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We're just about two weeks away from the next WWE Draft. With the coming of the draft, it officially means that the Wild Card rule will be concluded - a huge relief for WWE fans, who always prefer two separate brands rather than a unified roster.
It has always had its benefits, but the real question now is how WWE plans to handle the upcoming draft. Last time around, which was three years ago, there was a mixed response. The general feeling was that RAW had gotten the much stronger roster, but once the programming began, WWE fans realized that it's all about how Superstars are utilized - and SmackDown Live was clearly viewed as the superior brand in terms of quality of the product.
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However, history may repeat itself in certain ways. Here are five things that Vince McMahon should not do in the upcoming draft, but probably will.
Also read: 5 reasons why Daniel Bryan quietly turned babyface at a live event
#5. Give one brand an overly favorable roster
As mentioned, last time around, one of the big flaws was that RAW got a roster that was clearly superior. While SmackDown did make it work anyway, it was evident that RAW was always the #1 priority and they took quite the risk with SmackDown - one that paid off until 2017.
However, in 2017, things got problematic again as WWE gutted SmackDown Live of its 4-5 best Superstars and put them on RAW, while the only compensation that SmackDown got was a superior tag team division.
That wasn't enough and this time around, the pendulum should not swing either way. Even though the FOX deal is very important, it's vital that WWE doesn't overly-stack the SmackDown roster, as it's still a two-hour show at the end of the day.
#4. Gut an entire brand of its tag team division
One of the biggest problems with the brand split and Superstar Shake-Up these past few years has been the constant imbalance in the tag team divisions of WWE. While that problem was somewhat resolved in 2019, it was essentially negated by the Wild Card rule.
In 2016, RAW was given a tag team division that was clearly superior. However, the tide would turn and in 2017 and 2018, it was SmackDown Live which had the superior tag team division.
This is problematic as the tag team division is still very integral to both brands, as is the women's division. But for some reason, WWE seems to like creating that disbalance in the tag team division and we fear that history will repeat itself this time around.
The question will be as to which brand gets the superior tag team division. That brand will undoubtedly have a big boost as tag team action helps create a huge buzz and excitement around a brand.
Also read: 5 harsh realities about The Fiend Bray Wyatt that nobody wants to talk about
#3. Neglect NXT call-ups
Don't get us wrong. We don't think that there should be six different NXT call-ups like there was last time. That was suitable then, but since NXT is now on the USA Network and is a 2-hour live show, it wouldn't make sense to gut the roster of six different Superstars, even if they are mid-card to low-card talent.
However, that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be any call-ups whatsoever. WWE can always make an arrangement where they have three to four NXT Superstars that get drafted, but in exchange, three to four main roster Superstars who aren't being utilized all too much could be sent back to NXT.
This will be a beneficial arrangement as not only does it create hype about any upcoming debuts, but it also helps underutilized main roster talent who are itching to wrestle frequently. Moreover, they will always have a spot at NXT on live television because main roster names on the show will generate interest by default.
It's going to be interesting to see how they deal with it, but in all likeliness, WWE will end up neglecting the NXT call-ups entirely looking at the USA Network deal.
#2. Make Brock Lesnar the #1 draft pick
We must admit that this is purely under the assumption that Brock Lesnar wins the WWE Championship on the SmackDown FOX Premiere. Granted, Kofi Kingston could always retain by DQ or some other method and rematch Lesnar at Hell in a Cell a couple of days later, but it's going to be interesting to see how they handle it.
Basic logic would state that since this is Lesnar's first match on free TV in over 15 and a half years, it probably means that he's winning the title. In all likelihood, he might, especially since Kofi Kingston's momentum as WWE Champion came to a halt following his flop match against Randy Orton at WWE Clash of Champions 2019.
If, or when Lesnar is WWE Champion, he will most likely end up being the overall #1 draft pick. He shouldn't be because Seth Rollins, or essentially, any other top Superstar that WWE plans to build up, deserves that spot.
Lesnar was rumored to be the original overall first pick in 2016, but apparently, WWE decided against it because of his USADA suspension. That may change this time around.
#1. Move Superstars with momentum on SmackDown to RAW
This is something that we would like to personally dub "The Miz curse" or "The Miz effect". Every single time there has been a Superstar Shake-Up, The Miz has changed brands. He would have a lot of momentum on SmackDown, only to abruptly be shifted again to RAW, where all that momentum would go down the drain.
What WWE used to do quite a bit is take Superstars who did well on SmackDown and put them on RAW, hoping to replicate that momentum on the "bigger" brand. It worked for certain Superstars such as John Cena, but for many others, they weren't able to regain the momentum that they once had.
If you think of Superstars on SmackDown that have momentum right now, a few names come to mind, such as Kevin Owens, Ali, Bayley and a lesser extent, Buddy Murphy and Andrade. They can send over Superstars who aren't being utilized to the fullest to RAW and they can probably thrive there.
However, in all likelihood, WWE will end up sending atleast 2-3 of these Superstars to RAW who might end up being neglected again.
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