The winds of change are blowing around the locker rooms of WWE.
World Wrestling Entertainment are holding their annual draft this week. The two-night event starts on the upcoming episode of Smackdown taking place this Friday, October 9th. With night two going ahead on Monday the 12th of October on Raw.
This will see certain wrestlers from both Raw and Smackdown switching brands. Giving everyone some fresh feuds and storylines to work with.
The draft can always be a great place to reenergise the careers of people that badly need a shot in the arm. You can also change champions and challengers to different brands and put different people in the title pictures.
WWE haven’t made the rules of this draft clear to the fans at the time of writing.
Last year you had the networks of both television shows USA Network and Fox bargaining over who came on to their shows. It was very anticlimactic, and fans are hoping for something different this time around.
Both Raw and Smackdown don’t have any on screen authority figures, maybe a return to the lottery format of the draft could be a good way to go this time around.
NXT also doesn’t seem to be involved this year.
So, it doesn’t seem likely that we will see people from NXT move to Raw or Smackdown and vice versa. That could be a cool concept with the likes of Dolph Ziggler going to NXT giving him the fresh start he desperately needs.
So, just to play it safe we won’t be talking about NXT today.
What we will be talking about is possible draft picks that we could see take place this year.
The picks are a mix of realistic choices, wrestlers that need a fresh start and things that could generally shake up the product of both shows.
You will see five picks for both Smackdown and Raw. I expect we will see more than that.
So, if you don’t see any you think will happen tell us in the comment section below like the big legend you are.
Moving to Smackdown
Peyton Royce
The future is looking bright for the former IIconics member.
Royce recently split from her long-term tag partner Billie Kay abruptly over on Raw. While it didn’t seem like the right time this is the situation the pair find themselves in.
Peyton Royce won a couple of matches against her former partner Kay in the weeks after the teams break up. This indicates that WWE see more singles potential in Peyton. Reports seem to suggest that Vince McMahon himself sees future women’s titles in her future.
Now is the time to start that process. Move Royce away from Kay and put them on separate brands and see how they get on apart.
Anytime Royce steps in the ring she’s impressive and has good ability on the mic too.
Put her on Smackdown and let her singles talent develop over time. When she’s ready Royce will be a great fresh opponent for top tier talent like Sasha Banks.
Ricochet
Ricochet is easily one of the most underutilised talents on the entire WWE roster. The treatment of one of the elite wrestlers in the world by WWE has been a great source of frustration for fans.
He got off to a great start on Raw. Ricochet won the United States Title and later challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Super Showdown at the start of the year. A match he was squashed in and probably began his downhill decline.
Lately he has been teaming with Apollo Crews and Cedric Alexander in their heated rivalry with the Hurt Business. While it would be fun to see him join the ever-growing Hurt Business, greener pastures seem to be on Smackdown.
Ricochet has everything to be an upper mid card babyface on the blue brand.
His work rate and amazing high-flying ability could make him a big star on Friday nights.
Keith Lee
Keith Lee is another example of an NXT star moved to either Raw or Smackdown without a real plan put in place for their arrival.
Since coming to Raw he has been involved in high profiled matches with the likes of WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton. With a lot of those matches going to a false finish. It just isn’t the start he needed to continue his fantastic momentum from his short run as NXT Champion.
While Lee hasn’t had the worst start to his Raw career and has rubbed shoulders with the best of the brand.
Switch him over the Smackdown, give him back his old music, give him back his old attire and push him as a dominate big man.
Smackdown is currently short of viable babyface contenders to challenge Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Adding the likes of Keith Lee into that pool with Big E and Matt Riddle makes the contenders for Reigns more varied.
The Street Profits
While Montez Ford has a lot of potential as a singles act, now isn’t the time to split up the Street Profits.
They have both been on Raw since they arrived from NXT in last years draft.
Both Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins have found great success while on the red brand.
They are the reigning Raw Tag Team Champions and have been for 218 days. Having feuds with the likes of Andrade and Angel Garza and the Viking Raiders.
While this might be one of the less likely ones to happen, there is a method to the madness of this pick.
The rumour is going around that WWE want to unify the Raw and Smackdown Tag Titles. This draft could provide a great opportunity to do that.
Move Street Profits over the Smackdown and restart their feud with Smackdown champs Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. Survivor Series isn’t that far away, and that show has been based around Raw vs Smackdown in the past few years.
Build a feud around the unification of the tag titles for Survivor Series. With the Street Profits ideally coming out as the winners and defending the titles between both brands.
That can all start with a move to Smackdown in this draft.
Samoa Joe
The start of 2020 was a disaster for Samoa Joe over on Raw.
Joe was extremely unlucky with injuries and suffered a wellness policy violation.
He can now be found behind the commentary desk on Raw and is by far the best part of that team. It’s easily a role many fans would love to see him take up when he decides to hang up his boots. That could come sooner rather than later but, one more big run in the WWE is all fans are clamouring for.
Samoa Joe would fit in perfectly to the current Smackdown roster.
Get him involved with Roman Reigns straight away. He is the perfect babyface challenger for Reigns heading into the likes of Survivor Series or possibly the Royal Rumble.
Have him pick up for Jey Uso who has been getting an awful time off the champ Reigns. I’m not saying Joe should beat Reigns but considering the chemistry these two have always had it would be another cracking match.
It’s time for Joe to get back to doing what he does best. Give him one last monster run causing havoc over on Smackdown.
Moving to Raw
Sheamus
Seems destined to happen this one.
Sheamus is currently entangled in a feud with Big E over on Smackdown. With the pair scheduled to face off in a Falls Count Anywhere match on this weeks Smackdown.
This will surely see the end of their feud with Big E moving on to bigger and better things. Leaving Sheamus with no real true direction on Smackdown. Making a move to Raw looking like a good option for the Celtic Warrior.
He can still pull a good match out of anybody and is a very effective heel.
Raw is also struggling for solid mid card heels and this is a role Sheamus could comfortably occupy.
John Morrison
Morrison returned to WWE and took his place on the Smackdown roster earlier this year.
A highly exciting talent and very charismatic individual that is ready for bigger and better things.
He has been great in his partnership with The Miz over on Smackdown. The Miz was struggling before his arrival and Morrison gave him the boost he desperately needed at the time. But now the pair need to part ways.
Keep Miz on Smackdown as his usual arrogant heel self and move John Morrison back to Monday nights.
You don’t even have to do a breakup between the pair. Just simply move Morrison away from his mate.
He would be a great fresh face to the Raw ranks. Performing as a heel or a babyface would work really.
Feuds between the likes of Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and the Hurt Business could produce some banger matches.
Kofi Kingston
Don’t split the New Day up. This isn’t what I mean by this entry.
If Kofi moved to Raw it could give the group a whole new direction.
Big E is doing some great singles work over on Smackdown and looks set for a good push. So, don’t just have Kofi return from injury and be his cheerleader. Certainly, don’t have to loveable Big E turn heel on Kingston and break up the group.
Pop Kingston over the Raw during the draft. The group has been together since 2014 and have always switched brands as a group. This would be something different in the history of the New Day.
Give Kofi a new dedicated goal of winning back his WWE Championship. A championship he never even got a title shot for.
Both Kofi Kingston and Big E get a good single run on separate brands. When Xavier Woods is ready to return you could have him act as a manager bouncing between both brands.
Down the line Kingston and Woods could even challenge for those unified tag titles that we talked about earlier.
Naomi
Another choice that should just outright happen.
Naomi is stuck in limbo due to the feud between Sasha Banks and Bayley. That feud is money and should be honestly dragged out to Wrestlemania, but it left a lot of women over on Smackdown with very little to work towards.
You could have the likes of Carmella and Nikki Cross easily on this list too.
Naomi is just far too talented not to be fighting for a women’s championship. Champion Asuka could also do with some fresh faces over on Raw.
Instead of having Naomi waiting on Banks and Bayley to settle their beef just move her over the Raw. She’s even too good to be a place holder in the Banks and Bayley feud.
With a fresh batch of talent to work with over on Raw it could be the fresh start she has been searching for.
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
This whole character of “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt seems to be going in a very interesting direction regardless of which brand he ends up on.
His captivating alure has made Alexa Bliss into a follower and that story with those two has serious potential.
He no longer holds the Universal Championship after losing it to Roman Reigns. Nothing comes from him losing to Reigns again for the title, as you’d imagine Reigns is in for a lengthy run.
Wyatt could do his own thing away from the title but he’s going to have to go back there eventually.
Move him to Raw and let him go after our possibly soon to be heel champion Randy Orton. Another old foe for Wyatt to get his claws into.
Also don’t official draft Alexa Bliss over. Just have her follow him over and really cement those two together in their weird current partnership thing.
The only thing that hinders this pick for me is Retribution. Both have the flashing light gimmick going on and it could get a bit much after a while.
Flashing lights on a pole match anyone?
