by David Joaqui
The WWE Draft has come and gone and left us with plenty to talk about. For the first time in a few years the Draft wasn’t an utter disappointment. There were plenty of superstar switches between the brands that could create new storylines. The question remains if creative will do anything will these superstars, or just stick to the three or four people they always push. So, let’s look at how each night went and discuss!
Draft Night 1: Smackdown
Supplemental Night 1 Draft: Talking Smack
After Night 1 of the Draft there were some major moves. The most notable one is the separation of The New Day, as Kingston and Woods were drafted to Raw and Big E was drafted by Smackdown. I was not a fan of this at all. I understand that some people believe it was time the faction went their own way, especially with Big E’s current singles push, but they proved that they could still do that and be a faction. Without the help of Woods & Big E, Kingston’s rise to the top and WWE Championship would have been missing something. They’ve always been able to keep themselves relevant and on top. I’m hoping these three have a recurring segment on PPV’s just so that we continue to see our favorite pancake slinging, dancing, trombone playing, group together again.
Along with the New Day’s split we saw Rollins drafted over to Smackdown, so the Monday Night Messiah is no more, but the savior is now able to brainwash the Smackdown roster and possibly feud with his former Shield brethren Roman Reigns again. The last of the noticeable moves was the split of Heavy Machinery, who never really got their footing on the main roster, as Tucker was drafted to Raw and Otis to Smackdown. This might not fair well for Mr. Money in the Bank, Otis, as he is now without Mandy Rose and Tucker. Who knows if he’ll even have a successful cash in, but the odds aren’t in his favor.
Winner of Night 1: Smackdown
Draft Night 2: Raw
Supplemental Night 2 Draft: Raw Talk
Others Drafted:
Night 2 of the Draft continued where the first night left off with a huge move as “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt was drafted over to Raw. Wyatt was also joined by Alexa Bliss, meaning we haven’t seen the last of those two together. Night 2 really evened out both shows and gave us so many different possibilities. Raw could see Keith Lee and Braun Strowman’s rivalry continue. Smackdown’s midcard was given a boost with Kevin Owens and Aleister Black, both which could rival Daniel Bryan and provide for great matches.
Unfortunately, not enough NXT guys were moved up into the two brands, but I’d like for future drafts to include NXT as a third party. Giving us the possibilities of having someone like Randy Orton move to the yellow brand and compete with these younger guys. They did such a great job of making NXT look strong last year, it’s time to put some respect on them and the great quality of shows they put week in and week out.
Winner of Night 2: Raw
Overall, the 2020 WWE Draft was a success in my eyes. It feels like both brands were given a breath of fresh air. The job is now on creative to provide us with some good storylines that make sense. Storylines that won’t be tossed away after two weeks. There’s no excuse for putting the same superstars over either. This is a blank slate. Don’t mess it up WWE.