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Even though the brand split had technically come into effect in the year 2016, the Wild Card Rule had diluted the same. Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue had reported that the Wild Card Rule would be going away back in July, and it does seem that he was on the money!
The 2019 Draft took place on SmackDown last week and then would extend all the way to RAW, and even after that on WWE Backstage, where Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were traded to SmackDown. So, now that the rosters seem to be set in stone, what did we like, and what did we dislike about the same?
Feel free to sound off in the comments section below. I am very curious to hear what you guys have to say about the draft.
Do you think that this year's draft measures up to the classic drafts we've seen in the company's history?
#1 Best: Choosing Becky Lynch as the No. 1 draft pick
In the business of professional wrestling, they say that 'perception is reality.' The fact of the matter is that while Becky Lynch is the top female babyface in the company, she is not nearly as hot as she was back when Ronda Rousey was in the thick of things.
WWE needed to remind us that Becky Lynch was the hottest thing in the business, and as a result, not only did they make her the face of the 2K20 video game, they also made her the No.1 draft pick.
One may say that the women's division on RAW is a bit sparse, because who does Becky Lynch take on once she's faced Charlotte Flair? Well, Asuka is on the brand, and the two women have unfinished business, stemming from the green mist!
#1 Worst: The Fiend moves to SmackDown on the FOX Network
It is clear that the feud between Seth Rollins and The Fiend is not over, considering that the two men will be facing one another at Crown Jewel. Why then was The Fiend moved to the blue brand while Seth Rollins is still a part of RAW?
More importantly, one of the major aspects of The Fiend's appeal came from the fact that there was a duality to his character. The Bray Wyatt in the Firefly Fun House is a babyface through and through, as can be gauged from the fact that he was pleading with Seth Rollins when the latter invaded the Firefly Fun House, while The Fiend is a monster heel.
Now, rumors have emerged that FOX will be doing away with the Firefly Fun House altogether, and while I'm not certain whether this is true or not, I just think that The Fiend belonged on the USA Network which was a far more sports entertainment-driven brand. Portraying The Fiend merely as a monster will make things quite boring.
I just think that The Fiend would have fared much better under the able guidance of Paul Heyman.
#2 Best: Not splitting up any real tag teams
Despite the fact that a lot of people have been saying that nothing really happened in the draft, is it necessarily a bad thing if you look at the larger picture? WWE has often made knee jerk reactions just to make drafts newsworthy and noteworthy and in many ways, I'm glad that this did not happen at all, in the latest edition.
Roode and Ziggler will remain a tag team unit and so will The New Day. There was a bit of tension around Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross breaking up but we later learned that such would not be the case at all, because they were drafted first to RAW and then, subsequently, to WWE SmackDown on FOX.
In many ways, WWE has maintained the status quo with Lashley and Rusev on the same brand, and this allows storylines to progress without any glitches along the way, as it happens so very often in the company.
My only major grouse would be separating The Revival and Randy Orton, who had seemed to coexist quite well as a trio. But then again, it didn't seem like they'd be together for the long haul.
#2 Worst: The Network executives celebrating
Ever since the move to FOX first happened, the term that's being thrown around by fans and experts alike is 'real sports.' FOX essentially wanted the whole setup to look like it was realistic, which is why there were so many analysts who were treating the draft like an actual sports draft. But this whole thing was dispelled at once, because of the visuals of the Network executives celebrating in their boardrooms.
I know that the attempt was to make it look like two different channels were at war to bid on WWE Superstars, but the way that it was executed looked very corny and very cheesy, in the absence of General Managers spearheading either brand. In fact, that is an approach that I would have been okay with, with Heyman and Prichard as the faces of the two WWE brands. I really do think that the seriousness of the draft was lost because of these really lame segments.
I know that the idea of General Managers is a tried and tested one, and it is time for something new. But to have nameless Executives celebrating in their boardrooms is not necessarily the best idea, in my opinion.
#3 Best/Worst: Lesnar and Mysterio on two different brands
Everybody in the pro wrestling fraternity is currently buzzing about the fact that Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez will meet, not inside an octagon but inside a WWE ring for a change. The setup for this feud came from the fact that Brock Lesnar assaulted Rey Mysterio's son, and this brought the UFC legend to the squared circle. Velasquez has been training Lucha Libre for a while, and it should be a very unique match indeed.
But there is also the match between Rey Mysterio and Brock Lesnar that is yet to happen. Mysterio is a proud fighter despite the fact that his stature is not beastly, and he topples monsters with the power of his heart.
I really did think that there was value and equity in having Rey Mysterio and Brock Lesnar on the very same brand because Lesnar also has his best matches against men that are considerably smaller than he is, like Daniel Bryan or AJ Styles. He and Rey Mysterio could have had a classic if they were given the opportunity to do so.
I'm unsure about whether splitting Carmella and R-Truth was a good thing or bad, so I invite your thoughts in the comments section below.
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