The 2019 WWE Draft is in the books and WOW, Monday Night Raw, while will definitely be viewed as the B Show going forward, looks freaking stacked! Smackdown looks good too but with a part time World Champion facing a new hire at WWE's 4th blood money Saudi Arabia event, I don't have my hopes up too high, until we get a new WWE Champion who can defend at monthly PPVs. Sorry, this post is not bash Smackdown.
Anyway, Raw already built a talented locker room on Night One. AJ Styles, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Kevin Owens, and Bobby Lashley were just a few of the singles stars that came to Raw. Night 2 only solidified their place as the 'wrestler's' going forward. WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Andrade, Rusev, Aleister Black, Cedric Alexander, Humberto Carrillo, Buddy Murphy, Samoa Joe, Akira Tozawa and Rey Mysterio make up Raw's men singles division. Are you kidding me? So many amazing talents all on one show. It was probably for the best that Rollins kept the Universal Title as he has SO many challengers. The women's division also got a boost as overall #1 pick Becky Lynch is now joined by bitter arch rival Charlotte, Liv Morgan and The Kabuki Warriors. Joined by Natalya, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross drafted from Night One and you have a pretty solid women's division. The tag division didn't get a lot of help on Night Two, so I expect a few makeshift teams to form in the coming weeks as they only have the NEW Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders, The OC and The Street Profits. It needs to be said; Raw won the draft. The build to the future is clear and I expect big things from guys like McIntyre, Andrade, Ricochet and Buddy Murphy.
Smackdown countered Raw's first pick of Universal Champion with the expected pick of WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, which was pretty obvious. New Day, Daniel Bryan, Nakamura, Ali, Miz, Ziggler and Roode, Gable, Elias and King Corbin were a few of the male picks on Night Two. It's basically more of the same for Smackdown as many of these guys were already on Smackdown. Roode, Corbin, and Miz are the only real new additions. Adding in Reigns, Wyatt, and Strowman and Smackdown men's singles division is a little lacking. There's not a lot of up and comers on the brand and it looks like we're headed for the same old Lesnar VS Reigns and Strowman matches for the foreseeable future. Not a lot of female picks for Smackdown but they're keeping two stars already on the brand; Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley and Carmella. They join Sasha Banks and Lacey Evans who were both drafted on Night One. Four women in a division? That's not going to work. They're going to have to work on getting some of those free agents, like Fire and Desire, The IIconics, Dana Brooke and Sarah Logan. I'm guessing Carmella is Bayley's first feud followed by Lacey Evans, who looks to be turning face. Tag division received The New Day and Ziggler/Roode. They join the Smackdown Tag Champs The Revival and Heavy Machinery. Like Raw, I feel like more makeshift teams are going to form. Smackdown seems lacking in all departments, which is weird, seeing how they are now on the bigger network. It's going to be interesting to see how the show is booked going forward.
There's still a few free agents out there, such as Cesaro, AOP, Hawkins/Ryder, the women mentioned above, and Luke Harper. There's other stars who weren't even in the pools such as Naomi, The Usos, Lars Sullivan, Ember Moon, Nia Jax and Ruby Riott. There's also that blockbuster trade that's being rumored. The only thing that makes sense would be a trade between major stars right? Like, stars featured in the first rounds. I'm going to make a bold prediction here; what if it's Rollins for Wyatt? Seth Rollins VS The Fiend Bray Wyatt is set for Crown Jewel in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Universal Championship. Why even book this match? They could have easily dropped the feud and moved on as they are both on different brands now. My thought is do a trade and title change in one swoop. Otherwise, what is the point of the match? They don't want another disaster do they?
Raw is the clear winner here. They have the stars and I hope WWE books them well. Smackdown needs helps and I hope they build around guys like Reigns, Bryan, Kingston and the soon to be traded Seth Rollins.
Draft is now over! Looking forward to what WWE has in store for these guys in the next few months.
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