Demitri_C Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I am suprised Samoa Joe did not get chosen or Austin Aries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Raw has come out much stronger. It has the majority of the women's and tag divisions, all the good upper mid carders and won't be dragged down by Cena. Also, we can now get the original Bullet Club. I think Styles and Ambrose are the only real losses to Raw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phumfeinz Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 That draft sucked. Congrats WWE on managing to deflate any excitement I had for your product once again. Damn are they masters at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 They've done it consistently for about 14 years yet I still watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daweii Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Hmm so this draft was a bit odd really. Shane has talked the talk about being all about the new-era and while to be fair he did choose the most NXT stars he also lead the charge with the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton. I personally think Smackdown Live has the better overall roster* and we will see some names flourish that would have never had a chance before, but it just seems a bit disjointed to me. I also believe that Smackdown Live got shafted a bit as I think WWE put too much emphasis on Raw being a 3-hour show. I mean if things don't change Raw will have the Women's Title, US Title, Tag Titles and I assume the soon to be unveiled Cruiserweight Title. If WWE then go ahead with Raw also having a WWE Title of its own then Raw will have four (maybe five) titles while Smackdown has two. Yes Raw is longer but Raw getting the Cruiserweight division basically grants them another 5-10 wrestlers outside of this draft depending how big WWE want that division to be. I am also concerned about the variety of the Women's division. Yes I get that they don't get the same amount of time as the men do, but Raw has seven women and Smackdown Live six. I understand that the Women's Title is a floating one so it can be won by someone on Smackdown at one of the big four PPV's, but my main concern is the division feeling tired full of the same old matches yet again in few months. I mean there are only so many combinations of fresh match ups you can create with a Women's division of seven female superstars on one show. Hard issue to fix without giving one brand all of the women, but it may get a bit stale rather fast. Top picks for each brand: Raw: - Seth Rollins - Finn Balor - The New Day - Enzo and Cass - Sasha Banks - Kevin Owens - Sami Zayn - Cesaro Notable mention: Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows (Balor Club anyone?) Smackdown Live: - Dean Ambrose - AJ Styles - John Cena - Randy Orton - Becky Lynch - American Alpha - Bray Wyatt - The Vaudevillains Notable mention: Zack Ryder (should be harder to bury now :P) I am sure it will work out alright for both brands. I suppose now it's just waiting and seeing how Raw differentiates in look and feel to Smackdown Live. I do fear for some of the guys on the Raw roster as that roster is still pretty huge, it's still possible for some to get lost in the shuffle. On the other hand I hope Smackdown Live can use its more condensed roster creatively enough to mask how small it really is. Should be interesting going forward that is for sure. *PS. When I say better overall roster for Smackdown Live I mean in terms of potential. Raw have some superstars that will flourish for sure and they will go on to become huge stars over the coming decade, but some will get lost in the shuffle. Smackdown Live has a roster full of workhorses and wrestlers that are incredible in the ring but don't get the same hype or attention as say a Kevin Owens. Yes Smackdown may not produce as many top names when the draft inevitably ends in 5 or so years, but we may wind up more surprised about who rises to the top in that brand as its full of underdogs for the most part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Rollins, Zayn, Balor, Owens, Neville, Sasha, Cesaro. I think the in ring talent is much better on Raw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daweii Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 5 minutes ago, Wainy316 said: Rollins, Zayn, Balor, Owens, Neville, Sasha, Cesaro. I think the in ring talent is much better on Raw. From a stand point of now yes.. That said how many will break through to become the stars they should be? Just like the brand split back in the day benefited guys like Eddie Guerrero we may find that being on Smackdown will be greatly more beneficial for growth. I agree that in terms of star power right now Raw has it, but that's also why I added my disclaimer at the end that Smackdown Live is loaded with potential, it will be exciting to see who rises to the top on that brand as it could be literally anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 5 minutes ago, Daweii said: From a stand point of now yes.. That said how many will break through to become the stars they should be? Just like the brand split back in the day benefited guys like Eddie Guerrero we may find that being on Smackdown will be greatly more beneficial for growth. I agree that in terms of star power right now Raw has it, but that's also why I added my disclaimer at the end that Smackdown Live is loaded with potential, it will be exciting to see who rises to the top on that brand as it could be literally anyone. Yeah I get you you mean. Raw has all the indie stars and upper mid carders who are established and ready and almost for the main event. The draft has opened up the opportunity for them to move up as the big hitters who kept them off the top have been moved to Smackdown along with the young talent that is not yet established. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Anyone been following the results of the Cruiserweight Classic? Apparently the round of 16 match between Kota Ibushi and Cedric Alexander is a MOTY contender. Without spoiling anything, looking at who is in the last eight it is really, really hard to call a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) poor Cesaro never going to get a push being on raw, he should have been on smackdown Edited July 20, 2016 by Demitri_C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 A shame Nakamura wasn't drafted but I'd imagine he's going to fill Balor's spot as NXT's top star for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Pretty crappy roster for Smackdown. Reckon we will see a couple more NXT call ups in the next week or so. Maybe Samoa Joe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderPower_14 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 I thought Smackdown started well but then Raw absolutely killed it after that. Raw definitely have the more exciting roster. How the **** do they continue to underbook Cesaro so badly? It's brutal. The other guys in that feud went well before him and I probably only like Owens as much. Cesaro might need a heel turn or something but i'm struggling to think of anyone who has ever been ignored this much despite having seemingly everything WWE want in a wrestler. He's big, he's in amazing shape, he's one of the best wrestlers on the roster and he's really over when he's being booked well. Worse than that, I was hoping the draft might be the end of the endless stream of matches involving Owens, Zayn, Jericho and Cesaro but nope, they all get drafted to Raw. I think Smackdown has the better balance of WWE title talent as outside of Rollins, Raw has Reigns (lol) and Lesnar (who will need to get a lot more involved to have an impact). Hopefully Bray Wyatt can finally be used properly and pushed into title contention but he's got a few ahead of him at this stage. The likes of Zack Ryder and Apollo Crews are probably going to be in the mix for Miz's IC title because there aren't a whole lot of mid carders on Smackdown around the level that WWE seem to rate the US and IC belts Baron Corbin at 18, before Cesaro, the pick after Kevin Owens. Jesus. Give him a mask or something ffs he's so boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daweii Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 New Logos! I don't mind the Smackdown Live one as it looks similar to past Smackdown logos. It's sleek and stylish and while it would likely look better sans the LIVE bit I can deal with that. RAW though. Yes it harks back to days of old with shades of the '93-'97 RAW logo, but it just looks far too simple. Maybe it looks better animated, but not super impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villaphan04 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Spoiler Finn Balor v Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship at Summer Slam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daweii Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 WWE Universal Championship just sounds so dumb to me, it's very TNA sounding like they created the King of the Mountain Championship.. That said Rollins vs Balor at Summerslam is gonna be incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Thank god roman is not in main event. i feel sorry for his charchater in a way, the fans hate roman. they need to turn him asap. can see a double turn happening with rollins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 The 2014 Royal Rumble which has tailor made for Daniel Bryan (just like the previous year with Batista) is what ruined him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phumfeinz Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Raw owned, Smackdown sucked. I know what I'll be watching going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Sasha winning the title was a good way to launch the new Raw or I kind of think it deserved to be on a platform such as Summerslam. Looks like we're seeing the return of Brand only pay per views too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts