Ever since Paul Heyman left the WWE/ECW umbrella in December, ECW, as envisioned by Vince McMahon, has been left without a "representative", which was the label given to Heyman instead of just flat out saying he was the brand's General Manager, a post he held on Smackdown from October 2003-March 2004. With the draft now just days away, it's time to change all of that. However, given the frazzled frame of mind of McMahon's on-air persona, no one really knows how this will play out. It's been reported that McMahon threw Heyman's name out in a corporate meeting recently to gauge response. If the chairman has any real sense left, I'd say it's time to bring Heyman back for one last go-round.

Heyman represented Smackdown during the 2004 draft, only to find himself being drafted away to Raw by arch-nemesis Eric Bischoff. Heyman "quit" rather than accept this act of spite & malice, then resurfaced a few weeks later to manage the Dudleys & Jon Heidenreich, back on Smackdown. McMahon wants him to remain a heel manager, but with the insane "Mr. McMahon" having ruined his pride & joy, Heyman would be better served to be a babyface this time, something he's never been while employed by WWE. Heyman can rally the remaining Originals, and it starts by bolstering that half of the ECW roster with some old friends.

That having been said, I'm going to make my final picks for ECW for the Draft. I'm taking three each from Raw & Smackdow, and they may just go against the corporate mindset of Vince McMahon.

From Raw:

1. Super Crazy. Yes, the "Insane Luchador" is currently on the disabled list, but should be returning in a few weeks as part of a flood of returning stars. ECW gave Crazy his first break in this country in the 90's. This will be a homecoming of sorts.

2. Val Venis. Val's been used mostly as a JTTS in recent days, but put him together with the Extreme Expose dance team for some comedy skits--and give him any of the three as his valet---and you've got a rejuvenated superstar who can energize the roster.

3. Chris Masters. The "Masterpiece" is treading water. It's been rumored that the payoff to his feud with Intercontinental champ Santino Marella might be a title run of his own, but based on what we've seen lately, I don't think it's going to happen. A feud with Bobby Lashley, the ECW champ, would be a better fit.

From Smackdown:

1. Rey Mysterio (on the DL). When Rey lost an "I quit" match to Chavo Guerrero last fall, it was supposedly akin to a loser-leaves-town match. Like Crazy and Chris Benoit, Mysterio first came to the attention of American fans in ECW. He didn't stay very long, true, but I can picture him feuding with Elijah Burke. Mysterio is over without ever having to win another cruiserweight title, but if something were to happen and Lashley lost the title again, Mysterio could duplicate his "ultimate underdog" run of last year to the ECW crown.

2. Chris Benoit. It's been reported that Benoit is headed back to Raw, where he'd shore up the face side of the roster, decimated as it is with injuries to Crazy, Triple H, and most recently Shawn Michaels. Nobody works harder than Benoit, and he can gladly take the credit for turning MVP into an elite player on Smackdown. Imagine what he could do with someone like Elijah Burke, who's similar to MVP in that he's got the skills on the mic, but could use a little help in rounding out his work in the ring.

3. Boogeyman. He's a creature of the night, and ECW is on a network that has a ton of cheesy direct-to-video horror movies in its library. Wrestling aside, Boogey could be used as a old school style horror movie host. The possibilities are mind-boggling! They can always bring back the Zombie to feud with him.

Next time, in part 2, we'll look at things from the Raw side of the triangle. Given "Mr. McMahon"'s frazzled mind, it looks like Jonathan Coachman will be the one representing. We'll give him some ideas.