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The life of a WWE wrestler is difficult. You’re driving to every city. You’re always working injured. You’re rarely home with your family. On top of all that, you’re trying to get noticed. You want the fans to cheer you, or boo you, or give you some kind of reaction. Everyone wants to be champ, even though there’s very few spots at the top of the card.
The WWE Draft shook things up further. Now, half of the talent is on Raw, and the other half of the talent is on SmackDown. Some wrestlers were happy with the draft results. Others were not, and were vocal about their displeasure.
Complex caught up with several Superstars this past Friday at the WWE SummerSlam KickOff in New York City. They were there to play and promote WWE 2K17, which drops on October 11 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. We asked them about the draft and their current status in WWE, and here’s what they had to say.
Enzo Amore & Big Cass
Brand: Monday Night Raw
Draft Pick: Round 4, No. 20
Accomplishments: WWE NXT Tag Team of the Year
SummerSlam Result: Lost to Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Enzo: “The response of the fans is humbling. It’s gratifying. It’s beyond words at certain times. But Big Cass and I would be lying if we said we didn’t expect it. If we couldn’t get the fans behind us, we would earn their respect.
Cass: “I think history would show that for some, it’s been difficult to translate the reactions they’ve been getting from NXT to Monday Night Raw or Smackdown Live! There’s no barometer for that. But we were very confident that we were going to translate.”
Enzo: “We’re ourselves. We’ve always been ourselves.”
Cass: “I thought me and Enzo should have been drafted first overall. Though we did get drafted to Monday Night Raw, which is the best show on television.”
Enzo: Me and Big Cass came to Raw to achieve what eluded us down in NXT. We came here to win WWE tag team gold. And then from there? WWE championships.”
Charlotte
Brand: Monday Night Raw
Draft Pick: Round 1, No. 3
Accomplishments: WWE NXT Women’s Champion, WWE Divas Champion, WWE Women’s Champion
SummerSlam Result: Pinned Sasha Banks to regain the WWE Women’s Championship
“I think my pick in Round 1 shows how important women are to the show.
"I was also really happy with Becky being the #1 pick for SmackDown. But she’s my best friend, and we got split up. We did everything together—worked out together, traveled together. That split was really hard, and I’m still getting adjusted to not being with my best friend. But it’s a huge opportunity for her to be over there, and a huge opportunity for me to be on Raw. So professionally, it’s great. And spreading the talent is best for everyone.
"None of the women can get complacent. This [the Divas Revolution] could all be taken away if we don’t continue to execute, work together, and want more for the women’s division.”
Sasha Banks
Brand: Monday Night Raw
Draft Pick: Round 3, No. 13
Accomplishments: WWE NXT Women’s Champion, WWE Women’s Champion
SummerSlam Result: Lost the WWE Women’s Championship to Charlotte. This interview took place the prior Friday.
“I didn’t really care about my placement in the draft. I just knew that I wanted to follow Charlotte, because she had the title at the time. And I knew that if I had the opportunity to face her, I would win. Who cares about being #1 when you’re the champ? I can’t believe I’m walking into SummerSlam as the champion.”
"Right now, the SmackDown women don’t have anything [a belt] to fight for. They have incredible women over there. Naomi, Nattie, Becky, Carmella. Those girls are amazing, and given the opportunity, they’re going to kill it. They get two segments over there, which is great.”
The Miz and Maryse
Brand: SmackDown Live!
Draft Pick: Round 4, No. 17
Notable Accomplishments: Miz - WWE Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion; Maryse - WWE Divas Champion
SummerSlam Result: Pinned Apollo Crews
Miz: “I think we were really happy with the draft.”
Maryse: “Yeah!”
Miz: “We looked at each other and said, ‘This is perfect.’ We go to Smackdown Live!, we become the centerfold of that show. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing. It’s a captivating show where you never know what’s going to happen. And I think the ratings have shown that.”
Miz: “It’s one thing to call each other or Facetime, but you want that physical contact. I want to be able to kiss my wife, hug my wife, be around my wife, because I enjoy being around her.
Maryse: “It’s the French.”
Miz: “It’s rubbing off on me. Exactly.”
Sheamus
Brand: Monday Night Raw
Draft Pick: Round 6, No. 30
Notable Accomplishments: WWE World Heavyweight Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, WWE United States Championship, King of the Ring, Royal Rumble winner
SummerSlam Result: Pinned Cesaro
“The draft was great, I loved it. It was the best thing that could have happened for a lot of people’s careers. Completely different rosters. Completely different storylines going on. And opportunities for a lot of men and women who don’t have the chance to do something to have that opportunity. My placement is irrelevant. It’s in the past. I’ve just got to look forward, and show everybody what I can do.
"If I worry too much about the competition, then I don’t worry enough about myself. I think right now, Raw is tearing it up. I like having hard-hitting, physical, old school style matches like I’ve had for the past couple of weeks.
"I travel with Titus and a few other people. I miss Becky. I miss Fandango as well. But I’m focused on my career. I’ve always been successful on my own.”
AJ Styles
Brand: SmackDown Live
Draft Pick: Round 1, No. 4
Notable Accomplishments: IWGP Heavyweight Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, TNA World Tag Team champion
SummerSlam Result: Pinned John Cena
“WWE has been doing this for awhile, so they know what they’re doing. It’s fun to be a part of something that’s easy to do, to be honest. I’m not confused on how to do something or where to go. It’s very professional; I’m briefed on everything. You put me in the ring, I’ll take care of that. But it’s outside the ring that Superstars may struggle with, and they [the WWE] make it easy.
I thought the draft was going well until my buddies [Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson] went to Raw and I went to SmackDown. Those guys are more than just friends. Those are my brothers. We were in Japan together, and then we came over to the WWE together. I was a little heartbroken. We always had fun together, and now I’m driving by myself. Before, those guys kept me awake by being annoying and making me laugh all the time.
It’s an opportunity for them to do well in the tag division and for me to do well in the heavyweight division. Not having them with me is weird, but I’m really happy for them, because they still have each other.”
Kevin Owens
Brand: Monday Night Raw
Draft Pick: Round 4, No. 18
Notable Accomplishments: ROH World Heavyweight Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion, WWE NXT Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion
SummerSlam Result: Teamed with Chris Jericho, pinned Enzo & Cass
“The experience of NXT versus Raw really isn’t that different. Triple H really molded NXT to prepare you for the moment you show up on Raw. It’s just bigger arenas. I think everyone—from Triple H to Matt Boone to William Regal to Canyon Ceman to all the coaches—did such a great job of getting us ready for the main roster.
"I was obviously picked way too late in the Draft, but everybody knows that, so there’s no point in me saying it. Everybody feels like they should have placed higher. But what’s done is done.
"Triple H is the reason I’m here. He’s looked out for me since I got out here, but you get ahead with what you do. What I’m doing is working. I’m going to keep doing it, and if it stops working one day, I’m going to adjust and keep climbing the ladder.”
