With the excitement of the WWE Draft coming up, there’s a lot of fantasy talk and speculation as to what will end up happening. Already, the internet has seen rumoured draft lists and countless “this will happen, this won’t happen” and it’s at this point easier to just sit and wait for what’s going to truly happen than expect a soothsayer to tell you through a dirt sheet.
With that in mind, there’s still an entire roster to split down the middle. The fates of John Cena and Roman Reigns are likely obvious. One will be the top dog on Raw while the other heads up Smackdown. But what about the rest of the talent?
Every week we’re going to look at a few of those talents and decide which brand they should go to. It may seem crazy to decide where someone goes when there’s just a blank sheet in front of you, but the placement will shake out with a method to the writer’s madness. Here we present the WWE Draft for several WWE superstars.
Randy Orton
Ryan Smith (Smackdown): If the rumors are true and John Cena is going to Smackdown, then Randy Orton must go with him. When in doubt, the WWE have always been able to rely on Cena and Orton to put on a decent program. Orton and Cena are both taking a back-seat to the new wave of young talent in the WWE, and he isn’t as needed on Raw as he used to be.
Shawn Wilken (Smackdown): There are so many main event talents and upper-mid-carders that could fill up Raw, I think Randy Orton would find himself lost in the shuffle upon his return and fade into the background. Speaking of which, his return would be a great way to get viewership on the first live episode of Smackdown. He could revitalize his approach on the “B Show” and work as either a face or a heel, whatever the show may need more.
Sasha Banks
Josh Hendrickson (Raw): This one is hard..it mostly depends on if there is only one women’s title. If there is I would presume that it would be on RAW and Sasha deserves to make a run for that title. Since her arrival she has either been misused, or hampered by injury. The bland split may just be her opportunity to turn a new leaf and become a true superstar.
Aaron Wrotkowski (Smackdown): I get the feeling that Charlotte and Sasha Banks should be separated as the top dogs of the Women’s division, similar to Reigns and Cena. Not only that, but I feel once they bring up Bayley (which should be soon), it would also be best to separate Bayley and Banks for top women’s babyfaces. Having both on the same show would cause one to fall into the background, but on different brands, they can both thrive individually. It makes more sense to me to have Bayley on Raw, which means more sense for Sasha to be on Smackdown.
Cesaro
Rich Laconi (Smackdown): Smackdown can be the embodiment of the “New Era” and Cesaro should be at the forefront of this. On a roster that should be a showcase for the younger talent, he can continue to work with the I.C. contenders and establish himself as a competent star, developing his character in a manner that will equal his in-ring skills.
Josh Hendrickson (Raw): The man who constantly has his own section deserves to be on the flagship program. No matter if her is chasing a secondary title such as the Intercontinental or the U.S. titles (or maybe they bring back the European, or hardcore title). He has been a constant fan favorite but in the words of Vince McMahon he hasn’t grabbed that brass ring. This new change is a perfect opportunity for him to do just that!
Paige
Rich Laconi (Raw): The Women’s division is developing and can not withstand the split of being in two shows. If women are going to truly be featured in a manner that legitimizes the division, the women should be on RAW, so Sasha should join all the other on the flagship.
Ryan Smith (Smackdown): At some point, Paige went from two-time Diva’s Champion to being off of WWE television. Nobody is quite sure what she did, but the reality is that with Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Naomi, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Dana Brooke, and the impending call-up of Bayley, the WWE Women’s division has gotten very crowded. Maybe on Smackdown, Paige could get more television time and develop and angle with someone like Naomi.
The New Day (as a group or separated)
Aaron Wrotkowski (Big E to Smackdown, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to Raw): I think this could finally be the time to break up The New Day and allow Big E to head back into singles competition. He’s more charismatic than he has ever been and could be a true top babyface in the company. Unlike Roman Reigns still wearing Shield gear, Big E by himself can still adopt some New Day mannerisms while still presenting a fresh face for himself. As for Kofi and Xavier, they could try to continue New Day on Raw, only for Xavier Woods to turn heel on Kofi and start a program between the two. That’ll allow Woods to finally bring out the heel character he first started creating when the New Day first became a thing.
Shawn Wilkens (Raw): Splitting up The New Day would be one of the biggest mistakes the WWE could make at this time. Do NOT split up the three of them. They continue to be that breath of fresh air during a time where there is too much to complain about, and they entertain crowds beyond belief, whether it’s trombone madness or building time machines out of sticky keyboards and cardboard boxes. If you need to take the tag titles off of them and have an inter-brand battle to claim tag team supremacy, then so be it. The New Day have proven to be good enough to be entertaining with or without those titles. At this point, they don’t need them in order to continue to be over with the crowd. Let them do their thing. Let them do it as a three-man group. Raw is my choice, just for the fact that the third hour could benefit from a solid 20-30 minutes of New Day shenanigans.
Tune in next week where we look at more talent, where they could be drafted, and why. And yes, some writers will be referencing who gets drafted here for those future superstars.
