Choke's Winter Season Draft Preview Part 1: The Infirmary
Posted by: choke Aug 23, 2013 | 1608 views | 2 comments
In this section of the upcoming season draft preview, I take a look at the injured superstars
The new season starts in exactly one month from now. There's no time to rest however, as you should always be plotting your draft from the moment one season ends til the next one begins. First let's start off by taking a look at those superstars who are injured, whether they might be worth taking in the draft, and any recent status updates
Let's go with the big dogs first:
John Cena/Sheamus: Sheamus out with a shoulder injury for 4-6 months, Cena out with a "HOLY FUCK THAT'S HIS ELBOW"? injury, also 4-6 months. Well given that the new season goes until December 15th, that timetable has them pretty much missing the entire season. Now the WWE isnt beyond putting these extended injury return timetables on their wrestlers and having them return much sooner, plus with workout warriors like Cena and Sheamus I could see them being back sooner, but ultimately:
Diagnosis: Do not draft at any cost. If there's any sort of hint that they might return early during the course of the season, evaluate your team and make a decision to trade then.
Evan Bourne: Always a popular late round pick since he's been out, because it seems as though every few weeks he tweets something which makes everyone believe he'll be back shortly. Hell he was on an NXT on March 30th, so what gives? As long as this keeps happening he will always be a popular pick deep in the draft because if and when he does come back, odds are he will get a lot of victories either in singles or a tag team for the first couple months at least. I'm gonna go with the same strategy yet again and say:
Diagnosis: Worth a LATE round pick. Unless more news develops on his return, don't take him over anyone who is currently on the roster and is at least good for a win or two a month.
Rey Mysterio: "Injured" might not accurately describe why Mysterio has been out. Every 2 weeks after he returns he seems to disappear again for some family emergency, injury, or alien abduction. Well, guess what? He's baaaaaaaack (?!) Let me add: I'll believe it when I see it. Trust me, from experience when I say that Rey Mysterio is the most frustrating superstar to have on your roster, even moreso if you draft him high. If the reports are true, he should be back before the draft for next season starts, so we'll all have a better idea where his status lies in the WWE, but no matter what, be afraid, be very, very afraid
Diagnosis: Never worth a 1st or 2nd round pick, unless his push is astronomical (I'm talking WWE or World Title shot push). I have my suspicion that even in a return the WWE is going to be very careful with how much they push him early on. This is going to come back to bite me, but if he is making regular appearances on RAW and Smackdown by the time the draft hits, he's probably worth picking up in the 3rd or 4th if available. Note to self: Disregard that last sentence and please dont draft Mysterio.
Tamina Snuka/Tyson Kidd: Pretty much non-factors even if healthy. I'm not even sure if Tamina is actually injured but she might as well be with as little TV time as she's had for the last several months, and Tyson will probably be out for a while. Why are you even reading still. You dont want these two.
Diagnosis: Come on man!
Undertaker: Is old age an "injury"? Look we all know the deal here. Taker is pretty much Mania exclusive now. If April is still more than 4 months away, don't even think about it
Diagnosis: Is it late February or sometime in March? No? Then you know the answer
Next week I'll take a look at the jobbers and some dark horses