There is no way to truly know who is going to be traded in the WWE draft that will be taking place this year a week after WrestleMania 25 on a three-hour edition of Monday Night Raw. However, there is plenty of speculation going around and below is an update of everything that has been reported up to this point:
John Cena:
Cena is being promoted with numerous Smackdown superstars for a Raw show on May 4th in Buffalo, New York. This would obviously suggest that he won’t move to the Smackdown show and some others (listed below) could be moving to Raw. With MyNetwork TV moving primarily to reruns (with the exception of Smackdown), some reports have claimed that Raw could be packed with more top tier talent and Smackdown could be reduced somewhat to a definite B-show atmosphere. I would suspect that Cena is staying on Raw from everything we’ve seen and read at this point.
Edge:
Edge is one that is on that Buffalo card mentioned above, suggesting he could be brought to Raw. Again, due to the aforementioned reason and the fact that Edge wasn’t traded in either of the last two drafts, I could definitely see them switching him over to Raw. Vickie Guerrero would be a natural bonus as well, unless they want to split them apart finally with her staying put on Smackdown. I’m just not sure she’d have the same impact long-term like she does now without Edge.
Triple H:
Due to the fact they have a draft one week after WrestleMania 25 and because that event is the one show they can have plenty of inter-promotional matches, Triple H is still technically a Smackdown star, despite challenging Randy Orton on Raw to a WM match. I could see this being one feud that will continue after the big event and most sources expect them to trade Hunter back to Raw, regardless of whether he wins the title or not. Triple H is also being listed on the Raw Buffalo show.
Rey Mysterio, Jr.:
WrestlingObserver.com has reported that Michael Hayes wants Rey back on Smackdown and it makes sense. He hasn’t helped Raw much when it comes to the Hispanic demographic, but has definitely hurt Smackdown as that demographic has decreased since him leaving the show. He hasn’t gotten much momentum going on Raw and from what I’ve read, he’d prefer to be on Smackdown again.
Other Notable Possibilities:
Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy are both on the Buffalo show as well and although I don’t really buy into that type of thing because WWE can change their mind anytime they want – especially when the Internet leaks or expects something – none of the advertised cards mean much this far in advance. My personal opinion is that they won’t move both of them. Smackdown would be a great place for the two of them to advance their careers further as top talent on the roster.
Chris Jericho is being reported as a possible candidate to move over to Smackdown. If Cena stays on Raw and Triple H and Edge come over, there would definitely be a need for a top heel over there. Big Show and Kozlov (who could very well move in the draft) would be the main guys and I think they need more than that. Jericho is at the top of his game right now and Raw simply wouldn’t have room for him if both Orton and Edge were there.
On the ECW side of things, I could see Christian moving to Smackdown as well. I sincerely hope that don’t drag him down further by keeping him on ECW, even if they do give him the strap, which is really not much of an achievement and should be used to advance young, up-and-coming talent.
NOTE: Nick and myself will be posting up an audio tonight discussing WrestleMania 25 and the 2009 Draft much more in-depth, so make sure you keep an eye out for that here on the site.
Again, the people listed above are not at all confirmed and are simply names that have come up on various websites, including WrestleZone.com, as those that could potentially make a switch during this year’s draft.
