5 Things To Do Following the WWE Draft

The WWE Draft is upon us.  This week on Smackdown, we begin the draft that will “change the game” as Triple H so delicately described it.  And whereas we have had drafts in the past, this year has a special aura surrounding it, and that’s because it’s the first one under the creative control of anyone other than Vince McMahon.  Paul Levesque has done a wonderful job of bringing back the importance to mid-card titles, the tag team titles, and beginning to establish the women’s tag team titles.  The Royal Rumble and Survivor Series were the best they had been in years.  A lot of things have improved under Paul, so that gives us plenty of reason to expect that same effort being put into the draft as well.

So, with all of that, let’s just move right on into the 5 biggest things I want to see come out of this year’s draft:

1.  Brand Exclusive Rosters

The biggest thing that I think is necessary for this draft to come across as a success is to ensure that the draft itself is respected.  For far too long, talent has switched from show to show whenever it was convenient for the writers, which defeats the entire purpose of the draft in the first place.  When they do this, I agree with the folks who say the whole thing should be scrapped.  But when they have stuck to it, it’s a very easy and effective way of getting talent the opportunities that they wouldn’t get if there was no draft to begin with.

I understand that when you have Roman and the Uso’s carrying both sets of titles, that creates a problem.  But they had random talent doing it far too frequently, and the closer we got to Wrestlemania, the more frequent it was happening.  It needs to stop.  Give each brand the best roster you can possibly construct and let it stick.  By doing this, you allow future programs to build simply by making people wait for them.  Let the anticipation build for those marquee match ups and to keep things fresh in the meantime…

2.  Rotate the Talent

The entire WWE roster is very deep.  Deep enough to where there are still plenty of very talented individuals that never really get enough time to gain any kind of momentum or click with the crowd.  For the talent that is at the bottom of the card, rotating them out while giving new people a chance is the best way possible to find out exactly what you have.  You never know who could just be wasting away in catering if they never get the chance to catch fire.

What this also allows that talent to do is work on their characters.  They got some time on tv to get over, and it didn’t work.  They get taken off tv while someone else gets their time and while that other person is away, they have the time and motivation to figure out what went wrong, work out the kinks or develop something new to try when they get the call again in a few months.  This presents everyone with the opportunities they deserve as well as cut down on your rematches and offer up new challengers for the talent that are mainstays on the show.  A win-win situation if there ever was one.

3.  A Chad Gable Singles Push

This is a no-brainer that I think anyone that watches professional wrestling can agree on.  Chad Gable is the complete package.  He is entertaining, he can talk, he can have a great match with literally anybody you put him in the ring with, and that is because the man can absolutely go inside the squared circle.  There are not many you can find that are going to be able to outshine him in that department.  His size has always been the thing I felt like was holding him down.  But at the same time, I’m not sure they have ever properly leaned into it(and yes, I am choosing to forget the Shorty G experiment).

The easiest story to tell for a babyface is the underdog story.  What makes the perfect underdog?  An undersized, scrappy babyface that just can’t seem to break through.  We all get invested and hope, pray, and will their success into becoming a reality.  We have seen it before, and we will see it again when the perfect candidate shows up.  Gable has all the qualities to be that guy, and splitting him from Otis in this year’s draft is the best way to kickstart it.

4.  Scrap Developmental

No, not entirely.  NXT’s developmental system is crucial to the future success of WWE, and eliminating that would be a colossal mistake on their behalf.  What I would like them to do, though, is stop referring to it as just a “developmental” brand.  They have flip-flopped between it being a third brand and developmental far too many times for us to take them seriously now.  What can they do to fix that?  Officially, start treating it as an equal.

Having NXT be a part of the draft for the first time ever is a big step forward in making that a reality.  If they are getting to participate in this event, it doesn’t make any sense to still consider them Raw and Smackdown’s little sibling that isn’t allowed to play ball with the big boys.  Get some of the experienced talent down on that show to really fill it out and provide the youngsters with some proper experience.  In the long run, this should do wonders for them as it could possibly expedite some of their training.

Dragunov made a big mistake last week. Hey Ilja, I suggest you take Tuesday off and stay away from the building.

— DIJAK (@DijakWWE) April 22, 2023

What it also does is give talent that has been wasting away on the main roster a chance at some real tv time.  A chance to remind WWE why they hired them in the first place and possibly reinvigorate some careers.  They already use veterans on short runs down there anyway, and some have even made NXT their residence again, so why not make a few more of them permanent?

5.  One Set of Tag Team Titles

In the opening here, I talked about how the Tag Team titles are feeling important again for the first time in a very, very long time.  I believe a lot of this has to do with the fact that the titles have been combined, and the illusion is that we have only had one set during the Uso’s run.

There just aren’t enough tag teams across both main roster brands for WWE to justify having two sets of titles.  It diminishes the tag team division as a whole when you have 2 sets of belts and only 6-8 teams.  Having one set of belts that can actually bounce between both shows is the only way to keep the prestige on those belts moving forward.  I know this goes against the idea of me keeping rosters exclusive, but if we are going to make one exception, this is the one I’m okay with.  It allows teams to rise through the ranks while the champs are in a feud on the other show.  Once that feud is over, it’s time to switch shows and see what the other half has stirred up.  It acts like the rotating talent, only for the tag titles.

So there you have it.  These are very simple ideas that I think would really help solidify this draft as not only an overall success but the most successful draft they’ve had in a long time, if not ever.  Like what you read?  Didn’t like it?  Sound off in the comments.  Discussion is welcome as always.

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