WWE Draft

[Gavschenko]

I've been meaning to write this for awhile recently is anyone else sick of smackdown just being raw recap shows and nothing happening? I wouldnt watch Smackdown right now if you paid me it has gotten so stale and boring. I think that they should bring back the brand split and have smackdown and raw as there own separate brands.

Since wwe now has the performance centre they have so much talent on there hands while there is such little time for them to get time when raw and smackdown are built around the same few people the authority, orton and reigns.

In my opinion i'd have smackdown lead by roman reigns as all the smart fans are at raw and this is were he gets most boo's were as on smackdown he usually gets a solid face reaction through wee kids and moms. If they really want him to be a star this is there big chance even though i am not a fan of his its a smart decision to put him on smackdown and get good reactions

I would have the top three guys of smackdown 1. Roman reigns 2. Bray Wyatt 3. Dolph ziggler

Raw 1 Seth rollins 2 Daniel Bryan if healthy, 3 Dean Ambrose

Of course the likes of Cena, orton and lesnar should be on raw but they already are as over as they can be and don't need to be the main focal point of the shows.

1.The question i have is do you think they should bring the brand split back?
2. Who should be the top guys on both shows

 

[Navi]

They will never bring back the brand split, the roster, while being very good, just doesn't have the star power it once had to support two brands.

And the idea of not putting a wrestler on a certain show because he might get boo'd by the fans there is ridiculous. That means he can't do PPV's in front of smarky crowds, can't do SD in certain cities, so you might just as well put him in house shows, where everyone gets the right reaction.

If Reigns is going to get over he has to get over with the smarky crowd, otherwise he'll never be in the main event scene again.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The problem with bringing back the WWE Draft is pretty much the same problem everything else in WWE suffers from: a comparatively handful of fans & dirt sheet writers that've appointed themselves as the spokespeople for every other fan will be bitching and moaning within 6 months of the draft's implementation and will want WWE to end it. That's not to say there aren't legit gripes, because we all know better, but it's just business as usual as it reflects the impossible, insanely unrealistic expectations some fans and writers have.

I might be a little short sighted and seem a bit one dimensional, as I've brought this up time & time again, but I just have this strong feeling that the majority of WWE's woes would be fixed if Triple H made THE final creative calls instead of Vince. I'm not saying that Trips is some genius or that he can do no wrong, but I think most people have a very positive opinion of NXT and while there are some questions that need to be answered, such as can they keep the winning format going with a longer show, I think most have the impression, to one degree or another, that NXT MIGHT be what WWE would be like with Trips running things. The storylines are simple and effective while keeping logic holes to a minimum while the booking itself is concise and sensible.

 

[OYDK]

The first thing that would have to happen if the Draft were to ever be implemented again, would be for Smackdown to at least become comparable to Raw in importance. At this point, you can't just throw Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Roman Reigns on Smackdown and expect people to start tuning in without improving the quality of the show... that has to come first.

If WWE can build Smackdown back up as it's own seperate brand, than I can actually see the Draft re-emerging a few years down the line. If I had known Smackdown was going to become a glorified Raw recap after the split ended, I would have rather WWE just left it the way it was.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Never going to happen. As bogged down by as WWE programming is by the stale heel authority figure angle, the roster isn't quite as thick as you'd think. One world title is only 18 months (give or take) old and there isn't the star power to justify a brand split. There could be the star power but WWE is failing to treat them that way, a topic for another thread.

Bring back the draft threads crop up pretty frequently. Usually the thread creator doesn't realize that it's not the draft itself they want back in WWE programming, but the freshness and unpredictability it provided.

It created new feuds, ended old ones, forced fresh match ups, sparked old beloved feuds, and broke apart and reunited friends. It was good tv, but then it was over. The draft worked because it was annual, it was an expected source of unpredictability, unlike the oft maligned WCW reboot in 2000. That's how you screw up attempts of refresh.

I think the OP wants to see is excitement and unpredictability in WWE that a draft would inject. Without the brand extension, the draft just doesn't work at all. Drafting development guys would be harmful, they should be allowed to hone their skill for as long as they need. Let the night after Mania be the unspoken NXT draft. What we need is a new concept for introducing excitement to television, to create that feeling of "what's going to happen next?" that's such a staple of must-see-TV.

Reboots are too clunky. An annual WWE reboot would be a pretty gross idea. Look to the past for simple solutions, tournaments are an easy way to have fresh match ups. King of the Ring always gave us new match ups. Tag team title tournaments are fantastic. Remember the Smackdown tag title tournament in 2002? It created a bunch of new teams, created new rivalries, and set the course for the major feuds on the brand for several years. Imagine if everyone on the roster was forced to compete in a tag title tournament with "random" partners. It would elevate the tag titles and create all kinds of compelling conflict.

The draft in of itself wasn't what made good tv. It was the unpredictability it generated that did. WWE needs new ideas, and you don't have to reinvent the wheel, look to the past for simple ideas that aren't locked to the time period they were from. Draft no, unpredictability yes.

 

[Eyebrows]

The brand split worked pretty well when there was a deep roster. It's paper-thin at the moment. How many legitimate top heels are there? If you're limiting the talent you can book on either show you're going to end up with more filler like Rose/Fandango and that ridiculous Prime Time Players schtick.

It would mean having two world titles again. I was never a fan of that concept. It worked well-enough when there were branded PPVs but eventually one of the titles always gets watered down.

I stopped watching wrestling from 01-03 so I had to go back and rewatch a lot of post-brand split shows. People have fond memories of Angle, Benoit, Edge, Guerrero, Mysterio etc. on Smackdown and the Cruiserweight Division.

People always remember the good. What I remember about the brand split is crap like Jamie Noble vs. Nidia in a blindfold match, S.H.I.T Rosie, the Basham Brothers and having to sit through the damn Diva-search because there were no DVRs.

Splitting the brands doesn't mean the time is going to be used effectively. There is bags of time on Raw and Smackdown already. Five hours a week is enough for any main roster in professional wrestling (it's too much, really). They just have to utilise it better.

 

[ASKane]

If the brand split happened WWE would need 2 sets of 20+ wrestlers with probably 18 men including 3 tag teams and 6 divas at a bare minimum so I am gonna see if using the Main and NXT rosters if I can create 2 rosters worth watching

Raw
Singles
Faces - Cena, Orton, Bryan, Ryback, Balor, Itami and Ziggler
Heels - Lesnar, Rusev, Sheamus, Barrett, Big Show, Dallas, Rhodes and Harper

Tag Teams
Faces - The Uso's and PTP
Heels - New Day and Kidd & Cesaro

Divas
Faces - Naomi, Bayley and Natalya
Heels - Bella Twins and Eva (If this training has made her any good)


SD
Faces - Reigns, Ambrose, Neville, Zayn, Corbin and Sandow
Heels - Rollins, Wyatt, Owens, Breeze, Miz, Kane and Axel

Tag Teams
Faces - Lucha Dragons and Amore & Cassidy
Heels - Blake & Murphy and Ascension

Divas
Faces - Paige, Charlotte, Emma
Heels - Sasha Banks, Alicia Fox and Becky Lynch

I just created 2 rosters one with 15 singles guys, 4 teams and 6 divas and the other with 13 singles guys, 4 teams and 6 divas I think what I have created is 2 decent rosters with a depth of quality and despite the star power being low the talent level is high and I think it would be entertaining to see and I think this shows a brand split is possible but as others have suggested they have no need to change but if they put the rosters I created in place I wouldnt be unhappy

 

[Eyebrows]

I just created 2 rosters one with 15 singles guys, 4 teams and 6 divas and the other with 13 singles guys, 4 teams and 6 divas

15 singles guys on one roster is nowhere near enough. In 03/04 they had about 60-70 wrestlers on their books over both shows. If you put 13-15 singles guys on one show you're going to run through all your available matches pretty quickly. Especially factoring in injuries.

 

[CreativeLou]

After Wrestlemania 32 there should be a draft which includes superstars from the main roster & NXT, This is my idea of how to rebuild WWE, SMACKDOWN vs RAW!
Both brands hate eachother and want to be better than the other, this will give more superstars there time to shine and give a meaning to both shows.
As for NXT this will be the chance to have a whole new crop of upcomers, because everyone in NXT at the moment more or less deserve to be in the main shows
so WWE have almost a whole year to find and craft new NXT talents for the rebranding of the show when the draft comes along the Raw after Wrestlemania 32.
I think it will be a cool idea to bring the draft back and bring a freshness to WWE again.

Raw: Smackdown:

Seth Rollins
Brock Lesnar
Randy Orton
Daniel Bryan
Bray Wyatt
Dean Ambrose
Kevin Owens
King Barrett
Finn Balor
Damien Sandow
Hideo Itami
Big E
Kingston
Xavier Woods
Luke Harper
Stardust
Tyson Kidd
Kalisto
Sin Cara
Bo Dallas
Curtis Axel
Wesley Blake
Buddy Murphy
R-Truth
Diego
Fernando
Zack Ryder
Tye Dilllinger
AidenEnglish
Simn Gotch

Roman Reigns
John Cena
Cesaro
Rusev
Sheamus
Dolph Ziggler
Ryback
Sami Zyn
Neville
The Miz
Baron Corbin
Solomon Crowe
Tyler Breeze
Jimmy Uso
Jey Uso
Enzo Amore
Big Cass
Erick Rowan
Jack Swagger
Fandango
Adam Rose
Konnor
Viktor
Titus O'neil
Darren Young
Mojo Rowley
Heath Slater
Alex Riley
The Brian Kendrick
Dull Dempsey

Nikki Bella
Brie Bella
Charlotte
Eva Marie
Naomi
Natalya
Bekcy Lynch

Paige
Sasha Banks
Alicia Fox
Carmella
Bayley
Emma
Layla
Summer Rae


Raw Titles:
WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, Raw Tag Team Champions, Raw Divas Champion.
Smackdown Titles:
World Heavyweight Champion, US Champion, Smackdown Tag Team Champions, Smackdown Divas Champion.

What do you guys think about bringing the draft back?

 

[TDFG]

Raw on Monday had Heath Slater, Bo Dallas, Fandango, Adam Rose, R-Truth & Curtis Axel, guys which could be considered jobbers at the moment, you could maybe include Stardust into that as well.

The roster isn't good enough to have a Raw and a Smackdown without talent crossover on a weekly occurence, the extra hour probably is the cause of Raw's problems.

Raw is also the flagship show, so while Cena, Orton, Reigns & Rollins would be the main event stars on Raw, Smackdown would probably have Ambrose, Big Show & Ryback.

 

[OYDK]

I'd love for the brand split to happen and all the filler talent get moved to Smackdown... let them have their own little show and maybe a few will get over. Smackdown is basically that anyway. That way I don't have to watch an hour of matches like Curtis Axel vs Fandango, Adam Rose vs Zack Ryder, and R-Truth vs Stardust. As smarky as I may sound, you can't tell me that you enjoy the filler crap any more than I do, can you?

If all these "enhancement talents" (if you can even call them that) weren't taking up about 45 minutes to an hour facing each other, than Raw may have the potential to be a lot better than it's been these last few weeks.

 

[Dagger Dias]

No, they should not bring back the WWE Draft or the Brand Extension at this time. The roster is not large enough to justify having two sets of titles. Sure, there are a few steps they could take to make it work by separating unified titles into two again and bringing back other retired belts. That doesn't make it a good idea.

RAW
World: WWE Championship
Midcard: Intercontinental Championship
Female: Womens Championship
Tag Team: World Tag Team Championship

SMACKDOWN
World: World Heavyweight Championship
Midcard: US Championship
Female: Divas Championship
Tag Team: WWE Tag Team Championship


This might look good on paper, but it is NOT a good idea. They would soon find themselves once again in a situation where the secondary World Championship looks like nothing more than a glorified midcard belt. Then let's take a look at the tag team division. They barely have enough teams to make contenders for ONE set of belts. What would you do about the other set? If the brand extension comes back you can't have guys be in tag teams but compete on both shows. Teams would get rushed to belts they aren't ready for.

Last but not least, the Divas division does not have enough girls who can actually wrestle to justify two titles. Paige, Natalya, Emma, Summer Rae, and Charlotte (upon her inevitable promotion) are enough for one belt but not two. Keep in mind this is without even addressing the idiocy in how WWE books the divas. Who wants to see Brie Bella VS Eva Marie for the secondary female title? I don't, but that's what's coming if there ever is a second belt for divas to chase.

The solution is to keep the title structure exactly as it is right now. Once NXT grows enough to be its own true entity, then you can do another draft. NXT could take Smackdown's television spot and use the US Championship for its midcard belt while keeping all of the titles already active in today's NXT. Maybe even rebrand Smackdown as NXT's show, NXT Smackdown. Raw would remain exactly as it is and keep the current main roster belts other than the US Championship.

RAW
World: WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Midcard: Intercontinental Championship
Female: WWE Divas Championship
Tag Team: WWE Tag Team Championship

NXT
World: NXT Championship
Midcard: US Championship
Female: NXT Womens Championship
Tag Team: NXT Tag Team Championship

As for PPV's.... enter a format with branded PPV events somewhat similar to how it was a decade ago. Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Money In The Bank, Summerslam, Night Of Champions, and Survivor Series would feature both brands. The other months would see events that are either Raw exclusive or NXT exclusive. This could eventually be a very effective format, unlike holding a WWE Draft in 2015, which would be an awful idea. There's no benefit that would come from it.

 

[That N Word]

I'd keep the brand extension going for now.
My top face would be
Roman Reigns
Randy Orton
Sami Zayn
Daniel Bryan
Ryback
Dolph Ziggler
Finn Balor
Neville
Damien Sandow
Cesaro (Following Kidd Tag Team)
Solomon Crowe

Top Heels
Bray Wyatt
Seth Rollins
Dean Ambrose
Kevin Owens
Bad News Barrett
The Miz
Luke Harper
Rusev
Baron Corbin
Bull Dempsey
Tyson Kidd (following Cesaro tag team)



Teams

The Ascension Heel
The Bella Twins Face
Lucha Dragons Face
The Colons (Primo,Epico,Carlito) Heel
The New Day Heel
The Prime Time Players Face/Tweener
(The Samoan Dynasty) The Usos/Naomi & Tamina Heel

Part-Timers

John Cena-I still think he would be a bigger draw and more loved if he was missed. All his matches would feel huge if he only wrestled at RR,WM,SS,and SSeries. It also could help his body in the long term. When he is a champion he can be full-time though. Unless he turns heel he could use his part-time schedule as part of a taking the title hostage until he gets some respect type of storyline.

Brock Lesnar- Works 4 or 5 matches a year opposed to just 3.

Sting- I would have Sting face Triple H at Summerslam in a rematch.Orton,Rollins,Wyatt or Cena at Survivor Series,and Taker at Mania and then retire.

The Undertaker faces Rollins for the title at Survivor Series after opening Rollins open challenge to face him at the PPV. This will leave people stunned. He loses the match after Stings crow sound plays and the lights go off. Faces Wyatt in a rematch at RR, losing again to the same thing. Taker calls out Sting who appears and challenges him to Mania. The match ends in a draw and both men retires after.

Triple HNames left for him to face are Reigns,Wyatt,Rollins,Ambrose,Owens,and a Sting rematch.

The Rock Lets be real there is only 4 names left for him Orton,Bryan,Reigns,Batista.

Jericho-Heel Ambrose,Bryan,Rollins.

Batista- Reigns,Rock,Triple H and Orton triple threat left.


Then the confusing diva's roster.

Titles would be

Main-WWE WHC
Mid-card- Undisputed Intercontinental Championship
Diva's/Woman- Woman's title
Tag- WWE World Tag Team titles
Comedy relief- "TV" title- 24/7 rules like the Hardcore but a PG version with funny title exchanges.

 

[The Kiz]

See, with the brand splits it allowed superstars to be involved in more feuds, and give them far more air time.

Jeff Hardy really stormed up to the top when he was on his own during the brand split, as did Edge. If the brands were to split again then you could have Sheamus, Ambrose, Ziggler, Ryback and Orton as the main stars of Smackdown and Cena, Rollins, Reigns and Lesnar (when there) as the top stars of RAW.

Smackdown used to really give superstars like John Morrison time to excel and showcase their talents, but then RAW would just draft them over and then they'd fail.
That was down to the writing teams, RAW just don't put enough focus in other talents beside the top 10 superstars.

I'd love for someone like Stardust to be given opportunity to be a top guy on Smackdown, and The New Day could really cement themselves as a top heel team.

Problem is there's only one title, which would make one brand meaningless as far as rankings go.