows to build up RAW, but another to overpopulate your RAW roster where main eventers don’t get their television time and have no one to feud with. Think about it, faces alone, ‘IF’ my calculations are right we could have main eventers Triple H, Cena, HBK, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, Batista, Undertaker and C.M. Punk. Meanwhile, the top RAW heels are about nonexistent aside from Jericho and JBL. It seems they relied too much on Orton for too long.
Meanwhile, we need to remember, while Smackdown and ECW are separate brands, they are being mixed as of late so being part of one is like being part of both given the fact they travel together and perform the same nights in the same arenas with Smackdown being taped and ECW generally being live. This means you can co-mingle heels and faces from one show to the other so there is no shortage like on RAW.
Oh well, there’s someone getting paid big bucks over at WWE to figure it out. Look for a couple of big moves and a lot of small ones Monday night if history is any indicator.