The Scarred One
The Greatest of All Time
With the recent Superstar Shake-Up having come and gone, we now see the potential for new storylines and rivalries. The Shake-Up, and the Draft before that, has done a lot to really refresh the Raw and SmackDown rosters.
But what was your favorite format? Let's break down the many formats over the years on how the WWE would reinvigorate the brands.
1) The 2002 Draft - This format saw WWE co-owners Vince McMahon and Ric Flair pick superstars one at a time for the first 20 picks with the remaining picks divided up by a lottery to create the first brand extension. The 2016 brand extension would again adopt this format.
2) The 2004 Draft - This format saw general managers Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman pick superstars at random via a lottery machine, which gave the impression that anyone could be drafted. They made 12 picks in total, followed by a series of superstar trades after the show went off the air.
3) The 2005 Draft - This format took a deviation as it lasted one month as opposed to one night. Over the course of a month, both Raw and SmackDown would randomly draft one pick a week, except for the final week which saw two picks to each show. Along with these 10 picks, an end-of-the-month trade took place which saw more superstars swap brands.
4) The 2007-2011 Draft - The format once again went back to being one night only. Instead of making random selections, picks were made by a series of matches where the winning brand would receive a pick. After the show, a supplemental draft would take place on WWE.com which saw more superstars swap brands. The first three drafts under this format involved the ECW brand with the final two involving only Raw and SmackDown.
5) The 2017-Present Shake-Up - This format, now going under the moniker of the Superstar Shake-Up, did away with the idea of authority figures making selections or picks being determined by match results. Instead, this saw superstars just appearing from one show to another. In a sense, this is a variation of the 2005 Draft format, but reduced to two nights instead of a month.
So those are the five formats that the WWE has used for its draft/shake-up. I didn't include the 2006 Draft since that only involved the new ECW brand and saw only two picks being made.
Personally, I was a fan of the 2005 Draft format. This allowed the action to be drawn out over a long period of time, which would lead viewers to tune in each week just to see what big name would make the jump next. At the end of the month, we would see a supplemental draft take place for those lower on the card.
But what about your opinions? What is your favorite format for the WWE's Draft/Superstar Shake-Up?
But what was your favorite format? Let's break down the many formats over the years on how the WWE would reinvigorate the brands.
1) The 2002 Draft - This format saw WWE co-owners Vince McMahon and Ric Flair pick superstars one at a time for the first 20 picks with the remaining picks divided up by a lottery to create the first brand extension. The 2016 brand extension would again adopt this format.
2) The 2004 Draft - This format saw general managers Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman pick superstars at random via a lottery machine, which gave the impression that anyone could be drafted. They made 12 picks in total, followed by a series of superstar trades after the show went off the air.
3) The 2005 Draft - This format took a deviation as it lasted one month as opposed to one night. Over the course of a month, both Raw and SmackDown would randomly draft one pick a week, except for the final week which saw two picks to each show. Along with these 10 picks, an end-of-the-month trade took place which saw more superstars swap brands.
4) The 2007-2011 Draft - The format once again went back to being one night only. Instead of making random selections, picks were made by a series of matches where the winning brand would receive a pick. After the show, a supplemental draft would take place on WWE.com which saw more superstars swap brands. The first three drafts under this format involved the ECW brand with the final two involving only Raw and SmackDown.
5) The 2017-Present Shake-Up - This format, now going under the moniker of the Superstar Shake-Up, did away with the idea of authority figures making selections or picks being determined by match results. Instead, this saw superstars just appearing from one show to another. In a sense, this is a variation of the 2005 Draft format, but reduced to two nights instead of a month.
So those are the five formats that the WWE has used for its draft/shake-up. I didn't include the 2006 Draft since that only involved the new ECW brand and saw only two picks being made.
Personally, I was a fan of the 2005 Draft format. This allowed the action to be drawn out over a long period of time, which would lead viewers to tune in each week just to see what big name would make the jump next. At the end of the month, we would see a supplemental draft take place for those lower on the card.
But what about your opinions? What is your favorite format for the WWE's Draft/Superstar Shake-Up?
