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The first night of the 2019 WWE Draft is in the books and both rosters are shaping up. 20 picks were made in total, with RAW getting 12 and SmackDown getting eight. There is still a lot left for Monday night, with the majority of the roster yet to learn their fate.
The Red brand started off the Draft by picking The Man, Becky Lynch. Following four rounds of picks, the Monday night show ended up with a roster heavy on babyface women and tag teams, while the men's division slightly leans towards the heelish side. The OC and Drew McIntyre among others will need a good set of faces to feud with.
Now, we have a clearer picture of what WWE may want for their Superstars. RAW will be all about putting together the pieces of the puzzle. They know the areas that require recruitment, based on SmackDown's events. With the Blue brand now on FOX, RAW may become the work rate based show to a certain extent. We will find out on Monday.
Here are five picks that RAW must make on Night 2 of the WWE Draft.
#5 Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins is not one of the more popular WWE Superstars at this moment, especially due to the finish to his Hell in a Cell match against the Fiend. However, he is still one of the best performers in the entire company. Rollins is seemingly the face of WWE, or at least RAW. He will likely be the number one pick on Monday, as he was in the 2016 Draft.
He is still the Universal Champion, so staying on the Red brand is pretty much the only option for him. His fellow world champion, Brock Lesnar, looks to be a big part of FOX's plans and his fiancée, Becky Lynch, was the first pick for RAW. It seems pretty straightforward but hopefully, WWE begins to book him much better than they have in the past. As unlikely as it is, a heel turn would not be a bad option.
#4 AOP
After a lengthy absence following WrestleMania, the Authors of Pain are back in WWE. So far, they have only cut backstage promos in their respective native languages. Akam and Rezar have not had an enjoyable main roster run so far. AOP debuted on the RAW after WrestleMania 34 to a huge reaction, but visa issues halted their momentum as well as their disposal of Paul Ellering.
Their partnership with Drake Maverick did not seem like a natural fit at all and it ultimately took an ugly turn.
Despite winning the RAW Tag Team Championship at one point, AOP lingered around for far too much time. And at a time when WWE needs to bolster its tag team division, these two could be very valuable to the Red brand.
They could be the leading heel tag team on the roster, alongside the OC and are excellent challengers for the Viking Raiders, who will likely win the tag team titles from Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler on RAW. The Authors of Pain staying on Monday nights would certainly be the first step towards what would be a colossal war between the two sets of former NXT Tag Team Champions.
#3 Buddy Murphy
After years of floundering in NXT, Buddy Murphy made a name for himself on 205 Live. He enjoyed a fantastic 6-month reign as the Cruiserweight Champion and looked to have secured a decent upper midcard role on SmackDown following this year's Superstar Shakeup.
However, his appearances have been few and far between due to the introduction of the Wildcard rule. At one point, it did look like Murphy was set to break out from the shackles of obscurity during the Roman Reigns 'Whodunnit' angle and it really seemed like a star was born.
The Australian had excellent matches against Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan in August, even pinning the latter clean. But WWE failed to capitalize on his momentum. The increased usage of the Wildcard rule consistently kept him, as well as Ali, in the dark match every week. Now, with the rosters being split, the Best Kept Secret should be revealed on RAW.
It seems like Paul Heyman is high on him, making him an instant fit on a roster already featuring the likes of Ricochet, Randy Orton and AJ Styles. It would be great to see Buddy Murphy win the United States Championship, or possibly compete for the Universal title.
#2 Charlotte Flair
After losing the SmackDown Women's Championship to a new-look Bayley, Charlotte Flair is not a lock for the Blue brand anymore. There is also no inclination for the story between the two horsewomen to continue, so it would be best for the Queen to move on. She has been on SmackDown since 2017, winning the brand's Women's Championship five times.
So perhaps, it is time for a new queendom. One that presents relatively fresh stories, aside from another championship feud with Becky Lynch. RAW has drafted The Man, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and Nikki Cross so far.
It is solid enough, but there is a gaping hole in there that needs to be filled by a top heel. That top heel is Charlotte. She is so much better as a villainess with all of her mannerisms and attitude so hopefully, her face turn was only a temporary measure while Bayley dipped her feet in evil waters.
If she does move, the Queen should not go near the RAW Women's Championship for a good four to five months, until WrestleMania season. It only makes sense for the four horsewomen to be split evenly, as the top two stars of each show.
#1 Daniel Bryan
With Bray Wyatt off to SmackDown and Seth Rollins not getting the reactions that WWE was hoping for, the company will have to pull off a blockbuster move to have a solid babyface second from the top, ready to pounce if they ever decided to pull the trigger on a heel turn for Rollins. Daniel Bryan is perfect for that.
On a show currently dominated by the big guys, MMA fighters and boxing legends, it would be very difficult for Bryan to stand out as a consistent main eventer. That is why he should make the move from Friday nights on FOX to Monday nights, possibly wrestling classics every year.
WWE should honestly just spend 10% of its three hours to showcase the Planet's Champion every week, in the form of an invitational. Bryan is the most generous man in wrestling, so imagine the stars he could help build.
He only recently turned babyface so with his popularity set to rise massively once again, there may not be a better choice to take the Universal title from Seth Rollins than Daniel Bryan. He is ridiculously good in all aspects of professional wrestling. Aside from the legendary in-ring skills, Bryan has charisma for days and has the crowd at the palm of his hands during every single promo of his.
Out of all the Superstars in the pool on Monday, Daniel Bryan is the one must-have pick for RAW. He will immensely improve the product and will give the Red brand some world-class, high-quality wrestling. Something that would balance Paul Heyman's wacky soap opera world.
