Cpt. Charisma 06-07-2009 02:33 PM WWE: The Passing of the Torch   WWE: The Passing of the Torch Backstory: Quote: 2009 in general had been a decent year for WWE with many well recieved storylines and angles, including the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels' program leading into Wrestlemania 25, the Orton versus the McMahons series and Ric Flair turning on Batista to join Legacy at Extreme Rules. However Summerslam 2009 recieved some of the poorest ratings in WWE history and it was because of this that Vince McMahon made the decision to step down as the chairman of the board of WWE, at least for the time being. That meant that his power was given to his children Shane and Stephanie McMahon, as Triple H declined the offer as he felt he would be unable to juggle the position while still being active in the ring. The week following Summerslam WWE programming ran as usual but it was announced on WWE.com that major changes were to take place on the next week's episode of Raw. Shane and Stephanie appeared in a video message promising to present a new WWE landscape to the fans. The day prior to the August 24th episode of Raw, Shane and Stephanie McMahon held a Press Conference announcing that they had made a number of big decisions which they felt would benefit WWE in the long term and give the fans the product which they had been looking for. The first announcement was that the overall themes of WWE was about to change as the PG rating had been dropped and WWE was now aiming for the TV-14 rating, meaning that WWE would once again be a much edgier product. The second announcement was that they were finally going to let Extreme Championship Wrestling rest in piece as WWE would no longer be broadcasting the show on tuesday nights. To resolve the announcers situation after ECW's cancelation, Jim Ross will be moved back to Raw, pairing with Jerry "The King" Lawler, as Michael Cole, Josh Matthews and Matt Striker will make up a three man Smackdown announce team. Todd Grisham will become the Smackdown backstage announcer while Lillian Garcia will do the same job for Raw. This leaves Justin Roberts who will move over to Raw as ring announcer, while the veteran Tony Chimmel will be the ring announcer for Friday Night Smackdown. It was announced that the talent roster was to take a hit as many of the dead wood was to be released or sent to Florida. It was later revealed on WWE.com that the released talent were Abraham Washingston(FCW), Aiden Frost(FCW), Byron Saxton(FCW), Curt Hawkins, Derrick Bateman(FCW), Fletcher Chase(FCW), "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Joseph Canterbury(FCW), Justin Angel(FCW), Kip Christianson(FCW), Kris Logan(FCW), Kung Fu Naki, Lawrence Knight(FCW), Lennox McEnroe(FCW), Ryback(FCW), Sim Snuka, Sweet Papi Sanchez(FCW), Tommy Dreamer and Troy Jackman(FCW) who were all released as active wrestlers. Shane and Stephanie also stated that they aimed to offer a much healthier working environment for the employees of WWE. They had therefore made the decision to offer all WWE superstars extended sabbaticals, with job security, which would let them recover from long term injuries or recharge if they felt burnt out. These sabbaticals would take immediate effect and it was announced that Batista, The Big Show, Kane, Shawn Michaels, The Great Khali and The Undertaker had all accepted the offer and are expected to return to action at some point in the next year. It was because of these big name superstars taking breaks away from WWE that Shane and Stephanie announced a change in the talent policy of WWE which would now prioritise the pushing of new talent. Shane also stated that both he and Stephanie had been on a recruitment drive the past week to replace the lost talent using the money they had saved by dropping ECW as a third brand. In their final announcement the McMahons announced that the following night's edition of Raw would be a company wide draft special which would establish the new WWE world. They added a special suprise as ten mystery picks would be added into the draft lottery following each General Manager's 10 chosen picks for their respective brand. They also emphasised that no-one would be exempt from the draft and that the only championship belts safe would be the World titles, meaning that if the current champion is drafted to the other show then the title will be vacated, with all other titles being up for grabs. It is stated that all talent on sabbaticals will be left out of the draft with only active talent being present, meaning they could show up on any brand upon returning. Highlights from The Draft Special of Raw August 24th 2009 Las Vegas, NEV With Raw's number one draft pick, Vickie Guerrero chooses Randy Orton. With Smackdown's number one draft pick, Theodore Long chooses John Cena. In a shock move, Vickie Guerrero uses her number two pick to choose Smackdown's World Champion Edge, leaving the title vacant. Theodore Long chooses "The Game" Triple H with Smackdown's number two pick. Chris Jericho is brought back to Raw with Vickie Guerrero's third pick of the draft. With Smackdown's third pick Theodore Long keeps "The Charmismatic Enigma" Jeff Hardy on Friday nights. With Raw's fourth pick, Vickie Guerrero chooses Christian. With Smackdown's fourth pick Theodore Long picks Montel Vontavious Porter. The Intercontinental Title is brought to Raw as Vickie Guerrero chooses Rey Mysterio with her fifth pick. Smackdown hits back to the loss of the Intercontinental Title with Theodore Long choosing the United States Champion Kofi Kingston with his fifth draft lotter pick. Raw's sixth pick sees "The All American American" Jack Swagger move to Monday nights. Smackdown's sixth pick sees "Mr Money in the Bank" staying on the blue brand. Long's sixth pick inspires Vickie Guerrero to keep The Miz on Raw with her seventh pick. Theodore Long keeps "The Shaman of Sexy" John Morrison on Smackdown with his seventh pick. Vickie Guerrero uses her eighth pick to add another Legacy member to Raw by picking Ted DiBiase Theodore Long brings Matt Hardy over to Smackdown with his eighth pick. With Raw's ninth pick Priceless are reunited with the choice of Cody Rhodes. The Women's Championship stays on Smackdown as Theodore Long chooses Melina with his ninth pick. Vickie Guerrero gloats that she has kept Legacy together on Raw by choosing "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair with her tenth and final pick. However, her celebration is shortlived as Long drops a bombshell by choosing the Raw GM as his final pick, sending her over to Smackdown. It is announced that Chavo Guerrero will take over as the Interem General Manager of Raw for the remainder of the draft. The Lottery is up next where each brand will draw three random superstars at a time. This will include the 10 mystery picks announced by the McMahon's at the previous days Press Conference. With the first three picks of the lottery Chavo Guerrero pulls out Kelly Kelly, Zack Ryder and Jamie Noble. With Smackdown's first three picks of the lottery Theodore Long's number one pick John Cena selects Santino Marella, Gail Kim and Vladimir Kozlov. With Raw's second set of lottery picks Chavo Guerrero selects The Brian Kendrick, the first mystery pick of the night in the returning Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. With Smackdown's second set of lottery picks Theodore Long chooses Katie Lea Buchill, Jillian and Paul Burchill. Ensuring that the Chelsea, England siblings remain together. Raw's third set of lottery picks sees One half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Primo, Natalya and Mark Henry brought to Monday nights. Smackdown's third set of lottery picks has them hit the jackpot with two mystery picks as the returning superstar of "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters and the debuting Petey Williams join Goldust in being drafted to Smackdown. However, Raw hit back with two blockbuster mystery picks of their own in the brand's fourth set of lottery picks as Chavo Guerrero pulls out the returning Mr. Kennedy and former WCW beefcake Buff Bagwell as well as bringing the sultry diva Layla over to Raw. A seemingly unfazed Theodore Long then selects the sixth mystery pick of the night, Sheamus, Cryme Tyme's Shad Gaspard and Mickie James with his fourth set of lottery picks. The seventh mystery pick goes Raw's way as Chavo Guerrero selects the debuting Petey Williams, Charlie Haas and the second half of the WWE Tag Team Champion Carlito in his fifth set. Smackdown gains two huge superstars including another mystery pick as Theodore Long draws JTG, Umaga and the returning Sean O'Haire from the lottery with his fifth set of picks. With Raw's sixth set of lottery picks Chavo Guerrero chooses Evan Bourne, Candice Michelle and Tyson Kidd. With Smackdown's sixth set of picks from the draft lottery Theodore Long adds Finlay, William Regal and Michelle McCool to his roster of superstars. The Hart Dynasty is reunited on Raw as Chavo Guerrero draws himself, "The Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin and David Hart Smith with the brands seventh set of picks. Smackdown recieves a blockbuster trio as Theodore Long drafts the Diva's Champion Maryse, Gregory Helms and Beth Phoenix to Friday nights. With only four superstars remaining, two of which are mystery picks, a nervous Chavo Guerrero pulls the shocker of the night by drafting both mystery picks which turn out to be the returning Paul London and the biggest shock of the entire draft Rob Van Dam. Theodore Long is thrilled to accept the only undrafted superstars remaining as R-Truth and Mike Knox are drafted to Smackdown. Following the draft Shane McMahon comes out and relieves Chavo Guerrero of his General Manager position, announcing that he and Stephanie will find a new GM before next weeks show. However he is interupted by the returning Eric Bischoff who volunteers himself for the post. Shane begrudgingly accepts the offer and Bischoff offically becomes the General Manager of Raw for the second time as Raw goes off the air. Match Results from Raw's Draft Special: Priceless def. The WWE Tag Team Champions The Colons via DQ after Triple H attacked them Triple H def. Drew McIntyre Chris Masters def. Santino Marella Mr Kennedy & Christian def. Edge & Chris Jericho After the match Jericho attacked Edge but Christian made the save John Cena def. Vladimir Kozlov Sean O'Haire, Umaga, Marcus Cor Von, Beth Phoenix & Maryse def. John Morrison, MVP, Rey Mysterio, Melina & Mickie James WWE Champion Randy Orton def. United States Champion Kofi Kingston ----------------------------------------- So following the 3 Hour Draft Special on the August 24th Raw, here is how the rosters look: Raw: Staff: General Manager: Eric Bischoff Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts Backstage Announcer: Lillian Garcia Champions: WWE Champion: Randy Orton Intercontinental Champion: Rey Mysterio WWE Unified Tag Team Champions: Carlito and Primo Superstars: Buff Bagwell Candice Carlito Charlie Haas Chavo Guerrero Chris Jericho Christian Cody Rhodes David Hart Smith Dolph Ziggler Drew McIntyre "The Rated R Superstar" Edge Evan Bourne "The All American American" Jack Swagger Jamie Noble Kelly Kelly Layla "The Alpha Male" Marcus Cor Von Mark Henry Mr Kennedy Natalya Paul London Primo Randy Orton Rey Mysterio "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair Rob Van Dam "The Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin Ted DiBiase Tony Atlas The Brian Kendrick The Miz Tyson Kidd Zack Ryder Stables/Teams: Legacy - Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase & Ric Flair The Colons - Carlito & Primo The Hart Dynasty - David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd & Natalya Smackdown: Staff: General Manager: Theodore Long Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews & Matt Striker Ring Announcer: Tony Chimmel Backstage Announcer: Todd Grisham Champions: World Heavyweight Champion: Vacant United States Champion: Kofi Kingston Women's Champion: Melina Diva's Champion: Maryse Superstars: "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters CM Punk Finlay Gail Kim Goldust Gregory Helms Jeff Hardy Jillian John Cena John Morrison JTG Katie Lea Burchill Kofi Kingston Maryse Matt Hardy Melina Michelle McCool Mike Knox Mickie James Montel Vontavious Porter "The Ripper" Paul Burchill Petey Williams R-Truth Santino Marella "The Prophet" Sean O'Haire Shad Sheamus Triple H Umaga Vickie Guerrero Vladimir Kozlov William Regal Stables/Teams: Cryme Tyme - Shad & JTG The Burchills - Katie Lea & Paul Burchill Upcoming Pay Per Views: WWE Raw & Smackdown present Unforgiven - 13 September 2009 WWE Raw & Smackdown present No Mercy - 4 October 2009 WWE Raw & Smackdown present Haloween Havoc - 25 October 2009 WWE Raw & Smackdown present Survivor Series - 22 November 2009 WWE Raw presents Armageddon - 13 December 2009 WWE Raw & Smackdown present The Royal Rumble - 24 Januray 2010 WWE Smackdown presents No Way Out - February 2010 WWE Raw & Smackdown present Wrestlemania 26 - March 2010 WWE Raw presents Backlash - 25 April 2010 WWE Smackdown presents Judgement Day - May 2010 WWE Raw presents King of the Ring - June 2010 WWE Smackdown presents The Great American Bash - July 2010 WWE Raw & Smackdown present Summerslam - August 2010

Cpt. Charisma 06-14-2009 09:15 AM Re: WWE: The Passing of the Torch   This week's episode of Smackdown has been cancelled due to the recent staff changes. Normal WWE programming will resume with the next episode of Raw. WWE Raw Preview 31 August 2009, Detroit, MI Following the huge company-wide draft on last week's three hour special edition of Raw a new look Monday Nights will kick off when Raw visits "The Motor City". Eric Bischoff was hired as the new General Manager at the conclusion of last week's show and promised to completely change the landscape of Raw. What will the new GM have in store for the superstars of Raw this week? Announced over the weekend on WWE.com, one of Raw's new superstars; Rey Mysterio, defends his Intercontinental Championship belt against The Miz. Can the gold hungry youngster dethrone the highflyer? Or will Mysterio kick off his second spell on Raw with a huge victory over a young up-and-comer. Also on WWE.com, "The Rated R Superstar" Edge issued a challenge to Chris Jericho following Y2J's attack on Edge after the main event of Raw last week. The match had ended with another new Raw superstar, Christian, gaining a pinfall victory over his former tag team partner Edge. A frustrated Jericho then went on the offensive with his own tag team partner until Christian came back down and made the save. Will Chris Jericho accept Edge's challenge? And what role will Christian play in the match? Raw this week will also see the debut of many new superstars to Monday nights including the returns of Paul London, Mr Kennedy, Marcus Cor Von, former WCW superstar Buff Bagwell and former WWE and ECW Champion Rob Van Dam. After being off WWE television for so long it is obvious that these superstars will be looking to make an impact. On Monday night we will find out just how they do that. And finally, in an interview on WWE.com over the weekend, Legacy's Randy Orton and Ric Flair promised to name who Orton will defend his WWE Championship against at WWE's next Pay Per View, Unforgiven in four weeks. Who have Legacy picked to face the champion and what will Eric Bischoff have to say about the group taking the decision into their own hands? Tune into Raw this Monday night to find out. Confirmed Matches: WWE Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz The Brian Kendrick vs. Evan Bourne Charlie Haas vs. Tyson Kidd

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