Using WWE’s Draft rules, what could the new rosters look like?
Mock draft two – 2 Draft, 2 Furious – is here. Now that WWE has released the official rules and the official draft pools, we took another crack at a mock draft. This time, it was myself (Evan Gomes) and our NXT aficionado Javier Melo drafting the brands. I took the reigns of Raw, and Javier took SmackDown. The rules for the draft are:
For every two SmackDown picks, Raw gets three picks due to being the longer show.
All wrestlers are up for grab from the official pools, including title holders
Tag teams can be split up or drafted as a whole
With all the admin out of the way, check out how our draft played out. Afterwards, read each GM’s explanation of their roster-building.
Rounds 1 & 2
Raw: Seth Rollins
SD: Brock Lesnar
Raw: Becky Lynch
SD: The Fiend
Raw: New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods)
Raw: Braun Strowman
SD: The O.C. (A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
Raw: Bayley
SD: Sasha Banks
Raw: Shinsuke Nakamura & Sami Zayn
Rounds 3 & 4
Raw: Kevin Owens
SD: Daniel Bryan
Raw: Drew McIntyre
SD: Andrade & Zelina Vega
Raw: Charlotte
Raw: The Usos (Jimmy & Jey)
SD: Asuka & Kairi Sane
Raw: Aleister Black
SD: Ricochet
Raw: Rusev
Rounds 5 & 6
Raw: Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
SD: Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
Raw: Roman Reigns
SD: The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson)
Raw: Rey Mysterio
Raw: Buddy Murphy
SD: Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
Raw: Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker)
SD: Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Raw: The Miz
Rounds 7 & 8
Raw: Elias
SD: Ali
Raw: King Corbin
SD: Samoa Joe
Raw: Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar)
Raw: Natalya
SD: IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay)
Raw: Carmella
SD: Fire & Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville)
Raw: Randy Orton
Rounds 9 & 10
Raw: Cedric Alexander
SD: Humberto Carillo
Raw: Chad Gable
SD: Cesaro
Raw: Lacey Evans
Raw: Apollo Crews
SD: Drew Gulak
Raw: Sarah Logan
SD: Akira Tozawa
Raw: EC3
Raw GM Evan’s Breakdown
The thought process of building this roster was simple: sports-entertainers. I figured that Javier would try to build a more wrestling-focused show, so I wanted to load up on entertainment. Raw is the flagship show of WWE, and WWE prides itself on the “entertainment” side of sports-entertainment. Therefore, it was time to build an entertaining roster. Also, some absolute gems fell further than I expected (like Roman Reigns) and I had to jump on the value. The first round was a series of no-brainers. Seth Rollins holds the Universal Title and will be there every week. Becky Lynch is the top female performer in WWE, and maybe the world. Finally, New Day bring the entertainment factor, and Kofi Kingston remains a main event talent in my mind.
My Universal Championship & Intercontinental Championship scenes have interchangeable parts. Guys like The Miz, Roman Reigns (who inexplicably fell for both of us), Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre and more can compete for either title. Other singles stars who are extremely entertaining can finally get title glory. Guys like Braun Strowman and King Corbin can get their hands on titles.
I added some older wrestlers who will draw casual viewers. Guys like Mysterio, Orton, and Miz can help get over some younger talent. I drafted some lower-mid card wrestlers who can absolutely go in the ring. Chad Gable, Apollo Crews, and Aleister Black will get the rub from wrestlers who are in the twilight of their careers. They can then be added to the main event level.
The Women’s Division is my absolute strength. Three out of four Horsewomen isn’t bad, as Charlotte had fallen off both of our radars before I snatched her up. Add to that some quality depth in Bliss, Cross, Nattie, Lacey, Carmella & the criminally underrated Sarah Logan and the division can be a focal point.
My tag division doesn’t have tag titles. Boo-hoo – a quick tournament will solve that problem. New Day, The Usos, Heavy Machinery, Authors of Pain, and the new teams of Gable-Crews (remember when that was almost a thing) and Nakamura-Zayn will give us plenty of depth. Also a tag team division reset gives us the opportunity to get some new, better looking belts. It’s a win-win all over.
SmackDown GM Javier’s Breakdown
I chose Smackdown for two reasons: One, I like the color blue more than the color red. And two, Smackdown was the show I grew up on. I was there for the rise of John Cena, the incredible run of Eddie Guerrero, JBL’s awful year-long run, and many, many more things. I came into this draft wanting one thing and that was a strong tag team division and I succeeded. My tag team division blows Evan’s away and it isn’t even completely done forming yet. More on that later on.
I drafted Lesnar first because I wanted the WWE Championship. That was my belt growing up and I still see it as the top belt in the company. I was going to follow that up with Becky Lynch, the biggest star in the company, but Evan took that from me so I went with my new biggest babyface, The Fiend. The way I see it, that’s my main feud right now and it goes on forever. Imagine the video packages for that match. I love it already. My main event wins.
Anyways, I drafted Sasha to counter his drafting of Bayley and I completely forgot about Charlotte at this point and lost her forever. With that said, I’m disbanding the awful women’s tag team division. That means that my women’s division consists of Sasha Banks, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville. I introduce an ugly blue women’s belt that is a Smackdown Live exclusive. Everyone calls it the blueberry title. I really like that. AJ Styles is on my brand with the U.S. Title so let’s throw Andrade, Daniel Bryan, Ricochet, Samoa Joe and Akira Tozawa his way and make a series of fun matches and combinations. My mid-card wins.
Finally, the tag team division. I have both champions, the Revival and Ziggler & Roode. Let’s put them in a match for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships, Smackdown Live’s new tag team titles. The ultimate champions. Hey Evan, how does it feel knowing that your tag champs aren’t legitimate? I also have the Viking Raiders, the Street Profits, Anderson & Gallows, my new team of Cesaro & Drew Gulak, and my other new team of Ali & Humberto Carrillo. No tag team division can hold a candle to mine.
By my tally, I win the main event scene, the mid-card, and especially the tag team division. Smackdown Live is legitimate again ladies and gentlemen.
Those are the foundations of our rosters post-draft. Who do you think had the better draft? Let us know on Twitter at @FPC_Wrestling, or in the comments below.
