Backstage News On Why The Hardys & Mysterio Were Drafted

With the exception of Umaga to SmackDown, the closest thing to a surefire move was Rey Mysterio to Raw. Officials actually made the decision a few weeks ago while SmackDown writer Michael Hayes was away on suspension. Hayes wanted to keep Mysterio on SmackDown, but he had to give him up to Raw in order to land Jeff Hardy, and as most of you know, Hayes is close to the Hardys. Although, SmackDown later lost Matt Hardy to ECW. Matt was moved over to ECW because the feeling was that if the two brothers appeared on the same brand, they would have to be a tag team, and Vince doesn't want to push them as a tag team at the moment, even if they are incredibly over with the fans. Vince doesn't believe in pushing tag teams as he prefers focusing on singles competitors. Also, with ECW losing CM Punk and Kane to Raw, they obviously needed someone to soften the blow, and that person was Matt Hardy.

On Monday, Rey Mysterio was actually in Mexico doing promotional work for the company when he was given a late phone call informing him to come to San Antonio for Raw. Although he's only a few weeks away from returning to the ring, he's still out with an injury and they wouldn't have been so adamant about getting him to San Antonio unless they had plans for him to change brands. When he arrived to the arena, people pretty much figured out what was going on, but as big as a star he is in WWE, Rey was still officially kept in the dark from creative regarding the move.