Draft Questions and Comments
By Scott Keith on April 18, 2023
Hi Scott,
I always look forward to the Draft, despite almost always being disappointed in it. Some thoughts and questions for you and the blog:
1) I hate the way that picks have been done in recent years, with five names being announced at a time. There's no time for the audience to digest what they've just seen.
2) Even more than that, I hate the way that every round features “Raw” picking three people while “SmackDown” only picks two. I get the reason for doing so (“Raw” is three hours while “SD” is two, so “Raw” needs a larger roster), but it makes “SD” look second-rate right from the start. Wouldn't it make more sense to let each show get an equal amount of televised picks (say, ten), and then do the 3:2 ratio with the low-card performers after the shows have gone off the air?
3) Vince's philosophy has always been “if less is more, then more is MORE more”, but he never seemed to realize that the greater the amount of people moved, the fewer new match-ups that can actually be made. Like, if you were to literally move everyone, then both rosters would literally remain the same, just on different nights now. I think it's far better to make a smaller number of big-name picks.
4) With stables back in fashion at the moment, do you have a preference as it pertains to how they're drafted? For instance, should all five members of the “Latino World Order” be drafted separately, kept as one big package deal, or base it on their positions in the group (such as Rey being a pick, Santos and Zelina being a pick, and Wilde and Del Toro being a pick)? I think the third option is the most interesting option. That said, “The Bloodline” should definitely remain together, but there has to be an in-canon reason for it, like Reigns and Heyman holding enough power to negotiate special treatment.
5) What do you think of a “zero pick” for current champions? If a member of one brand holds a title from the other brand (such as Rhea Ripley holding SD's Women Championship), just move that person over without it counting as a pick.
6) Okay, we currently have Reigns and Owens-Zayn as double-champions. Do you keep the titles on them and let them appear on both shows, or do you draft them to one show or the other and strip them of the opposite brand's title?
7) I know that I'm in the minority, but I actually think that if there are two separate rosters, then they should be treated as separate “companies” with separate champions. I get the logic behind one grand champion since they're all part of one company, but I think the last year of Reigns being a part-timer that almost never faced a “Raw” wrestler demonstrated that both shows need something to fight for. It'd be like ECW or NXT not having their own titles.
8) And probably the biggest question mark of all: Do you think that the rosters will actually be kept separate? The company has never been great about enforcing the separation, and I get that Trips suddenly replacing Vince as the main booker threw the whole idea into chaos, but they've gotta keep them (mostly) separate now, right? If not, what's the point? Is it just going to be the same song and dance where they try for three months, and then as soon as ratings go down a tenth of a point, it's back to everyone back on both shows? Again, what's the point?
Okay, that's probably enough for now. Any particular moves, debuts, returns, or call-ups that you want or expect to see?
Take care,
– Stu
Dude. You are excitedly writing paragraphs about the draft to completely the wrong person. I don’t care about it. Like at all. Said with love.
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