WWE Draft Lottery 2009

Many changes are in store for the company next week at the annual WWE Draft Lottery.

WWE Draft Lottery 2009

First, the facts.

The 2009 WWE Draft Lottery will be taking place on April 13, 2009. The event will be held at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

To commemorate the event, WWE will be producing a special three hour episode of Raw next week.

A supplemental draft will take place on April 15, 2009. Several lower level wrestlers are expected be exchanged through the supplemental draft, which is expected to be announced via the official company website.

Changes Needed

The WWE Draft Lottery has become an annual tradition as of late with the company. The event has become one of the most anticipated ones with wrestling fans.

What the WWE Draft Lottery brings is change to the three different shows (ECW, Smackdown, and Raw). After an entire year of seeing the same roster, it is a bit refreshing to see the changes.

Not only does the change in the roster bring some fresh feuds, but it also is a potential vehicle to help give wrestlers some much needed momentum.

Remember how much momentum Shelton Benjamin had in 2004 when he was drafted over to Raw to become a singles wrestler (and gain some victories against Triple H)?

That could happen again if WWE were to figure out the right move.

Some Possible Changes

The WWE Draft Lottery could help answer some questions for the remaining part of 2009.

ECW Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger is going to need some new opponents, and the draft lottery can provide that for him.

Evan Bourne still needs to build up some momentum after being away because of an injury. Finlay is still a solid worker, but he just doesn't generate excitement as a challenger. Christian is more than qualified, but wrestling fans want to see him in a bigger role on one of the other two brands.

There's not enough credible opponents on Smackdown for the Undertaker, so WWE is going to have to find someone from Raw to challenge him. That, or they'll move the Undertaker over to the Raw brand.

For much of the last year, Miz and John Morrison were used on all three brands. Now might be a good time to figure out a permanent home for the popular duo.

Wrong Way

A few weeks ago, there was word floating around that management was going to be shifting the focus more towards the Raw brand again.

Several members of the front office, including Vince McMahon, want to add more star power to the flagship brand.

Management could be going in the wrong way, though.

With ratings for Smackdown going down as of late, it might not necessarily be a smart move to take away the star power from the brand to boost the other one.

Closing Thoughts

This is my favorite time of the year. After Wrestlemania ends, it's time for the new season of professional wrestling to begin. The draft lottery generally brings some renewed excitement to wrestling.