Winners and Losers of the 2016 WWE Draft

Since Raw and SmackDown split their rosters in the middle of last year things have been overwhelmingly positive from my point of view. Many stars managed shine brightly after being given extra exposure on TV and natural fears of watering down the entire roster were wavered by WWE’s brilliant slow build to many WrestleMania feuds including, Wyatt v Orton, Jericho v Owens, Rollins v HHH.

Admittedly, Raw has struggled to produce 3 hours of good television most weeks but SmackDown Live in particular has become a cesspool of joy and wonder; with interesting angles, top-class matches and by going they have ditched the god awful piped crowd noises, making for much more enjoyable viewing.

People will moan about Roman and the booking of champions forever and a day but with every negative there are more positives and I am here to run down my selections for biggest winners and losers since WWE did away with their ‘Super Show’ and divided the wrestler into two.

 

Winner – The Miz and Maryse

Hands up, who thought The Miz would be one of the most entertaining and must-see wrestlers of the last calendar year? Nobody? Yea, seems about right. What a turnaround year this guy has had, since being drafted to SmackDown alongside his lovely wife, the twosome have been on a tear.

Moving to the blue brand as Intercontinental Champion set him in good stead anyway but ever since THAT promo on Talking Smack with Daniel Bryan, he’s been on another level entirely. His intensity, his promos, his matches (see @ No Mercy versus Dolph Ziggler) have all been better than ever before and having recently shifted back to Raw, he’s sure to gain another fresh burst of life. 

Everyone is talking highly of the Miz now and he’s worked him damn ass off to be in the discussion as one of the best in the company at the moment, so massive props to him. I wish his Intercontinental Championship tour had never stopped but all good things must unfortunately come to an end; hopefully he continues to show his absolute best side this year, and with Maryse by his side, I see absolutely no reason why that shouldn’t happen.

 

Loser – Kalisto

Imagine being 5 foot, 6 inches tall, weighing in at 170 pounds. Now imagine a Cruiserweight division is re-birthed on Monday night Raw. Now imagine being drafted away from that and onto the Tuesday night show whereby you will not really achieve anything of note and have to watch you fellow shorter professionals, such as Neville, smash it out of the park under the umbrella of the purple-roped division.

Kalisto was actually cooking on gas before the draft hit, he was a former US Champion and had a couple of very respectable matches with Ryback (5 star Classics according to the Big Guy himself) but since turning to the blue brand he’s all smoke and no fire, with loss after loss after loss building on his resume. Safe to say, he did not do really good Lucha things as he promised…

Honestly, I don’t think Kalitso is a bad wrestler per say; is he the next big Mexican star WWE is looking for? No, he’s a little botchy and Cien Almas is clearly a better luchador, but he can have really fun matches – such as his chairs match @ TLC versus Baron Corbin – and is capable of amazing athletic feats. Hopefully now he’s back on Raw he can kill it with the other Cruiserweights and input some extra diversity to the rather thin roster too. In fact, I would be surprised if he was the champion soon.

Winner – Alexa Bliss/Naomi

I must admit, when I first saw how the female wrestlers had been split across Raw and SmackDown, I feared for the state of the blue brand’s performance. With Becky Lynch the only true main event level star moved over initially, the star power didn’t really feel apparent; but then stepped up the other women, especially these 2, as they both epitomised perfect heel and face champions at the top of the division.

Bliss was the first breakout top woman as she tussled with Becky Lynch in a programme which, despite leaving a little to be desired in the ring, truly delivered on weekly television with bitter scathing promos from the pair. Alexa managed to de-throne Lynch and carried herself as a brilliant champion, vastly improving from her NXT days, becoming a wrestler who we just love to hate.

The championship baton was then taken by Naomi as she twice knocked off Bliss, at both Elimination Chamber and in her home state, at WrestleMania. Slapping the title on Naomi instantly rocketed her from lower-midcard to main eventer, and thankfully the fans have got behind her and she’s really, really over now; her ‘Feel the Glow’ persona is turning heads and making people take notice, which is a complete 180 from her Funkasaurus days.

Both look set for a solid 2017 too, Naomi has the belt and can hopefully put in a good stint against Charlotte, whilst Alexa has just moved to Raw where she got a bigger pop than a can of Pepsi and perhaps has a henchwoman in the form of Nia Jax. Overall, a very interesting scenario for both, onwards and upwards for them.

Loser – Rusev

Rusev is such an odd commodity in WWE, he blows hot and cold with the season as some months he’s an unstoppable force and the next he’s a beatable object. The Bulgarian/Russian has all the talents to make it to the top of card; solid wrestler, easy gimmick and most of all awesome, amusing promos, the man doesn’t take himself too seriously.

I wish however, that WWE had taken Rusev a bit more seriously since the draft. Unfortunately for RuRu he ran into the Roman Reigns first, leading to him losing his precious US title and then he fell much, much further. He was paired with infinite jobber Jinder Mahal before getting absolutely pummelled by Big Show and taking a break from TV in order to address his current injury. I had such high hopes for the brute but he really wasn’t given a great platform to deliver the goods from.

SmackDown becomes home for the handsome European as he aims to rebuild his shattered status, honestly a face turn could be massively effective for him as long as they make sure he is a serious threat to opponents rather than going full Euro-Joke character a la Santino and Vladamir Kozlov before him. Just like I did with the last draft, I have huge hopes for Rusev getting to the main event scene at last.

Winner – Baron Corbin

By debuting with a win in the Andre Battle Royal at Mania 32 and instantly stumbling into a stale rivalry with Dolph Ziggler, big banter man Baron Corbin looked set to be another flash in the pan, who would never elevate beyond the level at which he debuted. But wow, has SmackDown Live treated him well!

He shook his early woes and is now right amongst the main players on Tuesday nights, now rubbing shoulders with Cena, Styles and company without looking even slightly out of place. Credit to the man himself too because he’s clearly been putting the hours in to improve his craft too; his promos are far less wooden than before and he holds his own in matches, no longer being carried or helped along by his more experienced foes. Hell, he even wrestled his first PPV main event after being out of NXT for less than a year when he took part in the Elimination Chamber this February; impressive stuff for sure!

Corbin will be the WWE or Universal Champion one day, I have little doubt about that, will it be before the next draft is carried out though? Well since he is confirmed to be staying put on SmackDown it feels he is closer than ever to getting his grasp on a top championship belt, so keep a watchful eye on the big man this annum.

Loser – The SmackDown Live Tag Team Division

Nothing sums up the SmackDown tag teams’ struggles quite like the fact that theirs was the only title not to be defended at this WrestleMania, and to be sadly honest, I doubt many people cared as the build between American Alpha and The Usos was very poor despite a good start when the teams first exchanged promos.

Things started well for the division as the undrafted Heath Slater’s surprising rise become the unlikely feel-good story of the summer. Following his crowning moment with Rhyno the roster quickly cooled off and become largely redundant on SmackDown; the Wyatts held the straps as a small part to their larger story and American Alpha had a forgettable run before dropping to the Usos but all of this has been carried out with a murmur, rather than with a bang.

What makes matters worse is the talent is there and SmackDown have built people beautifully, but the tag titles have fell by the wayside as everything else has accelerated past them. New Day joining team blue is exactly the sort of star power they required but my hopes are still resting on FaBreeze getting a title run at some point, they could really inject some fun and life into it!

 

Winner – Braun Strowman

I wanted to finish on a high, and there is no larger high than that which has been experienced by Braun Strowman since being drafted to Raw. I’ve always been a massive mark for this giant bastard since day one but after getting to Raw exclusively he’s rose more than anyone could have ever imagined. 

After crushing a huge list of jobbers and lower card talent he became a legitimate and threatening player on Raw during his entertaining feud with Sami Zayn and his role amongst the Raw Survivor Series team. He is living proof that slowly building somebody and using enhancement talent in the correct manner can make somebody into an absolute superstar, in both the eyes of management and of the audience. 

Sure he may have lost to Roman Reigns but that won’t stop this freight train of destruction, he is set to be a mainstay at the pinnace of Raw for the foreseeable future. Though it is unlikely I would really love to see them go all-in on Braun and have him trade a win back with Roman, but who knows? His segments are something very enjoyable and must-see every week, the polar opposite of his stature before the draft.

All in all, Braun is bloody brilliant.

Conclusion

So like I said beforehand, most things since the draft have been superb; the build from the initial draft until Mania was done extremely well and we have a whole host of very impressive men, women and tag teams across the two brands. Hopefully the rough edges are smoothed out over the course of the year and we see yet more successes as part of the most recent Superstar Shakeup, here’s to WWE delivering again!

Words - Thomas Brady 

Editor - James Marston

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

TV Review: WWE Smackdown Live #883 - WWE Draft 2016

It had been a long time coming, but finally the first draft in five years was here, as Smackdown moved to Tuesday nights and went live full-time. After RAW had set the stage the night before, with General Managers being chosen, a "controversial" end to a WWE Championship match and a huge twelve man tag bout, how would the biggest Smackdown in years go about putting the show? 

Of course, the main driving narrative throughout the whole show was the Draft itself, with Monday Night RAW's Stephanie McMahon & Mick Foley and Smackdown Live's Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan appearing at the top of the entrance ramp a total of six times to name their chosen picks. Before I get into the nitty gritty of the process, it's probably important to mention who ended up where. RAW would draft Seth Rollins, Women's Champion Charlotte, NXT's Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Tag Team Champions The New Day, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks, Chris Jericho, United States Champion Rusev, Lana, Kevin Owens, Enzo & Cass, Anderson & Gallows, The Big Show, NXT's Nia Jaxx, Neville, Cesaro and Sheamus. Smackdown would counter with WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, John Cena, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Becky Lynch, Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Maryse, Baron Corbin, NXT's American Alpha, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya and Alberto Del Rio. That means RAW ended the show with 23 seperate roster member and Smackdown had just 14. 

The segments themselves all managed to maintain my attention, mainly through the intrigue of seeing who would end up where, rather than the back and forth bitching between the two sets of Commissioners and General Managers. It was pretty clear from the outset that Rollins and Ambrose would be the first two picks, due to their WWE Championship match, and after RAW the night earlier it'd have been a major shock with the pair had been on different brands. The biggest reactions of the evening seemed to be for the NXT guys as that was where the only real mystery for show lay. Getting to see Finn Balor, American Alpha and Nia Jaxx get the chance to spread their wings and perform on RAW or Smackdown is a pretty exciting prospect. Other things that stood out for me was John Cena and Randy Orton both getting drafted to Smackdown, The Club going their separate ways, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens remaining on the same show and the emphasis of putting women in high profile spots within the draft (eg. Charlotte was RAW's 2nd pick and only the third overall). 

Dean Ambrose would retain his WWE Championship over Seth Rollins [Dirty Deeds] in a match that took on a much different form to the battle that we saw the night before. Rollins would dominate a big portion of the bout after attacking Ambrose before the bell had rung. This gave the match a real momentum heading straight out of the box and it showed clearly the frustration that had built up inside of Rollins, following the previous nights title shenanigans, as well as showing animosity for his former Shield partner. Ambrose would receive a brilliant hope spot when he was able to send Rollins over the barricade into the time keepers area, only to end getting chucked onto another part of the wall himself. The match seemed to come up just a little bit short, being about half the length of their RAW clash, which left the finish feeling a little flat for me. However, I did like the idea that the match both begun and ended with Rollins attempting to hit a Falcon Arrow, with the second try being reversed into Dirty Deeds by Ambrose for the win.

Rounding off the top portion of the card, John Cena would pick up a victory over Luke Gallows [Attitude Adjustment] in his first Smackdown singles bout this year. The best bit about the match for me was that it continued through the ad break, being windowed on the screen. I'm surprised that this isn't done more often. The finish ended up winding me up though, as after Gallows had been able to block an Attitude Adjustment by Cena with a kick, Big Cass & Enzo Amore would call for The Club's AJ Styles and Karl Anderson to get into the ring. This would end with Cass & Amore sending them to the outside, before Cena would jump to his feet and deliver an AA for the win. Cena and Gallows had to lie on the match for an age, which made it very hard to suspend my disbelief whilst watching, then for them to suddenly spring to their feet and then to do a one move finish was more than a little lame. 

At the top of the undercard, Bray Wyatt would defeat Xavier Woods [Sister Abigail] in a short but fun match. The match continued to play off Woods' fear of the Wyatt Family, beginning with a creepy moment as Wyatt appeared to be willing Woods to join the group and Woods' seemingly under a spell, which played well into Woods throwing a punch at his opponent. "The Seducer" would dominate the match with clubbing blows and wear downs, whilst also getting into the face of the other New Day members at the ringside, he looked like a complete beast throughout.. The finish was cleverly designed, but completely telegraphed as Woods went for his Honor Roll clothesline at the same time as Wyatt shifted into his spider walk situation. The camera work could have been stronger to add more of surprise element to the ending, however Wyatt shifting around to get into position didn't help things either. This was however an entertaining contest that reminded the viewer of the storyline that will no doubt be a huge part of the six man tag bout between the two stables on Sunday. 

Women's Champion Charlotte and her protege Dana Brooke picked up some momentum before the PPV with a handicap victory over Sasha Banks [Natural Selection, Charlotte]. I have to say that despite the match going barely over two minutes, I found this to be a compelling and enjoyable match, because of the way it was put together. I was a little bit worried that we were going to see Banks pick up the win over the pairing, as WWE has taught me to suspect such a thing with their booking of the main event scene. Luckily what we got was a spirited performance from Banks, who looked in control of the match at various points, only for the numbers to eventually catch up with The Boss. Everyone came out looking good from this, and more intrigue was surely placed upon the upcoming tag team match on Sunday.

Darren Young and Zack Ryder pulled out a big victory over Intercontinental Champion The Miz and United States Champion Rusev [Cross Face Chicken Wing, Young to Miz], in a match billed as "Champions v Challengers". The match had a splendid tempo, with the four men all working hard to keep that going. Whilst it was essentially your regular tag bout structure and only went just over four minutes, there were little embelishments that managed to take it beyond. Ryder hitting a nice neckbreaker out of Rusev's suplex attempt for the hot tag, as well as later hitting a dropkick off the apron onto "The Bulgarian Brute". This was definitely Young's most decisive win to date, as he debuted a new submission finisher the Cross Face Chicken Wing, which, of course, was the signature hold of his life-couch Bob Backlund. 

Chris Jericho defeated Cesaro [Codebreaker] in a frustratingly short contest. The action was so very good in the sub-five minute bout, that I would have loved for, at least, another five minutes. "The Swiss Superman" got a brilliant face shine in and later pulled off one of the best reversals to a Lionsault I can remember, by catching Jericho before the jump and pulling off a middle rope reverse Russian legsweep, so at least he wasn't hurt too much by his swift loss. I'm not quite sure what Jericho going over Cesaro does for anyone, especially in such a short match, as neither competitor is scheduled for a match on the upcoming PPV, although Jericho is set to host a Highlight Reel with a returning Randy Orton. Considering both men were picked for RAW on the show, you'd have expected them to allowed to really show what they can do on this special, however we had to settle for just a glimpse.

In a weird segment, Sami Zayn would attack Kevin Owens as "The Prizefighter" made his way to the ring, which would lead to Kane hitting a Double Chokeslam on the pair of them. Becky Lynch also attacked Natalya before her match could begin, but this time, unfortunately, there was no Kane around to chokeslam them. 

Results 

Singles Match: John Cena (with Big Cass & Enzo Amore) def. Luke Gallows (with The Club - AJ Styles & Karl Anderson) in 5 minutes, 25 seconds.

Tag Team Match: Darren Young & Zack Ryder (with Bob Backlund) def. United States Champion "The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev & Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with "The Ravishing Russian" Lana & Maryse) in 4 minutes, 5 seconds.

Singles Match: Bray Wyatt (with The Wyatt Family - Braun Strowman & Erick Rowan) def. Tag Team Champion Xavier Woods (with Tag Team Champions The New Day - Big E & Kofi Kingston) in 4 minutes, 45 seconds.

Two on One Handicap Match: Women's Champion Charlotte & Dana Brooke def. Sasha Banks in 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

Singles Match: Chris Jericho def. Cesaro in 4 minutes, 52 seconds.

WWE Championship Match: Dean Ambrose (C) def. Seth Rollins in 12 minutes, 17 seconds.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.84/10

Considering the hype that the show got going into it, the actual event was a fairly average show and a step down from Monday Night RAW the night before. The matches all came up short with only the main event going much longer than five minutes and whilst the majority of the action was technically sound and entertaining to watch, there just wasn't enough of it. Perhaps this was done to make way for the Draft itself, which took up about twenty minutes of the show, in which case it would have been much more of a satisfying show if their were less matches that went longer. The main event was obviously the strongest match on the show, with a better story than the previous nights match, but without the chance for it to be fully explored in it's run-time and therefore ended up being the lesser of the two contests. 

Personally, I think it would be wrong to judge the draft on this episode alone and will withhold judgment until both brands have held their own PPVs. 

All content by James Marston.