10 Worst WWE Draft Picks Ever
6. Hurricane Helms
2009 - SmackDown to ECW
During the days when ECW was WWE’s third brand, a draft meant the not so extreme show’s biggest stars jumping to either Raw or SmackDown. The 2009 draft was no exception; it was also the last one before ECW was put out of its misery. To fill a depleting roster, WWE sent veterans over to ECW to work with its future stars. Sometimes this worked, like with Kane, but often it lead to retirements and releases.
When Hurricane Helms was shipped off to the Land of Extreme as the 35th draft pick (out of 36) he reverted to his real name of Gregory Helms and switched to doing backstage interviews. Fans of his Cruiserweight Championship run under his real name might have been excited, but that enthusiasm was misplaced. This was nothing like that.
Over time Helms transitioned back into the Hurricane when somebody was needed to save the day, leading to feuds with Paul Burchill and Zack Ryder. Although Ryder went on to have a successful singles run, Burchill/Helms was a forgettable story, put together for two wrestlers with nothing better to do.
Both were released on the same day in 2010, when the extinct ECW experiment was ended once and for all. Helms got the chance to return as the Hurricane at the Royal Rumble in 2018 and 2021. Fans were excited about the character again by then; absence makes the heart grow fonder.