'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 2019 WWE roster draft has come to an end, ending the Wildcard Rule in the company and re-instituting the roster split on both RAW and SmackDown.
While this year's draft definitely provided its share of good and bad, both RAW and SmackDown now have clear slates of talents as RAW enters its new season and SmackDown makes the big transition to FOX.
One of the bigger fan complaints surrounding the WWE draft this year was the 'war room' style segments featuring TV executives, as many fans felt the segments were over-the-top in an unnecessary way and added little to RAW and SmackDown by way of value or realism.
Still, this year's draft produced several factors which move WWE in the right direction, so let's take a look at five things the company got right in the 2019 roster draft.
#5 Seth Rollins remains on RAW and Brock Lesnar goes to SmackDown
Heading into the WWE draft this year, it was unclear as to where the two top champions in the company would land, but now we know that The BeastSlayer Seth Rollins will remain on RAW and the new WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will head to SmackDown for the first time in years.
Lesnar was able to defeat Kofi Kingston in just seven seconds on SmackDown's premiere episode on FOX, and the bout set up the debut of Cain Velasquez who will face The Beast in singles action at the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel PPV.
It was wise of WWE to move Brock Lesnar over to SmackDown, as he can be represented as a more sports-oriented champion.
The same can be said about Seth Rollins remaining on RAW, as it is wise for the Universal Champion to be separated from Lesnar, and from The Fiend Bray Wyatt.
#4 The Fiend lands on SmackDown
While it looks like WWE SmackDown might be presented as more of a sports-oriented product now that the show is part of FOX's weekend sports lineup, but with The Fiend moving to the Blue brand the show will retain a solid amount of 'sports entertainment'.
Most recently, The Fiend has been feuding with Seth Rollins, and the feud culminated in a Hell in a Cell match at this month's Hell in a Cell PPV, and the bout was one of the most controversial of the year.
The finish of the match resulted in the referee throwing out the match, as the fans reigned down a chorus of boos directed at both WWE and Seth Rollins.
While WWE continued the Rollins and Wyatt feud on RAW this week, it's now over as Rollins effectively burned down the Firefly Funhouse and Wyatt will move to SmackDown. While some fans might not like the idea of Rollins literally burning down the Firefly Funhouse, it was a good idea, in the end, to separate Rollins and Wyatt as the feud had been tainted by the controversial Hell in a Cell finish and needed to come to a conclusive end.
#3 New talents had a solid showing across both SmackDown and RAW
All eyes were on the top stars of WWE in this year's roster draft, and the expected names, such as Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar and more were among the first picks across SmackDown and RAW.
But while the top names were certainly the standouts of the draft this year, it was the mid-card talents and up-and-coming names that had good showings on both shows and proved WWE is looking to push some new faces on the Red and Blue brands.
The drafting of The Kabuki Warriors to Monday Night RAW should give the Women's Tag Team Champions a fresh showing on the main roster after having been underutilized before their tag title win.
Buddy Murphy, who is said to be a 'Paul Heyman guy', had a good match against Cedric Alexander on RAW this week, and both stars have good momentum on the Red brand despite Alexander's losing streak as of late.
Lacey Evans looks like she might be turning babyface following her match tag team match on RAW, and that might be a good change of pace for the underrated talent who once had the opportunity to win the RAW Women's Title against Becky Lynch.
#2 The Viking Raiders are the new RAW Tag Team Champions
Most of WWE SmackDown and RAW this past week was centered around the draft, but WWE managed to keep things interesting outside of the draft with a great RAW Tag Team Title match which resulted in The Viking Raiders winning main roster gold for the first time.
Following the big title win, The Raiders cut a promo and actually referenced making pro wrestling history, as they are the first tag team to win the IWGP Tag Titles, the ROH Tag Titles, the NXT Tag Titles, and now the RAW Tag Titles.
Despite losing the RAW Tag Titles, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode look like they will be remaining a tag team as the duo was drafted to SmackDown in the fourth round of the draft on RAW this week.
Ziggler and Roode were starting to build momentum as a tag team, and the RAW Tag Title reign helped give newfound purpose to Robert Roode, who had been floundering on the WWE main roster in recent months. With the team heading to SmackDown, new feuds await the talented veterans, as well as a possible SmackDown Tag Team Title run.
#1 Bayley's full heel turn
This one has been a long time coming, and we saw what appeared to be a Bayley heel turn for the past several weeks, but the former 'hugger' solidified her turn on SmackDown this past Friday night and is now a full-fledged heel.
Bayley made a stunning entrance this past Friday night, and the SmackDown Women's Champion debuted a new look and decimated her entrance props, signaling she is no longer the fun-loving Bayley fans remember from her time in NXT.
Bayley has been an NXT graduate who has meandered somewhat on the main roster, with many fans feeling her old NXT gimmick was not translating well to main roster fans.
Bayley changed all of that on SmackDown last week, and the current Blue brand Women's Champion was drafted to remain on Friday nights in the second round of this week's draft on RAW.
With her new momentum and attitude, here is to hoping Bayley will find what has been missing since she debuted on the main roster in WWE.
What else did WWE get right with this year's draft episodes of RAW and SmackDown? Let us know in the comment section and be sure to follow SK on Twitter and Facebook!
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
