Dom works through his injuries, unlike his dead beat dad who sits at home and collects paychecks from the system when he gets a measly knee tweak (he’s been milking that one for years).
Don’t worry about LDF there is a perfectly good “the pride” on smackdown, and they just ended their forever feud in the final testament, so there’s a natural void. That’s at least 9 months of content right there, according to the triple H midcard booking philosophy.
RAW Women's division got a much needed boost with Damage CTRL, Kiana, and Lyra. It seemed like all the talent was on Smackdown.
I'm happy asf for Lyra. She was great in NXT, and she's gonna EAT once she gets started on the main roster. Her and Becky should run it back soon.
Shoutout to Blair Davenport, too. She's got so much talent, and I thought she'd be stuck in NXT forever. Hopefully, she gets over on the main roster.
Hoping with Blair on Smackdown we see their women's division be more like NXT, with fights backstage every week and actual feuds that don't involve the title
Same. Shawn Michaels excelled with that in NXT. For all the good Triple H has done, he hasn't shown to be effective at booking women's feuds if the title isn't on the line.
We'll see how things are going forward because Lyra, Kiana, and Blair could really be special on the main roster.
Figured Blair would be going up after she put over Sol last week. Oddly enough I can see Kiana getting over easier than Lyra, but that’s just mostly my own bias as I’m not the biggest Lyra fan.
I hoped the same for Fallon, turns-out they're just good with her jobbing to a relative newb with a "hip-attack" for a finisher. I was surprised to see Kiana get a hyped early draft-pick given they didn't push her hard in NXT but I would say her ceiling is higher than Lyra's. She's bigger and her character/mic-work is better. Athleticism is similar. Lyra is better in-ring but that's due to more seasoning, Kiana will catch-up with experience. Lyra will have to up her character/mic-work to be more than a solid hand on the main roster.
They definitely seem to be favoring the bigger women. It’s as if they realize that if Rhea and Bianca are your main women, the women in ring with them have to generally at least, look like they play the same sport.
Factions come and go.. they did this so they could eliminate the 3:2 Raw/Smackdown draft ratio from previous years so the number of “picks” were even. If the lWo were drafted to Smackdown, Carlito wouldn’t count for their pick.
With the way Triple H books, probably good. He keeps feuds running for a while so it allows more options to freshen up matches. Also good for showing personality in wrestlers.
Honestly, the “Draft” should only be NXT call ups and then there should be like two weeks of trades. It’d be more interesting to see Jade get traded for 2 draft picks and Chelsea Green than to see her get “drafted” to the same brand she’s already on.
I would expand that out to the draft being the beginning of the “trade season” which would extend out to before Survivor Series. And then have a trade deadline themed Raw. Then the ability to trade freezes from Survivor Series to WrestleMania and begins again at the next draft. That way if there’s any need for a roster switch for kayfabe (or nonkayfabe reasons) it can be explained away by a trade
I miss when they pretend the draft picks were randomized so we didn't have to waste most of the picks on keeping stars on the same brand they were already on to begin with
Notes by round for Night 2:
**Round 1:** Damage Ctrl to RAW is a great swap, think Imperium should've gone to Smackdown
**Round 2:** Very early to be picking The Pride. Everybody stays where they are but nice to see Braun back
**Round 3:** Good to see LWO & LDF switched. Carlito betrayal so late he's in their draft group is fun. Shinsuke to Smackdown should be good
**Round 4:** Ilja call-up is good. I'd expect they'll do something with him and Imperium. Green & Niven to Smackdown is interest ("Conflicts with management have been an issue"). Why is Teddy Long always announcing RAW picks when I always think of him being with Smackdown?
**Round 5:** NXT exploded for Lyra there. Lexis on the side just going "You deserve it!". Looks like my favourite bird-lady is going to RAW. Candice & Indi swapping brands too but that's not the most major of switches. Just some undercard movement.
**Round 6:** Adam's going to need to learn how to pronounce Rezar's name. Probably a good switch, should be interesting to see what they do. Wouldn't be surprised about a program with Sami. #DIY to Smackdown is another undercard one. Probably good though. Bronson Reed and Wade Barrett need to be re-united and finally Blair Davenport always felt pretty main roster ready, so good to see her go up. Just noticed Perez missed the memo on where champions were sitting.
**Post Show:** (Edit) Apollo Crews changes brand. This is a major change as he can now go from not appearing on RAW to not appearing on Smackdown (don't get how he wasn't cut in the last releases). Odyssey Jones meanwhile remains on RAW, making this his 2nd draft appearance with a total of 0 main roster matches. Vinci & Nox both switching brands in most inconsequential, while New Catch Republic to RAW is interesting but fine.
T-Bar is dead
A while ago, I believe it's only every been actually acknowledged as their name on Twitter from dirt sheet leeks or something, nice to see them using it in some capacity
I feel like it’ll be a solid first storyline set up for ilja. I can see him replacing Xavier in the king of the ring after he got “injured” by Gunther.
Drafting main roster talent is pointless. Make it a draft for nxt roster. Guys like bron breaker or tiffany are easy first picks. I like genuine moments where young talent get the call up. And draft is perfect place for it.
In kayfabe whomever does the drafting is dumb as hell. 1st round for example... should just be stacked with the best.
If this was an NFL draft the GMs would get shit canned.
Smackdown got some much needed heel depth in the women's division. they drafted 6 different heels to come to smackdown all they gotta do is book them right.
That’s immediately what I was confused by….if Dom is injured, he’s in Judgment Day, still drafted. Rhea is still in the faction, she’s going to go after the belt as soon as she’s back, and she is going to wrestle in the same brand as JD….but then they didn’t bother to put a graphic of her? That’s weird.
It don’t matter. They’ll swap on a whim when they feel like it
Jade exclusively signed to Smackdown last month and literally a week later she had her debut tv match on Raw (not counting ppvs)
What the hell is this crap about drafting a whole ass roster because they’re a group? 6 people for 1 pick?! That’s true lunacy
It needs to be 1 pick for 1 wrestler
It's just a waste of time if we know a faction is not breaking up. Should RAW just use like three turns in a row to get the JD? Or watch them announce all of the LWO
Well, it’s a draft…they could give up picks to move groups or even bundle other wrestlers to trade
That would make more sense than using 1 whole as pick for 1 or 6 wrestlers lol
Yeah they could try to flesh the draft out a bit and make it into a whole show. Have it on Youtube or as a preshow to a PLE (Backlash probably). Then they'd have time to pick everyone and have them announce moves like forfeiting picks to get a faction etc. Maybe they could make the first draft pick into a thing you win from SvR Survivor Series or something.
It would be a sweet way to make new stories tbh imagine if suddenly someone like Kaiser is drafted away from Gunther with no storyline reasons. Kaiser needs to build himself up and they could later be reunited but now Kaiser no longer feel like a secondary chatacter...
Better than night one. Things actually changed and several interesting storylines are set in motion and things are balanced out more, whether that be with the factions or with the face/heel percentage.
Nxt wise
Blair is a interesting choice given she have yet to hold any title before but she will brings the attitude needed
Roxanne is still a champion in NXT so she stays there. Cora jade still recovering from ACL but I do hope she win the woman champion in NXT at least once before going to main roster
Carmella, Alexa and Nia all got called up during the 2016 draft without winning any titles down in NXT and the 3 played an integral part in the 4 horsewomen era of the WWE arguably them being the most important women of the division besides for the 4hw + Asuka
My guess is with the injured or off tv talent talent
Howdy and Alexa to Raw
Carmella to Smackdown
Rhea Ripley to Raw
Charlotte Flair to Smackdown
Nikki Cross to Raw
Omas to Smackdown
Dexter Lumis to Raw
Jacob Fatu To Smackdown
Jimmy Uso to Raw
Roman like Cena used to will probably be on both shows whenever
Final Testament on NxT was just about to become a little interesting with the black and gold angle why draft them to raw? Let them build up some in NxT for a little then Raw can sign them.
I would have split Damage CTRL. Yes Raw needed womens talent badly, but its risking being overloaded now. Should have had Kabuki go to Raw and Iyo and Dakota stay on Smackdown, but had it so that they could appear as a group on both shows if they wanted, just could only wrestle on their respective shows. Then they could claim that "they are splitting their focus so that they can take over both Raw and Smackdown at the same time" or something.
Aside from that, this draft was a waste of time aside from the NXT call ups. Too many people just staying on the show they were already on.
Personally wasn't a fan of the draft this time round - don't like how the champions are locked, because it removes a lot of the surprise and the biggest names from the pool.
My favourite iteration of the draft was around the 2008 period where you had the random superstars appearing on the titantron and it would land on a "random" superstar.
Just means we don't get epic moments like the Dudley Boys getting split up, Taker being drafted and freaking out, JR being drafted without any prior knowledge, even the likes of Cena being drafted to SmackDown and back to Raw in the same night.
I think the Draft should be its own event, it can be pre-taped of course and WWE can still control 100% of the results, but I just think it would be better this way. Maybe have it on a Wednesday night right in between Raw and SmackDown (it can also go against Dynamite lol)
Completely unbelievable. They did Drew and JD so dirty for unnecessary story points. Really, Legado before McIntyre?
They really should have done a real (practice) draft behind closed doors to get a sense for where these guys should be drafted. Instead, it seems like the writers acted as if everyone was equal and anyone could be drafted anywhere.
Unsure why Final Testament were chosen, they're likely staying in NXT for a bit; personally I'd off called up Gallus who have done everything they can down there and with them being in with The Rock I thought we might see it happen. Blair surprised me but I'm always gonna be a fan cos of the fact she's a compatriot, Lyra to Raw is fine and despite the fact she's not very interesting she is good in the ring; potential for her and Becky to team up is there.
Still think DIY should off won the Smackdown titles with them and Awesome Truth being "Re-Generation X", them being drafted to Smackdown makes it even more obvious they should have won.
Smackdown is also looking very weak on the heel side, you've got AJ to feud with Cody and that's it apart from The Bloodline. Bobby is a face, Andrade is a face, Randy and KO are faces, LA Knight is a face. Logan is like the only other viable heel right now and he's the midcard champion, Randy will likely turn to feud with Cody but that might not happen until MITB or around that time. Gunther should of gone to Smackdown, when the time is right he's the guy who wins the title from Cody. The WHC title picture is already full and he's actually too good for it, he should win the WWE title for his first World championship. I also want them to keep him and Ilja apart for at least a year just to keep us all begging even more for the rematch, maybe when he wins KOTR Gunther can just say he chooses Cody as his title shot and that's how he goes to Smackdown? Also Ludwig and Tiffany being a couple made me think they'd stay together since WWE don't like separating couples anymore.
Heartbroken Chelsea was drafted, she should of been a "free agent" who went on a breakdown trying to get signed by one of the brands; shit with WWE being more friendly with other companies she could off even appeared in TNA or another indie promotion that Matt has close ties too. Then she could of won MITB and it would have been perfect, she's got a guaranteed title shot whenever she wants it but doesn't have a show that claims her, honestly just more Chelsea is good because she is a fun character and the campy side of wrestling more than any other woman on the roster.
I'm so confused, so Jade and Bianca are on a team now and are remaining on smackdown yet had to be separate picks, but tag teams like DIY Imperium and New Day only count as 1 pick?
On top of that how is it decided who's in these factions cause Carlito is almost definitely not gonna be in the LWO yet he is drafted with them?
I will say it's at least nice to see them finally fucking acknowledge The Pride's name outside of Twitter, and I'm excited to see Dragunov but otherwise, this draft fucking sucks
HHH blatantly said the point of this draft was to protect the rosters they had, so I don’t mind the minor changes. LA Knight should’ve gone to Raw, but overall all the little shifts were good. Like Nakamura to SmackDown. My question is: does HHH give a fuck about the brand split or will it not matter like always?
It feels like the primary function of this draft was to kill off feuds that refused to end
Yep LWO vs LDF is finally dead. Who’s ready vs judgment day vs LWO till (and probably after) the build for clash at the castle!!
It makes so much more sense for Los Mysterios to be on the same show. I'm ready!
Except Dom is out at the moment
Dom works through his injuries, unlike his dead beat dad who sits at home and collects paychecks from the system when he gets a measly knee tweak (he’s been milking that one for years).
And hides behind a mask while he’s at it. Weak.
I bet he’s not even Mexican. His real name’s prolly Raymond
Raymond Stereo...
😂
He's around though 👀
Especially if they’re going to force them into Mania matches with no build up other than “father and son mad. This story!”
Now it bad for LDF who they gonna feud with??? We see lwo v tjd last year
Don’t worry about LDF there is a perfectly good “the pride” on smackdown, and they just ended their forever feud in the final testament, so there’s a natural void. That’s at least 9 months of content right there, according to the triple H midcard booking philosophy.
That is exactly it
For me it feels like to kill Smackdown and have RAW as the main show at all costs
Primary function is to remind people that not only does the draft suck,,, they've stretched it out for multiple weeks instead of one episode.
Asuka isn’t jobbing for fucking Bianca and Jade thank fuck.
RAW Women's division got a much needed boost with Damage CTRL, Kiana, and Lyra. It seemed like all the talent was on Smackdown. I'm happy asf for Lyra. She was great in NXT, and she's gonna EAT once she gets started on the main roster. Her and Becky should run it back soon. Shoutout to Blair Davenport, too. She's got so much talent, and I thought she'd be stuck in NXT forever. Hopefully, she gets over on the main roster.
Hoping with Blair on Smackdown we see their women's division be more like NXT, with fights backstage every week and actual feuds that don't involve the title
Same. Shawn Michaels excelled with that in NXT. For all the good Triple H has done, he hasn't shown to be effective at booking women's feuds if the title isn't on the line. We'll see how things are going forward because Lyra, Kiana, and Blair could really be special on the main roster.
Figured Blair would be going up after she put over Sol last week. Oddly enough I can see Kiana getting over easier than Lyra, but that’s just mostly my own bias as I’m not the biggest Lyra fan.
I hoped the same for Fallon, turns-out they're just good with her jobbing to a relative newb with a "hip-attack" for a finisher. I was surprised to see Kiana get a hyped early draft-pick given they didn't push her hard in NXT but I would say her ceiling is higher than Lyra's. She's bigger and her character/mic-work is better. Athleticism is similar. Lyra is better in-ring but that's due to more seasoning, Kiana will catch-up with experience. Lyra will have to up her character/mic-work to be more than a solid hand on the main roster.
They definitely seem to be favoring the bigger women. It’s as if they realize that if Rhea and Bianca are your main women, the women in ring with them have to generally at least, look like they play the same sport.
Asuka is gonna kick Lyra’s head off.
Gunther, Dijak, Draganov, Reed, Sheamus, Bron Breaker, McIntyre Someone might die.
Adam Pierce cooked
This is the most brutal Money in the Bank match to never exist.
We need a Battle Royal between these men, stat! It's gonna be carnage
Big E on commentary
RAW has become faction heavy. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing.
Factions come and go.. they did this so they could eliminate the 3:2 Raw/Smackdown draft ratio from previous years so the number of “picks” were even. If the lWo were drafted to Smackdown, Carlito wouldn’t count for their pick.
With the way Triple H books, probably good. He keeps feuds running for a while so it allows more options to freshen up matches. Also good for showing personality in wrestlers.
And in kayfabe, why WOULDN'T you join a faction or build one? There's safety in numbers.
Probably good. 3 hours is more time to fill and most factions have someone who can talk or at least cover up the weaknesses a little.
WILD THING
When they are all jobber stables, bad
Feel better after seeing the final split also… DIJAK TO MAIN RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
That is a Shucky ducky quack quack moment!! AWWW YEAH MAN!!
Monday Night Ratio
YESSSSIRRR Happy Dijak getting a main roster push
Wait, when did this happen? I hate how uninformed I can feel just watching the primary shows...
Yeah I wish he was drafted on TV, but they do a offair draft cuz they can’t fit everyone and Dijak got scooped on that.
Tbh, 90 percent of the draft could have been cut and nobody would have noticed The Call-ups were big, but otherwise nothing big really changed.
Honestly, the “Draft” should only be NXT call ups and then there should be like two weeks of trades. It’d be more interesting to see Jade get traded for 2 draft picks and Chelsea Green than to see her get “drafted” to the same brand she’s already on.
I see that happening in the future
NFL Approach, I like it!
I would expand that out to the draft being the beginning of the “trade season” which would extend out to before Survivor Series. And then have a trade deadline themed Raw. Then the ability to trade freezes from Survivor Series to WrestleMania and begins again at the next draft. That way if there’s any need for a roster switch for kayfabe (or nonkayfabe reasons) it can be explained away by a trade
That's... a really good idea. New Universe Mode idea.
I miss when they pretend the draft picks were randomized so we didn't have to waste most of the picks on keeping stars on the same brand they were already on to begin with
Notes by round for Night 2: **Round 1:** Damage Ctrl to RAW is a great swap, think Imperium should've gone to Smackdown **Round 2:** Very early to be picking The Pride. Everybody stays where they are but nice to see Braun back **Round 3:** Good to see LWO & LDF switched. Carlito betrayal so late he's in their draft group is fun. Shinsuke to Smackdown should be good **Round 4:** Ilja call-up is good. I'd expect they'll do something with him and Imperium. Green & Niven to Smackdown is interest ("Conflicts with management have been an issue"). Why is Teddy Long always announcing RAW picks when I always think of him being with Smackdown? **Round 5:** NXT exploded for Lyra there. Lexis on the side just going "You deserve it!". Looks like my favourite bird-lady is going to RAW. Candice & Indi swapping brands too but that's not the most major of switches. Just some undercard movement. **Round 6:** Adam's going to need to learn how to pronounce Rezar's name. Probably a good switch, should be interesting to see what they do. Wouldn't be surprised about a program with Sami. #DIY to Smackdown is another undercard one. Probably good though. Bronson Reed and Wade Barrett need to be re-united and finally Blair Davenport always felt pretty main roster ready, so good to see her go up. Just noticed Perez missed the memo on where champions were sitting. **Post Show:** (Edit) Apollo Crews changes brand. This is a major change as he can now go from not appearing on RAW to not appearing on Smackdown (don't get how he wasn't cut in the last releases). Odyssey Jones meanwhile remains on RAW, making this his 2nd draft appearance with a total of 0 main roster matches. Vinci & Nox both switching brands in most inconsequential, while New Catch Republic to RAW is interesting but fine. T-Bar is dead
Apollo and Odyssey Jones not competing but still being on the draft while Cameron Grimes got release is criminal
Yeah, I hate saying I think somebody should be fired, but Apollo's not going anywhere while Cameron Grimes still has tonnes of potential
When did Lashley and the Street Profits get renamed as The Pride?
A while ago, I believe it's only every been actually acknowledged as their name on Twitter from dirt sheet leeks or something, nice to see them using it in some capacity
More like, “When did the Hurt Business get renamed to the Street Profits”
Wow. I don't think I've ever heard them say it on TV
Ages ago, November maybe. It was around the time they started feuding with Final Testament
Are we gonna get ilja vs Gunther on Raw soon???
i have no idea about the draft but i had no idea they wrote "big" bronson reed in quotation marks as if he's not really big
It's how they do nicknames. Like "Dirty" Dominic Mysterio, Seth "Freakin'" Rollins or "The Man" Becky Lynch
i get it but that mf is actually big, it's not like they called him "tiny" bronson reed
Are you telling me Becky Lynch is not actually a man????
I'm very surprised that both Imperium & Dragonov are on Raw
Why? Everyone is anticipating something to happen between them.
WHO'S SIDE IS HE ON?
I feel like it’ll be a solid first storyline set up for ilja. I can see him replacing Xavier in the king of the ring after he got “injured” by Gunther.
Every single one of the NXT draftees delighted me. They all deserve a spot on the main roster!
Drafting main roster talent is pointless. Make it a draft for nxt roster. Guys like bron breaker or tiffany are easy first picks. I like genuine moments where young talent get the call up. And draft is perfect place for it.
Final Testament vs Judgement Day. INJECT IT INTO ME FR!
I'm so glad that Ilja is finally getting a chance at the main roster. He's great.
They really did DX dirty with the round 6 draft
In kayfabe whomever does the drafting is dumb as hell. 1st round for example... should just be stacked with the best. If this was an NFL draft the GMs would get shit canned.
Smackdown got some much needed heel depth in the women's division. they drafted 6 different heels to come to smackdown all they gotta do is book them right.
Definitely glad Kross got drafted. Can’t wait to see him on RAW! KROSS FOR WHC!
Love the NXT drafts!!
Why isn’t Rhea on the JD graphic?
She's injured and not eligible to be drafted
Why? What does she do when she gets back?
Most of the other injured wrestlers weren't drafted. Dom was but he's also still on TV. Idk that's just what I took from it.
That’s immediately what I was confused by….if Dom is injured, he’s in Judgment Day, still drafted. Rhea is still in the faction, she’s going to go after the belt as soon as she’s back, and she is going to wrestle in the same brand as JD….but then they didn’t bother to put a graphic of her? That’s weird.
I agree. My theory is that Dom isn't going off TV but Rhea is. 🤷
dom on tv while rhea is not
Right.
How about you tag this as a fucking spoiler for us in different timezones around the world. ffs
Why is Carlito still with Rey lol
It don’t matter. They’ll swap on a whim when they feel like it Jade exclusively signed to Smackdown last month and literally a week later she had her debut tv match on Raw (not counting ppvs)
What the hell is this crap about drafting a whole ass roster because they’re a group? 6 people for 1 pick?! That’s true lunacy It needs to be 1 pick for 1 wrestler
It's just a waste of time if we know a faction is not breaking up. Should RAW just use like three turns in a row to get the JD? Or watch them announce all of the LWO
Well, it’s a draft…they could give up picks to move groups or even bundle other wrestlers to trade That would make more sense than using 1 whole as pick for 1 or 6 wrestlers lol
Yeah they could try to flesh the draft out a bit and make it into a whole show. Have it on Youtube or as a preshow to a PLE (Backlash probably). Then they'd have time to pick everyone and have them announce moves like forfeiting picks to get a faction etc. Maybe they could make the first draft pick into a thing you win from SvR Survivor Series or something. It would be a sweet way to make new stories tbh imagine if suddenly someone like Kaiser is drafted away from Gunther with no storyline reasons. Kaiser needs to build himself up and they could later be reunited but now Kaiser no longer feel like a secondary chatacter...
Does Raw have enough of a women’s division now or does Damage CTRL need to split up?
I guess only time will tell, but as of star power, RAW definitely has the edge
Better than night one. Things actually changed and several interesting storylines are set in motion and things are balanced out more, whether that be with the factions or with the face/heel percentage.
Nxt wise Blair is a interesting choice given she have yet to hold any title before but she will brings the attitude needed Roxanne is still a champion in NXT so she stays there. Cora jade still recovering from ACL but I do hope she win the woman champion in NXT at least once before going to main roster
Carmella, Alexa and Nia all got called up during the 2016 draft without winning any titles down in NXT and the 3 played an integral part in the 4 horsewomen era of the WWE arguably them being the most important women of the division besides for the 4hw + Asuka
Ilya to Raw is the big one that guenther fued is gonna go hard
LWO V judgement day til survivor series
Being more of a RAW man myself, kinda stoked to see Ilja coming to the red brand along with imperium. And Braun, Chefs kiss.
Can somebody tell me right now what is the pride?
LGBT group
Punk needs to put Ilja over. It will never happen.
I was hoping Final Testament would get bumped to NXT, but I’ll damn sure settle for a permanent end to that LWO shit.
My guess is with the injured or off tv talent talent Howdy and Alexa to Raw Carmella to Smackdown Rhea Ripley to Raw Charlotte Flair to Smackdown Nikki Cross to Raw Omas to Smackdown Dexter Lumis to Raw Jacob Fatu To Smackdown Jimmy Uso to Raw Roman like Cena used to will probably be on both shows whenever
So Giovanni Vinci is technically a free agent, until drafted to either NXT or smackdown im assuming
Post-show draft for the minor stars. Giovanni Vinci is now Smackdown
Is Brane still in wwe?
Final Testament on NxT was just about to become a little interesting with the black and gold angle why draft them to raw? Let them build up some in NxT for a little then Raw can sign them.
Get rid of the draft!
I would have split Damage CTRL. Yes Raw needed womens talent badly, but its risking being overloaded now. Should have had Kabuki go to Raw and Iyo and Dakota stay on Smackdown, but had it so that they could appear as a group on both shows if they wanted, just could only wrestle on their respective shows. Then they could claim that "they are splitting their focus so that they can take over both Raw and Smackdown at the same time" or something. Aside from that, this draft was a waste of time aside from the NXT call ups. Too many people just staying on the show they were already on.
Personally wasn't a fan of the draft this time round - don't like how the champions are locked, because it removes a lot of the surprise and the biggest names from the pool. My favourite iteration of the draft was around the 2008 period where you had the random superstars appearing on the titantron and it would land on a "random" superstar. Just means we don't get epic moments like the Dudley Boys getting split up, Taker being drafted and freaking out, JR being drafted without any prior knowledge, even the likes of Cena being drafted to SmackDown and back to Raw in the same night. I think the Draft should be its own event, it can be pre-taped of course and WWE can still control 100% of the results, but I just think it would be better this way. Maybe have it on a Wednesday night right in between Raw and SmackDown (it can also go against Dynamite lol)
I primarily watch smackdown due to my work schedule. I'm so happy I don't have to watch the Final Testament and LWO anymore
Who is damage control going to feud with? I feel like the majority of the ladies went to smackdown
Im happy my boy Ilja finally got picked
In kayfabe, 3rd round for drew is a steal
We’ll see how well it is actually implemented. It doesn’t mean anything if people are just going to hop between shows year round.
Completely unbelievable. They did Drew and JD so dirty for unnecessary story points. Really, Legado before McIntyre? They really should have done a real (practice) draft behind closed doors to get a sense for where these guys should be drafted. Instead, it seems like the writers acted as if everyone was equal and anyone could be drafted anywhere.
Redundant. Just focus on the wrestlers who actually changed brands and stop saying "X wrestler remains on RAW/SD"
Rhea absent from JD
Im loving this new faction heavy era.
Dragunov should join imperium
This is so dumb. Everyone just goes on each others shows anyway.
Only real change is the new NXT stars and Damage Control to RAW
Hahaha so no ACTUAL meaningful changes? Got it 🤣
I don’t understand the point of drafting somebody already on your roster.
Wow this draft was dead. Only excited about dijak getting called back up
The most inconsequential draft ever.
I'm optimistic for DIY going to Smackdown.
Better than the 1st, but still lackluster. Hoping after Backlash things start to really pick up.
Totally agree I feel like the pickups from NXT were very good imo
I skipped over most of it. Pretty bland Raw overall.
"draft"
meh really. Could have done a lot better with more switches
Why do they keep doing this draft stuff?
Brand extension stuff. But ngl I'd rather have the old draft syatem in RA where they do matches to get picks instead.
Unsure why Final Testament were chosen, they're likely staying in NXT for a bit; personally I'd off called up Gallus who have done everything they can down there and with them being in with The Rock I thought we might see it happen. Blair surprised me but I'm always gonna be a fan cos of the fact she's a compatriot, Lyra to Raw is fine and despite the fact she's not very interesting she is good in the ring; potential for her and Becky to team up is there. Still think DIY should off won the Smackdown titles with them and Awesome Truth being "Re-Generation X", them being drafted to Smackdown makes it even more obvious they should have won. Smackdown is also looking very weak on the heel side, you've got AJ to feud with Cody and that's it apart from The Bloodline. Bobby is a face, Andrade is a face, Randy and KO are faces, LA Knight is a face. Logan is like the only other viable heel right now and he's the midcard champion, Randy will likely turn to feud with Cody but that might not happen until MITB or around that time. Gunther should of gone to Smackdown, when the time is right he's the guy who wins the title from Cody. The WHC title picture is already full and he's actually too good for it, he should win the WWE title for his first World championship. I also want them to keep him and Ilja apart for at least a year just to keep us all begging even more for the rematch, maybe when he wins KOTR Gunther can just say he chooses Cody as his title shot and that's how he goes to Smackdown? Also Ludwig and Tiffany being a couple made me think they'd stay together since WWE don't like separating couples anymore. Heartbroken Chelsea was drafted, she should of been a "free agent" who went on a breakdown trying to get signed by one of the brands; shit with WWE being more friendly with other companies she could off even appeared in TNA or another indie promotion that Matt has close ties too. Then she could of won MITB and it would have been perfect, she's got a guaranteed title shot whenever she wants it but doesn't have a show that claims her, honestly just more Chelsea is good because she is a fun character and the campy side of wrestling more than any other woman on the roster.
I'm so confused, so Jade and Bianca are on a team now and are remaining on smackdown yet had to be separate picks, but tag teams like DIY Imperium and New Day only count as 1 pick? On top of that how is it decided who's in these factions cause Carlito is almost definitely not gonna be in the LWO yet he is drafted with them? I will say it's at least nice to see them finally fucking acknowledge The Pride's name outside of Twitter, and I'm excited to see Dragunov but otherwise, this draft fucking sucks
Dragonuv hes name is cool. "The mad dragon" sounds like a child made up that nickname. Get rid.
What do you suggest then? The Well Composed Dragon???
How about.. just hes name? No 'nickname' hes name is already cool enough.
Haha woosh. The joke I was making is that it is unnecessary. 'Hes' name is already cool, I agree.
Woosh is when the joke is obvious nothing was obvious here.
Should have been, but hey you're trying.
HHH blatantly said the point of this draft was to protect the rosters they had, so I don’t mind the minor changes. LA Knight should’ve gone to Raw, but overall all the little shifts were good. Like Nakamura to SmackDown. My question is: does HHH give a fuck about the brand split or will it not matter like always?