Image via Complex Original
Well, that was a wasted opportunity.
Wrestling fans get a bad rap for being overly negative. But honest to God, everyone: We don’t enjoy being like that. We want to cheer for the WWE. We want to be positive about the storylines we see on television every Monday (and now, live every Tuesday!). It’s why we continue to tune in—precisely because we see the untapped potential. But every time the WWE seems on the verge of realizing that potential, they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. And yesterday evening’s 2016 Draft, which aired live on Smackdown, illustrates that tendency.
WWE is at a key juncture. They’ve spent the past two years raiding the indie promotions of key talent, and nurturing homegrown talent in their developmental promotion, NXT. There’s never been this volume of worthy wrestlers from such a diversity of backgrounds in the same company at the exact same time. But at the same time, WWE also has to account for their aging veterans, the old war horses who have been employed for close to a decade or more. They’re past their prime, true, but they still retain the love and nostalgic appreciation of the casual fan. People like and feel comfortable with what they know and what is familiar.
The last time WWE botched this transition in the early '90s, it almost put them out of business.
The easier business move, in the short term, would be to push the veterans to the top of the card, and ride that train until the wheels fall off. But riding down that path for too long leads to nowhere. Should older talent retire or get injured, there would be no one left with the charisma, experience, and know-how to carry the WWE.
At some point, sooner rather than later, the veterans definitively need to pass on the torch. It may be difficult. It may lead to a bumpy downturn in business as everyone adjusts to his or her new roles. But it’s better than the dumpster fire that would result from maintaining the status quo. The last time WWE botched this transition in the early '90s, it almost put them out of business.
The Draft seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a clean, firm break from the past. Place the new stars in the brightest spotlight possible. Respect the veterans, but place them in the lower, more supportive role of getting young talent over. It seemed like WWE—after dragging its feet for years and now adopting the “New Era” slogan—was finally going to follow through and commit wholeheartedly.
That didn’t happen. Let’s take a look at the first six draft rounds, one-by-one, and make some observations. Remember: If we follow WWE’s storyline logic, this is the order of priority that Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon place on the WWE talent:
Round 1
- Seth Rollins - Raw
- WWE Champion Dean Ambrose - SmackDown Live
- WWE Women's Champion Charlotte - Raw
- AJ Styles - SmackDown Live
- Finn Bálor - Raw from NXT
This is the best round of the whole draft. No complaints. All five Superstars represent the future of WWE (though Charlotte could use some polish), and they are fairly split between both brands. Moving forward.
Round 2
- Roman Reigns - Raw
- John Cena - SmackDown Live
- Brock Lesnar - Raw
- Randy Orton - SmackDown Live
- WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day - Raw
New Day deserves this lofty position. Cena is making a wonderful transition into the midcard for the twilight of his career, so he’s also good where he is. But Reigns is currently out on suspension. Lesnar is a part-time Superstar who only appears a handful of times per year and has one foot out the door. Orton is coming back from injury; it’s questionable how much longer his body will hold up under the 12-month schedule. Are these the Superstars who ought to be second round draft picks? Is this the future?
It’s the safe route, obviously. But WWE had a big opportunity—to make a clear, confident statement about their self-purported “New Era”—and they declined. What about Cesaro? What about Big Cass? What about American Alpha? What about Sami Zayn? What about Kevin Owens? Perhaps not all the casual fans knows their names yet. But how will they, unless they’re set up for success?
Round 3
- Sami Zayn - Raw
- Bray Wyatt - SmackDown Live
- Sasha Banks - Raw
- Becky Lynch - SmackDown Live
- Chris Jericho - Raw
Well, there’s Zayn, finally. And the women are being split in a way that makes sense — the contenders go to Raw, and the midcarders go to Smackdown. But what is Jericho doing there? He’s a 45-year-old Attitude Era wrestler! And Bray Wyatt is on Smackdown, split from his stable. Again! WWE already tried, and failed, to split Wyatt from his family (killing his buzz in the process), and now they’re repeating their mistake. Give the poor man the support he deserves rather than jerking him around for another year. He’s a bonafide star who keeps getting screwed.
Round 4
- United States Champion Rusev (with Lana) - Raw
- Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with Maryse) - SmackDown Live
- Kevin Owens - Raw
- Baron Corbin - SmackDown Live
- Enzo & Cass - Raw
This is alright. The new guys— Corbin, Enzo, and Cass—were given some necessary exposure. Rusev and Miz didn’t provoke a response from the live crowd when they were announced, which is a problem. Owens is being drafted way too late, and either Owens or Zayn should have been drafted to Smackdown. Their constant feuding and hijacking of each other’s matches is getting stale, and it’s just going to continue with both of them on Raw.
Round 5
- Gallows and Anderson - Raw
- American Alpha - SmackDown Live from NXT
- Big Show - Raw
- Dolph Ziggler - SmackDown Live
- Nia Jax - Raw from NXT
Gallows and Anderson are separated from AJ, which is the right call—they’re too talented to be his stooges for the next six months. It’s great to see American Alpha on there too—they’ve been ready to be called up for months. But the last three draftees are massive question marks. Big Show? Dolph Ziggler? Out of all the wrestlers that WWE could have spotlighted on Smackdown!, someone younger and on the rise would have been better. Apollo Crews, perhaps.
Round 6
- Neville - Raw
- Natalya - SmackDown Live
- Cesaro - Raw
- Alberto Del Rio - SmackDown Live
- Sheamus - Raw
Again, the lack of response from the live crowd was deafening. They went with the most predictable picks possible. Both Cesaro and Neville should have been drafted higher, but the remaining three wrestlers should not have been picked in the 6th round. As it is, on an average Raw or Smackdown, Sheamus and Del Rio get muted responses. Why, on the first live Smackdown of the New Era, are they being pushed so prominently? Again, the WWE is playing it safe and favoring the familiar over the new. Titus O’Neill or Darren Young are both on the rise. Either would have been better, bolder choices.
Conclusion
It’s notable who’s missing from the draft. No Bayley. No Nakamura. No Samoa Joe. Maybe they’re being kept in NXT because they’re extremely popular. But storyline-wise? It makes zero sense, because they’re bigger Superstars than the ones who were drafted. Why should the fans take this stuff seriously if the WWE doesn’t?
Hopefully, they’re being saved for bigger reveals down the road. Because currently, and particularly in the case of Bayley, it just looks like they’re being neglected. You can take a look at the rest of the draft here (11 rounds in all), but you get the idea. There were no surprises and no swerves—no bold, daring picks to get the crowd excited. It’s not bad. But it’s just more of the same.
Perhaps there would have been locker room drama if the veterans were drafted in round six instead of round three, but the WWE were the ones hyping this “New Era” at every opportunity. Nobody forced them to do that, nobody forced them into that slogan, and there was no sense in adopting it if they weren't actually going to commit.
All that being said, I’ll be watching NXT on Wednesday, Battleground on Sunday, Raw on Monday, and Smackdown on Tuesday. Because that’s what it means to be a wrestling fan; we’re ride or die. And, ironically, it’s because we’re so loyal to the WWE that they’ll never feel compelled to listen to us. We just continue hoping.
Maybe next time.