(Check back here throughout the night for the draft results, and come back later on in the week for supplemental draft results)

No draft picks in first half hour...

Kelly Kelly drafted to Smackdown (Michelle McCool and Layla defeat Eve and Maryse for pick)

Big Show drafted to Smackdown (CM Punk defeats Evan Bourne for pick)

John Morrison, R-Truth and Edge drafted to Raw (Ted DiBiase wins 10-Man Battle Royal for Team Raw)

Kofi Kingston drafted to Smackdown (Chris Jericho defeats Christian)

Christian drafted to Smackdown (Jack Swagger defeats John Morrison)

Chris Jericho drafted to Raw (Hornswoggle defeats Dolph Ziggler)

Draft concluded. Supplemental Draft moved to Tuesday noon...

Supplemental Draft Results:
MVP, Rosa Mendes, Hornswoggle, Chris Masters, Cody Rhodes and Chavo Guerrero drafted to Smackdown.

David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd, Natalya, Goldust, Ezekiel Jackson and The Great Khali drafted to Raw.

My first impression is that Raw is really stacked, and that I don't think WWE did any favors for Syfy like they did for My Network when they got Smackdown. (If you remember, that was the year Triple H was drafted to Smackdown.) I really thought Randy Orton or John Cena or both would end up on Smackdown to even things out. The positive thing is some guys who are very talented, but would have had very little chance of a heavyweight championship before, are going to get it now on Smackdown.

Share

Red Mask is now on Facebook! Become a fan for updates!

Former WWE Women's Champion and Divas Champion Mickie James and 5 other Superstars were released from their contracts with the WWE today. James, who debuted in the WWE in 2005, is a five-time Women's Champion, and is the second woman to hold both championships.

Even though James is also a former TNA employee, she may actually have something else on the back burner- a career in country music. Her album, Strangers and Angels, will be available on May 18. You can hear her song, "Are You With Me" on country radio stations now, or listen to a sample on her website.

Katie Lea Burchill, Shelton Benjamin, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J (Jesse) and Jimmy Wang Yang are the others who are no longer working with the WWE today. Benjamin is the biggest shock out of the remainder. He is a former Tag Team Champion (with Charlie Haas) and former Intercontinental Champion. I have no doubt that if he wishes to join TNA, he will do pretty well.

Share

Red Mask is now on Facebook! Become a fan for updates!

Flights are canceled all over Europe because of a cloud of volcanic ash which is no where near lightening up. Unfortunately, Europe is where many of our WWE Superstars are right now, and they are due to be back in the states- the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ, in fact- for Monday's Raw.

WWE spokesman Kevin Hennessy told the Associated Press that he wasn't certain if everyone would be back in time for Raw. The Superstars and crew usually "fly commercial, but we are booking a charter just to be safe."

A couple of European shows were postponed until November, while others gave the Superstars and crew an adventure- they traveled for almost 17 hours in buses and ferries to get from France to Ireland!

Thanks to Twitter reports, we know The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Eve Torres, Maryse and Evan Bourne were among those taking the complete tour of Europe...

Share

Red Mask is now on Facebook! Become a fan for updates!

Starting Oct. 1, SmackDown will have a new home- the Syfy network. As a result of this move, NXT will be leaving the network, but there is no mention of whether NXT will live on somewhere else.

The estimated $30 million deal was announced Tuesday. The deal strengthens WWE's relationship with NBC Universal, which owns both Syfy and USA, Raw's channel. According to the LA Times, WWE would like to start their own network in 2011, and it looks likely that they may be partnering with NBC Universal on that, too.

“With this move, WWE is thrilled to be expanding its long-standing relationship with the NBC Universal family,” said WWE Chairman/CEO Vince McMahon.

According to the WWE, SD averages more than 3.4 million viewers a week and is the most watched TV program on Friday nights among males under 55. It beats all Friday prime time programming on ABC, NBC, FOX and CW among men 18-34.

But, Syfy? Well, to the Syfy people (and specifically, their FAQs), their channel isn't just about science fiction programming, but "imagination-based entertainment." Syfy is moving its regular Friday night programs to Tuesday nights, hence the departure for NXT.

“WWE is the ultimate in imagination-based sports entertainment," explained Dave Howe, President of Syfy. "The fantastical thrills of Friday Night SmackDown provide an ideal addition to the Syfy slate, as it targets the younger male and female demographics, which are the fastest growing categories for WWE.”

This move should make the draft in a weekand a half much more interesting to see who they bring to SmackDown to help draw viewers to the new channel in the fall.

Unfortunately, the problem with this move is if you don't have a cable package which includes Syfy, you're not going to be watching SD any longer. And, unless NXT is actually moved to a network station, there will be people who will not be able to watch any WWE programming until the next Saturday Night Main Event special.

Share

Red Mask is now on Facebook! Become a fan for updates!

What happens when you realize you really can't win the "war" just yet? You change your time slot. After one week at a special hour-earlier time slot, TNA announced today they would make it a permanent change for iMPACT!. This time slot gives them an hour to get viewers in before Raw, and hopefully keep them there during Raw's first hour.

Another TNA question, this one directed to Velvet Sky: If you have a contract for any match, and your biggest enemy is now the Knockouts Champion, what kind of match do you propose? A "Leather and Lace Match" you say? How about a CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH! I think even Lacey could figure that one out...

And now, to the WWE: Why would you make Jack Swagger the new World Heavyweight Champion and have him lose to Randy Orton (in a non-title match) in his next televised appearance? When he won the Money in Bank Match, I thought he would be a credible champion, and and by having him lose right away, he loses credibility. He is also Mr. Perfect-esque to me. By having him lose like that hurts his character. Now, I don't think he should win every match, but I think he should have won this one.

David Otunga, why would you blow a chance at the Tag Team Titles? Your Pro, R Truth, lost to the Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania. Wouldn't it have been great for your story to rub it in his face that won what he couldn't?

(By the way, those most likely not to get a WWE contract are Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield. All three were at the bottom of both the Pro's poll and the WWE.com poll. After the next Pro's poll, somebody is going home, or, back to FCW, I guess.)

My last question goes to you: If you haven't been to an NWS show, why haven't you? All seats are great, it's a friendly atmosphere and the shows are pretty awesome. Where else can you see Balls Mahoney, The Iron Sheik, Tatanka, Rikishi, Dawn Marie, the Blue Meanie and Tito Santana? The best way to learn about their upcoming events - and they have some interesting matches coming up - is to become their fan on Facebook.

(I am also on Facebook, in case you didn't notice...)

Share

Red Mask is now on Facebook! Become a fan for updates!

This blog is now located at http://redmasktrenton.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://redmasktrenton.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.