Carlito to Smackdown

by Jack Windham
April 3, 2008

The hot rumor (or shall we say "cool rumor"?) going around for the WWE Draft Lottery is that Carlito will finally be heading back to Smackdown.

The Magic and the Mistake

One of the biggest mistakes that WWE has made in recent years has been the decision to move Carlito away from Smackdown and send him to Monday Night Raw in 2005.

When Carlito made his debut on Smackdown, there was instant magic with him. He immediately looked like a future main event wrestler.

WWE had a lot of faith in him when he started. They gave him the WWE United States Heavyweight Championship by having him beat John Cena on his first night on Smackdown.

Carlito had a good look, and his gimmick was refreshing. The sky was the limit.

Then, someone made the decision to move him over to Monday Night Raw.

The writers tried to recreate the same magic by having him win the WWE Intercontinental Championship immediately upon arriving on the brand.

However, the magic just wasn't there.

Promised Push

A couple of months ago, Carlito had grown frustrated with how poorly WWE was utilizing him, so he asked for his release from the company.

Since there was a fear that he was going to be another big name wrestler to jump to TNA, management decided to convince him to stay.

Carlito agreed to stay with the company once they agreed to give him a decent push in the near future.

That push wasn't likely to happen on Monday Night Raw.

A change of scenery is desperately needed.

Going Back

After spending the last two years being lost in the shuffle on Monday Night Raw, Carlito looks to be headed back to Smackdown this year.

If Matt Hardy wins the WWE United States Heavyweight Championship from MVP as expected, then there's a potential feud awaiting him with Carlito.

Carlito could also have a fresh feud with Batista (provided he doesn't get sent to Monday Night Raw). Plus, he has potentially good feuds with CM Punk and Kofi Kingston in the waiting.

He doesn't have the credibility right now to be in the main event picture on Smackdown, but it wouldn't take a lot of work for the writers to build him back up.

WWE can even give him a bodyguard in the form of Mike Knox, who isn't really doing much in ECW. The bodyguard routine worked well in the past for Carlito.

Closing Thoughts

It would be a brilliant move to send Carlito back to Smackdown. It's not too late for them to make him a main event wrestler.