I spoke about a most of the items covered in this blog in more detail in today's Prowrestling.net Podcast, but I wanted to get the basics out her for those of you who don't listen to the podcasts.

-This is one of the most nerve wracking days of the year for most WWE performers. The draft is fun for the fans, but most wrestlers have no clue heading into the show whether they will be wrestling on the Raw, Smackdown, or ECW brand. It might not seem like a big deal since all three brands are owned by WWE, but moving from Raw to Smackdown changes everything from schedules, to driving partners, to backstage romances.

-There's plenty of buzz heading into tonight's draft regarding the possibility of John Cena moving to Smackdown. I've spoken with several people in the industry about the potential of that move and they all agree that it seems like a logical move for the creative team to make. As I mentioned in my WWE Draft scouting reports last week, it would also explain why they rushed into Cena challenging Triple H when most people assumed that match was being saved for SummerSlam. For that matter, it also explains why Cena's storyline with Mickie James didn't get any attention last week.

-The other move that's garnering the most speculation is Batista moving from Smackdown to Raw. I like this idea because Batista needs fresh opponents and I like the idea of an eventual New Evolution vs. DX feud. I also like the idea of keeping Cena and Batista on separate brands, which could make their next (WrestleMania?) match feel special. For that matter, I'd keep MVP away from Cena for the same reason. I'm sure it's tempting to rush right into these programs because they would be fresh and have money potential, but WWE needs to think about creating big money, future WrestleMania matches in addition to spicing things up right now.

-It must have been a long weekend for the WWE creative team. Keep in mind that a number of high-ranking WWE officials (including Raw lead writer Brian Gewirtz and WWE vice president of talent relations John Laurinaits) took some vacation time last week and were not at Raw last week. Plus, Smackdown lead writer Michael Hayes recently returned his suspension. With the vacations and the suspensions, it's hard to imagine the creative team had many draft plans locked in prior to last week.

-I didn't include the announcers in the WWE Draft scouting reports because I don't expect there to be any changes. Jim Ross has made it clear in his online blogs that he and Jerry Lawler don't want to switch brands. As such, I wouldn't be surprised if Vince McMahon and Brian Gewirtz try to get a rise out of Ross and/or Lawler by announcing that one of them has been drafted only to trade them back later in the night.

I don't expect any permanent announcer changes, though. Ross and Lawler are longtime travel partners and get the bulk of the pay-per-view work for the reason. Cole and Mick Foley are improving, and Tazz is probably stuck with Adamle.

-RIP George Carlin. Thanks for all the laughs.

Check back tonight for a double dose of Raw live coverage that Rich Twilling and I will be providing here on prowrestling.net.

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