Now that Extreme Rules is behind us and all Superstars and championships have presumably settled on their respective brands, I thought I'd express my views on the post-Draft Raw and Smackdown landscape and give my thoughts.
Firstly, a summary of the 28 Superstars who changed brands (38% of the Roster):
From Smackdown to Raw: Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Kelly Kelly, JTG, Drew McIntyre, Curt Hawkins, Chris Masters, Kofi Kingston, Tyler Reks, Beth Phoenix
From Raw to Smackdown: Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Sin Cara, Daniel Bryan, The Great Khali, Jimmy Uso, Alicia Fox, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Natalya, Jey Uso, Ted Dibiase, Tyson Kidd, Tamina, Alex Riley, Sheamus
The final rosters look like this:
RAW
Babyfaces: John Cena, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Vladimir Kozlov, Santino Marella, Chris Masters, JTG, Goldust, David Hart Smith
Heels: The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, R-Truth, Mason Ryan, Skip Sheffield, David Otunga, Drew McIntyre, Husky Harris, Michael McGillicutty, Tyler Reks, Primo, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins
Part-Timers: Triple H, Jerry Lawler
Babyface Divas: Eve, Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim
Heel Divas: Kharma, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Maryse, Melina
Non-Wrestlers: Michael Cole, Vickie Guerrero, Ricardo Rodriguez
SMACKDOWN
Babyfaces: Randy Orton, Christian, Sin Cara, Kane, Daniel Bryan, The Great Khali, Trent Barretta
Heels: Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Ezekiel Jackson, Brodus Clay, Mark Henry, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Alex Riley, Ted Dibiase, Tyson Kidd, William Regal, Chavo Guerrero, Jay Uso, Jimmy Uso
Part-Timers: The Undertaker
Babyface Divas: Natalya, Layla, Kaitlyn
Heel Divas: Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, Tamina
Non-Wrestlers: Theodore Long, Ranjin Singh
Random Thoughts:
- Each year, the Draft seems designed to boost a weak Smackdown roster. Yet each year, Raw somehow manages to steal a majority of the big names. This was no change from the trend. The Red Brand is clearly the company's firm priority.
- I did not like the cute stunt WWE tried to pull with John Cena being drafted away from and then back to Raw on the same night. The concept was not necessarily a bad one. However, the way it was presented (Cena being drafted back to Raw and gleefully celebrating while the show went off the air) made Smackdown look second-rate and not worthy of the biggest star in the company. Bad move.
- It's interesting to see that three company favourites- Cena, Miz and Del Rio have ended up on the same brand. Cena is like the vanilla that will be a fixture of the ice cream parlour till eternity, but there may be room for only one flavour of the month...
- The Smackdown roster looks low on star power, but that may actually be a good thing, as WWE can use the show as the ultimate finishing school- a breeding ground for new stars to find their feet.
- Randy Orton is set to take over from Edge as the face of Smackdown. As the only established main-event talent on the brand, we can expect some long title reigns from Randy. Its the first time he has been entrusted the responsibility of carrying an entire show (as opposed to stealing it), and it will be interesting to see how well he adjusts to his new role. May the Age of Orton begin...
- There is a huge surplus of heels on Raw. Miz, Del Rio, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, R-Truth...and that's not even half of them. The competition should bring out the best in these performers, but how many of them will get lost in the shuffle?
- I have a feeling the long list of potential heel challengers played a part in the decision to put the championship back on Cena at Extreme Rules...
- In contrast, there is no obvious top heel on the Smackdown side. They could go with Wade Barrett and the storyline of The Corre being a dominant faction capturing all available titles. Alternatively, the reliable Sheamus could be built as Smackdown's top villain. However, Cody Rhodes has more momentum than either of the two, and is one of wrestling's most compelling characters today. He just may find himself in the right place at the right time.
- Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara have switched brands, reportedly to allow the latter to adjust to the WWE style of wrestling in the comparatively more comfortable environment of a taped show. This should work out fine for Cara, but Mysterio's last run on Raw in 2008 was a disaster, with the Raw creative team having no idea how to use him. We can only hope that's changed by now.
- Jack Swagger may be turning babyface by spurning Michael Cole, or he may be staying heel by permanently aligning with him. Either way, I think Swagger will benefit a lot from the solar levels of heat that Cole carries.
- Daniel Bryan moving to Smackdown is one of the best, if not the best move of this draft. Its a relief to have 'The Best Wrestler in the World' on the wrestling show, far away from the sports entertainment. Bryan is definitely amongst the very best workers in the business, and will hopefully start to move up the pecking order on the Blue Show.
- Ted Dibiase must be relieved over his escape from Raw purgatory. Hopefully this talented wrestler can make a fresh start on Smackdown. Maybe feuds with his former Legacy teammates?
- Despite consistently solid and often very impressive performances, Drew McIntyre was going nowhere on Smackdown. I was hoping he would get a change of scenery in the Draft, but as it now stands, he has ended up on a show packed with other heels, a large majority of whom are positioned above him at the moment. Looks like poor McIntyre 'Drew' a bad hand...
- I'm also disappointed not to see Zack Ryder switching shows. Ryder's hilarious weekly show on Youtube has become a rage among internet wrestling fans. He has been completely ignored by WWE Creative, but has shown creativity and initiative in launching an online show, similar to Jericho doing his own thing in the dying days of WWE. Ryder understands character development really well and is a solid worker, and definitely deserves TV time.
- If I had to pick tentative winners for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in a couple of months, I'd have to say John Morrison from Raw and Cody Rhodes from Smackdown as things stand.
- Chris Jericho, and possibly Batista, will likely be returning to WWE this year. One will probably end up on Raw as a babyface, and the other on Smackdown as a heel. Jericho is a legendary heel, so I wouldn't be surprised if he returns to SD in a revenge feud against Randy Orton for putting him out of action. However there have also been rumours of Jericho returning as a veteran babyface and feuding with the Miz.
Further tweaks I'd make to the rosters:
- Evan Bourne to Smackdown: He needs to be on a wrestling-oriented show.
- CM Punk to Smackdown: There are far too many heels on Raw. Punk can have some fantastic fresh feuds with the likes of Christian, Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan on Smackdown, and his rivalry with Orton can be revisited down the road in a championship setting. He can also get a long overdue run with a world championship. Punk is supposedly considering leaving WWE when his contract expires, partly out of frustration with his position. A move to Smackdown could help that. In my opinion, he's WWE's best performer at the moment, and it would be a tragedy for them to lose someone as valuable as him.
- Zack Ryder to Smackdown: As mentioned earlier.
- Drew McIntyre to Smackdown: Or else he might be as hard to spot on Raw as the Loch Ness monster.
