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There is a lot of hype surrounding the upcoming WWE Draft, and during the latest episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell pitched a plan to let the fans choose at least one pick.
The Draft has been used to shake up the roster since the introduction of the Brand Split many years ago. While WWE has had PLEs relying on fan interaction, the company has never considered giving the viewers a say in the Draft.
Dutch Mantell proposed that WWE take advantage of his massive social media presence and allow fans to make one pick from the upcoming Draft. The respected wrestling veteran explained:
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"This is my idea. Why not! For one pick, at least, let the people make the choice! You know, like, picking the winner that the people can vote for (like talent shows). And I'd have the people vote and have them do it. At least one pick. And now, for creative, you'll have to say, 'Well, now you'll have to work with it.'" [4:45 - 5:16]
Check out the full episode down below:
Mantell was confident that getting the WWE Universe involved in the Draft would be a huge success for the promotion. He also felt that the exercise would give WWE a clear idea of the size of its core fanbase.
If the company did go ahead with the fascinating plan, Mantell admitted that he, too, wouldn't hesitate to vote:
"I think it will work. You can get a lot of coverage on it, and you can actually see how many people actually vote, and those are your rabid fans. Telling them they could make a difference, they could make a choice. I think you'd get a good response out of that. I really do because I would vote." [6:38 to 7:01]
Dutch Mantell finds the WWE Draft "boring" and wishes to see a few changes this year
Triple H has promoted the 2023 Draft to be the biggest in WWE history, but we still don't know what to expect from it when it happens in a few weeks. From a historical standpoint, Dutch Mantell claimed that the Draft has always been unappealing to him as while the RAW and SmackDown rosters get shuffled around, the talent remains the same.
Opening up the Draft to fans was one way to add some much-needed excitement to the proceedings, but there is also concern over it affecting WWE's potentially well-laid creative direction.
Dutch Mantell didn't believe it to be a problem, though, as he noted that the booking doesn't necessarily need to change:
"I mean, they've got all these people already booked in anyway. But for a people pick, you don't have to change bookings. Just let the guy fill out his dates, and then he goes to the other show. And then you can actually see how much fans are invested in this Draft. And if it works, you can open it up to two picks next year. But to me, the Draft is just boring as hell. It's going to be the same guys regardless of what show they're on. So I don't know see what the difference is." [5:17 to 5:51]
Do you like Dutch Mantell's pitch for the 2023 Draft? Sound off in the comments section below.
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