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When the USA Network decided to broadcast SmackDown live on Tuesday nights, WWE saw this as an excellent opportunity to split the rosters into two different brands again.
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The original 2002-2011 split brought us John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton and numerous other stars who may not have broken through without the extra attention being on a smaller roster provided.
The main reason the brands came back together in 2011 was due to a lack of stars on both rosters. However, this was not an issue in 2016. Due to Triple H’s extensive recruitment efforts, the company had a surplus of talent.
In total, 59 superstars and tag teams were drafted from the main roster and NXT. On the two-year anniversary of the draft, let’s look at the five acts who have experienced the most success since then.
#5 The Usos
Jimmy and Jey’s heel turn shortly after being drafted to Smackdown was a welcome change. The Usos' act had grown still as babyfaces; the attitude adjustment was just what they needed.
The brothers showed glimpses of their personality previously, notably at the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 when they inducted their father Rikishi and on Total Divas where Jimmy Uso was usually the most entertaining character on the ‘reality’ show, but as heels, they were finally allowed to showcase their charisma to a broader audience.
Their dynamic promos were often the highlight of Smackdown. Who could forget The Usos rap battle against The New Day? Xavier Woods is still reeling from that line.
The Usos also delivered in the ring, having great bouts against The New Day, American Alpha and others. Jimmy and Jey lifted the Smackdown Tag Team Titles three times.
After losing the belts to The Bludgeon Brothers at WrestleMania 34, The Usos have been treading water; they would’ve been ideal choices to move to Raw during this year’s Superstar Shakeup.
Of course, WWE could switch the brothers to Raw anytime and claim their “Smackdown contracts expired.” A link-up with their cousin, Roman Reigns on Raw, would be a fresh change for all.
#4 Alexa Bliss
Questions were asked when WWE decided to split their already small women’s division into two. To fill out the rosters, WWE drafted three women from NXT: Nia Jax, Carmella and Alexa Bliss. With only six women on Smackdown, Bliss had ample opportunity to stand out, which she did with her striking looks and fiery performances. The 5’1 dynamo shockingly dethroned inaugural Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at TLC 2016.
Bliss’s move to Raw in the 2017 Superstar Shakeup seemed a bit premature considering she had been on Smackdown for less than a year but ‘The Goddess’ ended up conquering the ‘A-show’. Bliss became the first woman to hold both the Smackdown and Raw Women’s Championships when she defeated Bayley at Payback in April 2017.
In-ring, Bliss is not on the level of Charlotte, Asuka and the other top female workers but her promo and character work is some of the best in the company - male or female.
Sure, she’s had her missteps (the This is Your Life Bayley segment will live in infamy), but her promo at Elimination Chamber, where she tearfully thanked the fans after retaining the belt before reverting to a full-blown heel was masterful.
A feud with Ronda Rousey is forthcoming for the dastardly Bliss. With Rousey’s star power and Bliss’s promo skills, don’t be surprised if this bout closes the show at SummerSlam.
#3 The Miz
While The Miz’s rival Daniel Bryan may be the one who shouts “Yes!”, It’s The Miz who is the actual ‘Yes Man’ in WWE. Movies, radio shows, reality TV, whatever the WWE asks of Miz, he does. The Miz is an asset outside of the ring.
At the time of the draft, The Miz was stagnant as an in-ring performer; he had been since his main-event career ended in late 2011. That was until a segment on the ill-fated Talking Smack. After the host, Daniel Bryan commented on The Miz’s style being “soft”; Miz exploded with one of the best promos in years. The Miz took the momentum from that segment and ran with it; he was the highlight of Smackdown up until his April 2017 move to Raw.
With Brock Lesnar and the Universal title absent for most of the year, The Miz and his Intercontinental Championship became the top title on the brand. He frequently headlined the show, trading the IC title with all three members of The Shield from Apr 2017-Apr 2018. Due to the Superstar Shakeup this year, Miz has headed back to Smackdown, partially to follow through with the Daniel Bryan/Miz feud they’ve been teasing for two years.
WWE has held off on booking a straight one-on-one match between the two. Miz and Bryan did face-off briefly last month as part of a gauntlet match on Smackdown, but Bryan was waylaid by The Bludgeon Brothers before the bout began, allowing Miz to sneak in and get a quick win.
Some fans think that the Miz/Bryan match will not take place until WrestleMania 35. Bryan has publicly said that he has little faith that WWE will save the big grudge match for WM35. There’s a chance that Bryan might not even be in WWE next year. Regardless, The Miz will continue to play a big part in WWE for years to come.
#2 AJ Styles
Dean Ambrose may have been the first draft pick for Smackdown during the 2016 Draft, but it was #2 pick, AJ Styles who became Smackdown’s real Numero Uno.
Styles only debuted six months before the draft, but ‘The Phenomenal One’ had an eventful time; he feuded with Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and most notably – John Cena. Styles was separated from Luke Gallow and Karl Anderson, his teammates in The Club (I wonder where they got that name?). However, the split of the short-lived group didn’t hurt Styles momentum at all.
Styles won the WWE Championship from Dean Ambrose on the first Smackdown-only PPV, Backlash. Since then, he’s been synonymous with the title; he’s been WWE Champion for the majority of the time since the draft. Styles also found time to be a two-time United States Champion as well.
WWE has not helped him out on the booking front, his 2-on-1 feud against Owens and Zayn was uneventful, and his dream feud with Shinsuke Nakamura was a disappointment due to WWE’s idea to center the dispute on groin shots. But he’s still managed to shine despite the poor booking, assembling excellent matches week-in-and-week-out.
Not long ago, the only time you could play as AJ Styles in a WWE video game was by downloading a fan-created version of him. Now, the former TNA star will grace the cover of WWE 2K19. Styles has made it.
#1 Braun Strowman
The new ‘Monster in The Bank’ has improved the most in stature and ability since the 2016 Draft.
Before the roster split, Strowman was a part of the Wyatt Family. As a member of the four-man team, the uber-green Strowman was protected, but now the two-year pro was on his own on Raw.
After the draft, WWE brought back the squash match to build up both Strowman and his female counterpart, Nia Jax. It was a novel idea, Strowman shone in these one-minute destructions
It wasn’t until October that Strowman had his first solo feud against Sami Zayn. Strowman’s first half of 2017 was spent feuding with Roman Reigns, any questions on his suitability as a top star were dismissed. While their series didn’t light the world on fire, their matches were brutal and dynamic.
Strowman’s push has been remarkably measured by WWE standards, they’ve resisted the urge to hotshot the Universal Title on him, and he is not out there wrestling twenty-minute competitive bouts. He’s only been pinned by two men since entering WWE – Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. It doesn’t get more elite than that.
Strowman growth is as much as down to him as it’s WWE’s booking. The big man cut a lot of weight since his debut. He’s also bulked up and improved drastically in the ring. In the two years he’s been solo, Strowman’s shown that he can play the monster heel and recently, he’s displayed his more comedic side, winning the Raw Tag Team titles with the fearsome Nicholas.
2018 has been a fantastic year for Strowman already. Along with his tag title victory, he also won the inaugural Greatest Royal Rumble and had his hand raised by Vince McMahon.
Whenever Strowman cashes in that contract, he’ll go from being ‘The Monster’ to ‘The Man’.
