When Shane McMahon returned, his objective was to rescue Raw from the brink. Vince and Stephanie cooed him. Then he was put through Hell in the Cell against Undertaker and nearly killed himself trying to outdo what Mick Foley had diving off the top of the cage. Then he was given the co-mantle of head of Raw with his rival, sister Stephanie who feigned cooperation until she couldn't hide her disgust any longer. Then Smackdown was announced to go Tuesday nights live and have their own touring roster, for which a special draft would take place. Shane, from the very beginning, was telling us he wanted new and fresh for the fans. New stars, new faces, new era. Then he and his General Manager, Daniel Bryan, chose both Cena and Orton early in the Draft. Inexplicable, I felt. It flies in the face of his constant message. Bryan, to me, didn't seem to have much say in the matter as the Zayns and Owens of the Draft came and went . When The Miz and Kane became part of the roster I was most certain this was a rather ho-hum crop to work from. I still hope Cesaro someday will be a Smackdown property because he could make the Blue Brand better than it currently is. I think there's some interesting selections late and with talent continuing to arise in NXT, Smackdown might gain traction. To me, Cena and Orton are "second hour Raw" performers meant to be sustainably viable but not detrimental to the youth upcoming. The fix is in and you can see just how the draft was impacted by Vince's unwillingness to uplift the second brand and allow it to build into an alternative, not just a land of misfit toys and breaking down stars nearing the end of their careers. Only thing left is to have Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, and Mick Foley come out of retirement to join them.
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