Top 5 WWE Draft Picks For Smackdown Submitted by Justin Watry on 11/06/2019 at 12:38 PM
With the 2019 WWE Draft officially in the book, I think it is time to take a look at what each brand received. If you are looking for a list breaking down the likes of Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair, Roman Reigns, and others, you are in the wrong place. This is to give a spotlight on the selections that may be a tad bit overlooked. Last time I looked at the red brand.
Next up is the blue brand…
Honorable Mention: Shorty G – We can laugh at the name all day long, but the guy is finally getting TV time. If this is what it takes to show off his skills, so be it. The name can always change at a later date. In the meantime, put on some good matches and win over the fans. What’s wrong with that?
Honorable Mention: Carmella – Her face turn months ago was completely random. Her pairing with R-Truth was kinda, sorta random. Mixed Match Challenge BS, for anyone who remembers. Still though, she is a former Money in the Bank winner, former Smackdown Womens Champion and former 24/7 Champion. On her own again, watch out! As long as James Ellsworthless does not come back again…ugh…
Honorable Mention: Alexa Bliss – Originally on Raw but then traded to Smackdown. For what, we still don’t know. Either way, Bliss is going to be fine on any brand, NXT included. She got her first big break on the blue brand, so it is cool she has come back home in a sense. Just keep her away from Sasha Banks.
Honorable Mention: Lucha House Party – I attended a live event in March 2019. They were one of the most “over” acts on the entire card. Kids loved during their pose, and their chant is pretty catchy. Most importantly, they can all flat out go inside the squared circle. I hope they get some quality television time.
Honorable Mention: Nikki Cross – The only reason I didn’t list Luke Harper here is because I fear he is still just binding his time until that pesky contract runs out. Nikki Cross, though, he was great in NXT and has been great on Raw. Whether she remains with Alexa or not, she has my attention.
5. King Corbin – Okay, go ahead and boo. Go ahead and rip on me in the comment section. Come on, I can wait. Go ahead…
…done yet? Alright, here are the cold hard facts. Baron Corbin has been improving. Heck, I would say he has improved a great deal since just last year. That is from his improvement over the previous year and so on. In 2017, on the Smackdown brand, he wrestled John Cena at Summerslam. He also has a Money in the Bank briefcase victory on his resume. Plus, do not forget about that little United States Title win (something I boldly predicted beforehand). The talent has always been there. I am just not sure it has always been in position to be seen though. His recent King of the Ring run, we saw it. His role as the head of RAW and working with Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, eh. Not so much. Now that he can start anew on the Friday night FOX program, coming off his KOTR coronation and retiring Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 35, the sky is the limit. I’m not sure a WWE Championship run is coming anytime soon, but he can be a mid-card heel or even be plugged into any role higher on the marquee without blinking.
4. Dolph Ziggler/Bobby Roode – I loved this pick. Yes, The Viking Raiders winning the RAW Tag Team Titles last Monday telegraphed it immensely. That is okay. A means to an end if you ask me. The bottom line is that if the move is the correct one, who cares if it is predictable? Moving Roode and Ziggler (back) to the blue brand is a huge boost to the show and the performers. Roode was never really given the ball on RAW. That much was obvious. Ziggler, same deal, even though he has practically been part-time for a few years now. Keeping them together for now is the best decision. Slowly but surely moving them to solo careers though can’t be too far off. I think WWE is still looking for that ‘lightning in a bottle’ connection that came from Sheamus and Cesaro pairing up. They magically created something special with The Bar. Since then, the company has been putting two stars together and just hoping for the best with varying results. Roode and Ziggler are next.
3. Sasha Banks – If you listened to the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast, you knew that the best WWE Draft selection to help out all of the Four Horsewomen would be Sasha Banks to Smackdown. It had to be done. Thus, she was not winning the Raw Womens Championship at Heck on a Deck even it appeared she was the favorite all along. With her finally going to the blue brand to follow in Eddie Guerrero’s footsteps, she has a chance to create something special. Their own version of the Smackdown Six if you will. Bayley would clearly be there as well, for both on and off screen purposes. Then that left Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair to break apart on their own. It just opened up the playing field. The blue hair may have been a coincidence. At the same time, it may have been a new beginning. Not just for The Boss but for the entire women’s division. As we saw on Friday night, there are plenty of talented wrestlers ready to break out and make their own moment. Will Bayley and Sasha Banks hold them down or help them up? My money is on the latter…and you can bank on that.
2. The Miz – Back in April, I said it would be a massive miztake if The Miz went to RAW. I was adamant in that being BAD NEWS for him. He had done such a good job on Smackdown Live. Such a good job. Forgetting his WWE Title run nearly a decade ago, the A-Lister has not fared well on Mondays. I say that as a big fan. I think even he would secretly tell you that. Much to my dismay, he not only lost repeatedly to Shane McMahon but also got shifted to an entirely different brand. So long, bye bye, you lose, sorry sucker. Thankfully, that was short loved. The Miz is back on Smackdown, and I believe he is FINALLY ready to move up the card. It feels like he has been stuck in the mid-card for the past three years just waiting for his next opportunity. Forget the fact that his reality show airs on USA Network. That means nothing. WWE can work around that stuff. Nobody is more fit to do the promotional FOX media rounds than The Miz. When not doing that, he can then turn around and be a star in the ring. The man main evented WrestleMania 27. Don’t sleep on him reaching the mountain top once again. It’d be awesome.
1. Braun Strowman – In my January 2019 column, I made 20 BOLD predictions for the year. Some of those included Lucha Underground being done, Batista returning to feud with Triple H at WM35, CM Punk coming back for some sort of wrestling gig, The Rock appearing on the Smackdown/FOX live premiere, Bray Wyatt tweaking his character, Womens Tag Team Titles being introduced, Roman Reigns getting back in the ring, a surprise former star like Melina returning, All Elite Wrestling being legitimate and landing a good cable TV deal, Becky Lynch beating Ronda Rousey in the MAIN EVENT of WrestleMania, among others I nailed. Near the top of that list was Braun Strowman being drafted to Smackdown. It took ten months, but you can hand me another point! Braun going to the blue brand should have happened in 2018, truth be told. After the WM34 tag team title debacle, he was DONE on Raw. That was it for him. Now that the WWE machine is working with FOX and looking for more sports kinda stars to highlight, Strowman is in prime position to be a mainstream star. Not just a wrestling star, I am talking about a name known the world over. Oh and look, there is his enemy he has yet to beat – Brock Lesnar with the WWE Championship. How fitting. As long as the big man stays healthy and on the right track, the Smackdown to FOX move should benefit him the most.
