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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/columnists/detore/s_186541.html

Draft draws good and bad reviews

By Rennie Detore

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Sunday, March 28, 2004 

Despite Vince McMahon's claims to the contrary, the would-be
monumental lottery draft barely registered a wide eye last Monday on
"Raw," despite several key roster moves that affords WWE the
opportunity to build new stars in the wake of the departures of
Goldberg and Brock Lesnar.

Two weeks ago, the day after "Wrestlemania XX," McMahon walked to the
"Raw" ring and proclaimed that a new WWE day was dawning. He promised
a major shakeup between his respective rosters, "Raw" and
"Smackdown."

Instead, non-wrestlers such as Teddy Long and Paul Heyman became focal
points during a two-hour draft broadcast that didn't deliver on
McMahon's self-professed hype. The matches during "Raw" served as a
pointless backdrop to an equally inane concept that could easily have
been hyped for "Sunday Night Heat" or saved for WWE.com

That said, the intrigue of the draft bolstered WWE's rating for "Raw"
to a 4.5, its highest Monday night mark in over a year. Unfortunately,
fans who watched walked away more than just a little disappointed,
simply because the highly touted draft showcased only one main-event
wrestler, Triple H, who was dealt to "Smackdown."

A Tuesday trade, sending Triple H back to "Raw" for Booker T and The
Dudley Boys, crippled the draft's credibility and made Monday's
lottery almost moot.

Furthermore, did fans really take notice or profusely rub their hands
in satisfaction when names such as Spike Dudley and Nidia were
prominently featured? Probably not; More like a collective groan.

The draft sprung into action because "Smackdown" simply didn't have
any heels remaining with the departure of Lesnar, and Kurt Angle's
future uncertain. Fortunately, Angle's neck injury won't force him
into early retirement, but WWE still will scale back his in-ring time,
which explains why he was made "Smackdown" general manager.

"Smackdown," with a part-time Angle and a heelish Booker T, has
partially filled the void left by Lesnar.

More important than Lesnar, the draft hand-picked Rene Dupree and
Shelton Benjamin as future stars, breaking them away from their
tag-team partners in order to establish a fresh wave of singles'
wrestlers.

WWE is extremely high on Dupree and Benjamin, who already is being
touted as a replacement for Lesnar, who ironically was Benjamin's
teammate on the University of Minnesota wrestling team. As for Dupree,
the company enjoys his charismatic persona and ability to cut strong
promos.

WWE quickly inserted Dupree into a program with U.S. champion John
Cena, perhaps as a test to see how the 20-year-old stacks up to the
slick-talking Cena.

Benjamin's partner, Charlie Haas, shouldn't be overlooked, either. 

Haas, too, will greatly benefit from the split of the "World's
Greatest Tag Team." Haas, a former collegiate standout at Seton Hall,
can begin his pursuit of singles' stardom on "Smackdown," while
Benjamin adds some much-needed mat wrestling to "Raw." Haas was
impressive in defeat during his "Smackdown" match with Rob Van Dam.

McMahon must have believed his "Where it All Begins ... Again" tagline
from "Wrestlemania XX," because Monday's draft clearly shows his
diligence toward creating new stars. Unfortunately, he portrayed his
roster-swapping concept as groundbreaking, when instead it felt more
like an idea bred out of necessity.

WWE announced last week a 24/7 wrestling channel, expected to be
available via video on demand through a subscription package. WWE
secured the rights to WCW and NWA television libraries when it
purchased WCW, and owns roughly 75,000 hours of footage, including its
own.

Rennie Detore's Pro Wrestling Insider appears Sundays in the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.


--- Internet Rex 2.29