10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2008

3. Triple H’s Draft Jump Made Up For 2004

Triple H WWE Title SmackDown 2008
WWE.com

Let's try again, shall we?

That was WWE's mindset in 2008 when preparing things for the upcoming Draft. In 2004, the company had made a big deal out of Triple H jumping to SmackDown from Raw in the talent trade, but they’d swiftly change their minds and stick him back on the flagship like nothing had happened. That annoyed a lot of folks.

Cheerfully, in 2008 they actually rolled with it by having Hunter move as the final televised pick. He was WWE Champion at the time too, so this was a big deal for the blue brand. It's refreshing to report that watching Trips on SmackDown for the rest of the year was a joy.

'The Game' had top matches vs. Shelton Benjamin (29 August), MVP (19 September), The Undertaker (24 October), Jeff Hardy twice (21 November and 12 December) and more. He was more giving than he'd been over on Raw, and it was almost like Hunter had left his ego behind in the red locker room. Team player would about sum it up.

This Draft business couldn't have sustained another switcheroo like the one that happened in '04, certainly not with the exact same wrestler. WWE knew they had to come through this time and stick to their promises. They clearly also fancied finding out if Trips could help ye olde ratings increase over on Friday nights.

That'd remain troublesome across the board as TV viewing habits continued to morph, but critically things were a different story - Hunter on SmackDown was a model employee and champ.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.