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The first part of the WWE Draft took place on this week's episode of SmackDown. There were some great picks made by both Raw and SmackDown on Day 1 of the draft. However, there were equally questionable decisions that confused the fans.
WWE Draft is expected to be one of the biggest things of every year as it sets the flow for the two brands until the next draft. But, it didn't feel like a big deal this time around.
The WWE made a bunch of mistakes, particularly with the order of certain draft picks. It is not possible to please all the fans, but they could have done a better job at it since the draft is supposed to make the fans excited.
With that said, let's look at three reasons why the draft was disappointing on this week's episode of SmackDown.
#3 NXT picks
It is not fair to say that Raw and SmackDown are superior to NXT. While the main roster brands may be raking in more viewership, NXT has proved to be the better brand over the last few years as far as the storylines and matches are concerned.
Since NXT has moved to the USA Network and extended its weekly programming to 2 hours, it allows more wrestlers to shine in the spotlight. Therefore, wrestlers can stay on the brand for a longer time now.
However, they should not completely abandon the idea of using NXT wrestlers on Raw and SmackDown. As mentioned earlier, the draft is one of the most exciting nights due to the surprise picks. An NXT star making the move to the main roster usually surprises fans, as evidenced by Superstar Shake-ups in the last few years.
This year, WWE let us down as no one besides The Street Profits was picked from NXT. While Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford are a formidable team, it must be added that the two were already making appearances on Raw and SmackDown anyway.
#2 Accidentally spoiling the draft order
Before the draft even began, WWE made a big mistake online, as they spoiled the draft order. WWE.com released a list of all members on the roster who were eligible to be drafted during SmackDown.
However, it wasn't just a random list as almost every pick made during SmackDown was following the same order in which the draft pool was listed on the website. The first two rounds of the draft followed the exact order. WWE made some small changes to the round three picks after possibly becoming aware of the mistake.
This is quite embarrassing as it spoiled the draft picks for fans who were meant to be surprised.
#1 Overstacking the SmackDown roster
SmackDown made eight draft picks, and Raw made 12 draft picks during Day 1 of the WWE Draft. Even though there were four rounds, it seems that SmackDown made the better picks. Their roster seems way more stacked than Raw, which is quite surprising.
Though Raw has great wrestlers in the form of Becky Lynch and Kevin Owens, SmackDown is just on a different level right now. Superstars such as Roman Reigns, 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Braun Strowman give them a huge edge over Raw.
The WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will likely continue to lead SmackDown in the months to come and that helps them as well. Overall, they might be at risk of overstacking their roster. Since it's only a two-hour show, there's only so much talent that they can utilize regularly.
Therefore, let's hope the two rosters are at equal strength after Day 2 of the draft, which will take place on Raw next week.
