Triple H kicked off tonight’s WWE SmackDown with the ground rules for the Draft. Every superstar on Raw and SmackDown are subject to the possibility of transferring to the other brand, and 50% of the roster will be drafted tonight, while the other 50% percent will be drafted on Raw. Some NXT superstars are also in the mix, though he didn’t mention who, and the new rosters will go into effect on May 8th after Backlash. We started with the first four picks, and that’s when we discovered where The Bloodline, Bianca Belair, Cody Rhodes, and Becky Lynch would be headed after Backlash.
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The first pick of the Draft goes to SmackDown, and they selected all three as one, which consisted of Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa, and Roman Reigns. This was one of the bigger talking points heading into the draft, and The Bloodline is now locked in for SmackDown for the foreseeable future. That said, The Usos could still move to Raw, as they are eligible on night 2.
The first pick for Raw was Cody Rhodes, which was a surprise or completely predicted depending on who you talk to. Then the third pick went to SmackDown, who went with current Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair. Then the fourth pick went to Monday Night Raw, who selected The Man Becky Lynch, who will be staying put on the Red brand.
It will be interesting to see how this all works with The Bloodline’s current storyline. If The Usos go to Raw, it should be easy enough to continue to pepper Rhodes into their overall story, even if he’s not really interacting with them on a regular basis, since he will be focused on other feuds in his quest to get back to a Title shot. If they stay on SmackDown though, that could be more difficult.
This is perfect for Belair though, as she should have a host of new faces to feud with on the blue brand. Lynch staying on Raw is interesting, but Raw brings over some SD people or some key NXT stars, she should have a fresh lineup to interact with as well.
It will be interesting to see what other SmackDown and Raw staples stay put, especially in the Tag Team division and regarding factions. Just a faction or two like Imperium or Damage CTRL could really change who these new stars can end up facing, and thankfully we still have a few more rounds to go tonight to get a better picture of that.
What have you thought of the WWE Draft so far and the first four picks? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
