Draft Time: Who Will Go Where?

Tuesday July 19th marks a new era in the WWE. Well, a repeat of an era that was created fourteen years prior. It’s déjà vu all over again as the WWE presents the Draft Lottery where every wrestler will be split between the SmackDown! and RAW brands. Unlike the WWE Drafts from 2004-2011, the WWE is doing a complete reboot like they did in 2002 when they had every wrestler drafted between the two shows.

WHO I WOULD DRAFT WHERE?

When the WWE first created the WWE Draft in 2002, RAW was the brand that featured household names. SmackDown! was the “wrestling” brand. During the time Paul Heyman headed the creative team for SmackDown!, Edge, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, and Chavo Guerrero were dubbed the “SmackDown! Six, as a series of matches that featured many different combinations of these men working some of the best WWE matches of the era.

If I was splitting the two brands, selfishly, I would go back to having one brand be the “name” show, and the other brand being the “worker” brand. I believe that the WWE will have one brand feature the women, and the other brand feature tag teams. I also think that this is what the WWE should do. The WWE does not have the depth in the women’s division and the tag team division to create two separate women’s divisions and two separate tag team divisions (one for each brand). I think SmackDown! will get the tag teams, and RAW will feature the women.

SMACKDOWN!

I would put the wrestlers into tiers. The main event group would feature AJ Styles, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries, Fin Balor, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn. These wrestlers would be interchangeable in feuds between one another. The next rung would include the Wyatt clan, Chris Jericho, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, and Neville. I can insert any of these wrestlers into a feud with anyone from the main event group. With a concentrated push, any of these performers could have a lengthy run in the top group. The final tier would include Baron Corbin, and the Social Outcasts.

RAW

Using the tier system that I used for SmackDown!, I will also use it for RAW. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Rusev, Alberto Del Rio, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, and the Undertaker would be in the top level. The problem with this is that three of the top eight performers are part-time players. The one thing that this brand split is showing me before it even begins is that the WWE lacks the depth in main event level talent to properly house two separate brands. This is why the WWE needs to not just be rumored to be in talks with former WWE stars, but they need to bring them in.

The next rung in the tier system would house guys like Sheamus, the Big Show, Kane, and Mark Henry. The final tier includes Zack Ryder, Titus O’Niel, Jack Swagger, Darren Young and Apollo Crews. Any of these wrestlers could move up the chain as the older guys fall lower on the card.

WHO WILL GET DRAFTED WHERE?

Let me start off by saying that I haven’t read any rumors regarding who will get drafted where, so this is only a hunch as to what I think the WWE will do. As I previously mentioned, I think one show will house the tag team division, while the other will be the home to the women. The question is which division will go where? I think that the WWE will keep the women on RAW since women in sports seems to be the “in” thing ever since Ronda Rousey became a buy rate draw for the UFC. Since RAW is the “flagship show of the WWE,” I think the WWE will make the women a featured act on Monday nights.

That leaves the tag team scene for SmackDown!. Together as a unit, the tag team division is strong. As two separate divisions, it wouldn’t stand up as well. The New Day, the Wyatts, Anderson/Gallows, Big Cass/Enzo Amore, the Usos, the Dudleys, and NXTs Jason Jordan/Chad Gable would anchor a division which also includes the Vaudevillians, Sin Cara/Kalisto, the Colons, Fandango/Tyler Breeze, Ascension, and Golddust/R-Truth.

NEWBIES and PART-TIME PLAYERS

I think the WWE will call up some NXT talent. On the SmackDown! side, I think the WWE will bring Austin Aries, Fin Balor, and the American Alphas to the brand. RAW will probably bring up Bayley, Samoa Joe, and Shinsuke Nakamura.

I believe that the WWE will not put the Undertaker on a specific brand. I think he will be a freelance wrestler. I think Brock Lesnar will fall into the same category. Brock wrestles only a handful of times a year. He should not be handcuffed on who he can face in his limited matches based on brand restrictions. Triple H is a part time wrestler, but with Stephanie McMahon as the RAW commissioner, I see “The Game” standing right by her side as the “Authority” continue their reign of terror. John Cena, while still maintaining “regular” status, has been doing more non-WWE activities like “The Today Show,” the ESPYs, “American Grit,” and a number of non-WWE Films movies. Sooner rather than later, John Cena will be a part-time performer. He will be spending most of that time on SmackDown!. Kane, Mark Henry, and the Big Show are pretty much the same wrestler. I believe the WWE will put two of these men on RAW, and one on SmackDown!. Since Kane has the relationship with the Authority, I’ll say he stays on RAW, along with Mark Henry. Meanwhile, SmackDown! becomes the new home to the Big Show. I could see Chris Jericho being moved to SmackDown!, but due to his extracurricular non-WWE activities, I believe the WWE will keep him exclusive to the RAW roster.

MAIN EVENTERS and THE REST

I believe the top wrestlers on RAW will be the former Shield members of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins. Joining the Shield trio will be Randy Orton, Rusev, and Kevin Owens as the main event stars on RAW. SmackDown! will feature the aforementioned John Cena, along with AJ Styles, Cesaro, the Miz, and Sami Zayn. I believe these will be the non-part time performers that will be the focus of each brand.

The WWE, I believe will round out the rosters with Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Neville, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, and the Social Outcasts will anchor the rest of the SmackDown! lineup. While Alberto Del Rio, Titus O’Niel, Jack Swagger, Zack Ryder, and Darren Young close out RAW.

Which wrestler will end up on which brand is really anyone’s guess. One thing is for certain. We will find out on Tuesday night. Will the WWE learn from their mistakes of the past brand split or will history repeat itself? It will probably take a couple of years until we know this answer. What we do know is the draft is less than a week away. Where’s Mel Kiper to evaluate the picks when we need him?