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WWE SmackDown and Draft Day 1 is officially in the books. We quite liked the episode and thought it was a solid show, more so than last week. Perhaps the great ending of it helped fans, including us, overlook the bad parts of the show (and there were a few, but we'll leave that for our Best & Worst series). Had Hell in a Cell ended with a satisfying conclusion, fans would have been raving about what a great PPV it was.
Either way, looking at the Draft, things were certainly interesting. It was presented partially as it was in real-life. USA Network and FOX Executives have reportedly been directly involved in the planning of the WWE Draft since each Network would want to bid for the bigger superstars.
FOX won on Day 1 but it was a bit refreshing in that no authority figure was plastered across the show. Even Stephanie McMahon, often left, right and center on TV, played a minimum role and only appeared when required. With this new direction in mind, here are a few things WWE subtly told us on Friday Night SmackDown's Draft!
Also read: 5 reasons why Daniel Bryan wants to retire from full-time wrestling in 2 years
#5 Shorty G is going to be a thing now
Chad Gable's name has officially been changed to Shorty Gable. PWInsider had reported a few months ago that WWE filed a trademark for 'Shorty G' and it has finally been confirmed. The storyline of Baron Corbin calling Gable 'Shorty' has now resulted in them changing his name altogether.
Why they would think that's a good decision, we have no idea. But we hope that this is a short-term storyline. It keeps dragging on as they exchange victories but if WWE wants to push Gable (and he has all the potential in the world), then calling him Shorty G just isn't going to cut it.
#4 The Hugger is done
This was undoubtedly the highlight of the night. Many fans wondered when Bayley was going to get rid of her theme song and change her appearance after her fairly recent heel turn. We got our answer tonight.
Bayley entered to her standard theme song, but she took a kendo stick with a sharp end and attacked all the whacky, wavy inflatable tubes, deflating them and signifying the end of The Hugger. Moreover, she even cut her ponytail which was always a standard look of hers for the last 6 years.
After she defeated Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women's title again, new music played. It's heavier, more intense and fits her new persona. Bayley always stated that she wanted to do an Eddie Guerrero 2005 kind of heel turn, where he's delusional and completely snaps altogether.
While it's not exactly the same, it's clear that she has looked at that heel turn the most in this recent run. It's the perfect example of a great babyface turning heel and becoming hated, which is why good things await the 3-time Women's Champion.
#3 Huge plans for Ricochet
It has been clear for a while now that Ricochet is one of the next big superstars in WWE. He has been protected well from the start and has constantly been presented as one of WWE's future stars, even more than Andrade.
It's the kind of push that Jason Jordan and there was a sense that a World Championship push was coming. While an injury has seemingly put Jordan's career in jeopardy, this all but seems to confirm that WWE eventually has World Championship plans for Ricochet.
He was a second-round pick, coming right after Randy Orton. He was also the 8th overall pick, which is quite an impressive spot. 3 years ago, the second round featured the likes of Roman Reigns, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton.
Moreover, he was picked right ahead of Braun Strowman. It's no secret that Ricochet is a "Paul Heyman Guy" and the Executive Director of RAW is now going to get behind Ricochet even more with the Wild Card rule being in the books.
Expect a huge push and a lot of success for Ricochet in the coming year or two.
#2 Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt's feud is done
That was disappointing, to say the least. Why book a feud when there's no clear conclusion to it. So here's the rundown of what happened. Not only did we get an inconclusive finish to the match at Hell in a Cell, but we got one to the entire rivalry as well.
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns had a match to determine which brand gets the number one overall draft pick. It was going well as the two men have always had great chemistry together. However, there was no story there so it wasn't one of their better matches.
Either way, it saw an inconclusive finish as The Fiend interfered from underneath the ring and attacked Seth Rollins with the Mandible Claw. Roman Reigns vanished from the scene and Rollins was left to suffocate in the ring after he was dragged inside and then escaped.
The Fiend peaked through the ring as you can see in the image above and once he made his standard exit from the ramp, the feud concluded. It's undoubtedly a disappointing end to the rivalry now that Bray Wyatt has been Drafted to SmackDown.
Who's next for Rollins?
#1 Bayley and Sasha Banks have a long-term storyline planned
Bayley has been a heel for a little over a month now. It has gone quite well and with her new gimmick and title win, she has taken it to another level. It's going to be interesting to see how they handle her run but from the look of things, they're doing quite well with the Four Horsewomen.
If you look at it, 2019 has been a fantastic year for the Horsewomen of WWE. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair main evented WrestleMania, the former is getting the push of a lifetime, while Bayley has had a career redemption and Sasha Banks is back at it and on the rise.
Sasha Banks was drafted to SmackDown as the 7th overall pick, 3rd SmackDown pick and the 2nd pick in Round 2. It's a big spot to be drafted in and now that she is moving to SmackDown, she has a long-term story in place.
Had Charlotte Flair still been champion, we would have suggested that WWE will run back Banks vs Flair, but from the look of things, we'll be getting an extension of the Banks-Bayley alliance. Remember that this is the time when the seeds start being planted for long-term storylines and we may finally get Sasha Banks vs Bayley at WrestleMania 36.
Also read: 5 WWE Superstars whose careers could end a lot sooner than we think
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