The Natural Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 So it’s time to shake things up again so the video/phrase goes. The last draft and the upcoming one means something as credit to the WWE, it’s been enforced for the most part. What do you want to see or expect to see? RAW has some of my favourite wrestlers, likewise Smackdown Live but Smackdown Live is the better show. Smackdown Live usually gets the shaft in these drafts. I’m thinking Roman Reigns goes to Smackdown Live to keep him from Brock Lesnar till WrestleMania 34, AJ Styles may get switched. Isn’t he Smackdown Live’s biggest draw on house shows? I’ll predict Charlotte Flair goes to Smackdown Live as she’s done it all on RAW and can add to her tally of women’s title starting in NXT to Divas to WWE RAW and WWE Smackdown Live’s Women’s Championship ; ). I expect Alexa Bliss makes a RAW change. Unlike the colour coded WWE Universal Championship, two WWE Women’s Championship and two WWE Tag Team Championships...the WWE Intercontinental Championship and WWE United States Championship are free from this. Will both swap brands? Will tag teams get split up like they sometimes do? I really like the Cesaro/Sheamus team but naively hope Cesaro gets his wish to make Smackdown Live and get inserted into the world title bracket...not happening : (. Confident New Day moves to the blue brand. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I think that for the most part the women's rosters on both shows will remain somewhat intact.. If anything, I expect Asuka to get called up to RAW and maybe a couple of ladies from the SDL roster will be ported to RAW to fill out the rather thin rotation. Charlotte is the cornerstone of the RAW women's division. If they move somebody big to the other side, I think they're more likely to send Sasha over to SDL than Charlotte. With Finn Balor back in the mix, I think that either RAW will grab AJ and reunite the Bullet Club with Finn and Seth feuding with Balor's old unit or SDL grabs Finn and immediately puts him into a program with AJ. Speaking of Rollins, he, Dean, and Roman have all seen diminishing returns since the Shield break-up, so maybe it's time to bring Dean to RAW and get the band back together and get them all back on track, but not before giving Baron Corbin the signature victory and IC Title run he desperately needs for future credibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I think all champions will be protected. That's a bit of a problem since Ambrose needs a refresher and could get it on RAW, but he still has the IC strap. As it were. . . I think Charlotte Flair gets traded for Alexis Bliss. Sasha's a possibility, but Charlotte feels like a better fit for who they have on the SDL roster. New Day could go over for American Alpha. Puts AA in the orbit with the Revival and Kurt Angle. Sami Zayn for the Miz/Maryse is a no-brainer. Hate to lose the A-list couple from SDL, but it'll give them a new show with fresh meat to tear into. Send Bo Dallas over to SDL to pair up with his brother. Any lower-card SDL guy is acceptable in trade. AJ looks like a near-lock to move. The only guy important enough to exchange for Styles that isn't really tied to a story on RAW is Reigns. It separates him from Brock and Braun, allowing Brock time to detach Braun's head from his massive body. And after retiring the long-time backbone for SmackDown, it only seems fitting to send Reigns to where the Phenom once ruled. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I've thought they would move Reigns for Styles to keep Reigns from Brock. But now it's looking like Braun still wants Reigns so just from what they've setup, I'm seeing Reigns staying on RAW. Unfortunately I still think AJ moves to RAW also so RAW will have Reigns/AJ and Lesnar. The possibilities to fill the void over on SDL would be Balor or Rollins. Pretty much I'm thinking after this is over there won't be many reasons to continue watching SDL outside of Nakamura. Bliss seems to be moving and my guess is that Charlotte is coming to SDL. I don't see Sasha and Bayley moving they've been teasing a turn for months. We are getting Sasha and Bayley at some point. I was thinking New Day to SDL but now I've changed my mind. I think it will actually be Enzo and Cass that move to SDL and they'll unite Carmella with them and Cass/Carmella will be given a break from the office since they are together. Obviously they were pissed to be split up last Summer. The one thing that's possible and I would love to see is Rusev and Lana over to SDL. Give him a shot in the arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I put this in the general thread, but here are my picks: To Raw: AJ, Harper, American Alpha, Becky To SD: Roman, Zayn, New Day, Charlotte (Enzo/Cass?) AJ's done pretty much everything he can on SD. The main purpose of moving Roman is a Summer Slam match with Cena. Sami and Harper both need a change of scenery. Living in the shadows of KO and Bray respectively is killing them right now. New Day pretty much has to go after wrecking the entire tag division last year. Alpha has to go just for the backstage segments with Angle (and they've also low-key run over the SD division). I could see Enzo/Cass switching too just because Zack Ryder's injury and novelty wearing off Slater/Rhyno has killed the depth over there. Becky goes to Raw because they'll need another strong face to keep Emma and Nia occupied when Sasha turns. I'd kinda like it if Nia turned too, though, and Emma just brought in Peyton (and Billie if they have to) as backup. Charlotte to SD makes the most sense since they need a strong heel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteCarl Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Put Rusev and Zayn on SD and I'll be happy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 5 hours ago, J.T. said: If anything, I expect Asuka to get called up to RAW and maybe a couple of ladies from the SDL roster will be ported to RAW to fill out the rather thin rotation. They aren't calling Asuka up until she drops the title Plus - they aren't going to have both her AND Nakamura called up but working the UK NXT Tours Assume they do an official draft in June again - she drops the title at the May Takeover and then comes up then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Also, didn't Meltzer say she's staying in NXT "for a while"? That sounds like post-SummerSlam at least. For women, I think Alexa and Charlotte are getting switched. Though Emma could rule Smackdown with an iron fist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Yeah - there are couple of people that Meltzer has implied are "never" (or not for a long time) getting called up. Bobby Roode is the other name he mentions like that all the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I kind of want a Roode/Miz/Corbin stable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Comedian Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Moving Enzo to SDL and having Miz eviscerate him on the mic is my new favorite idea. Emma going to SDL would make me happy as well since they've completely botched her on Raw. AA for New Day makes sense so AA can interact w/ Angle and New Day can go back to doing "who can do the most suicide dives and tope con jiros in a 5-minute TV match" contests with the Usos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 Cheers all. I didn't consider Sasha Banks for Smackdown Live. Good shout that. With RIPPA that Asuka won't be called up as she's making the NXT tour in the UK with Shinsuke Nakamura now on it. I thought Swagsuke was added with poor ticket sales and I believe I heard Meltzer say that on a YouTube video I found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 In a way I'd like Enzo Amore to stay on RAW to carry on hearing Corey Graves' hatred on commentary and Sheamus to keep nailing him with Brogue Kicks. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I'm not sure if one brand needs both Bliss and Emma since I feel like they fill similar roles. On the other hand, I'm not sure that wouldn't be my new favourite tag team. Worst case scenario is they trade Alexa for Dana, even though that would help Brooke immensely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 12 minutes ago, The Natural said: Cheers all. I didn't consider Sasha Banks for Smackdown Live. Good shout that. With RIPPA that Asuka won't be called up as she's making the NXT tour in the UK with Shinsuke Nakamura now on it. I thought Swagsuke was added with poor ticket sales and I believe I heard Meltzer say that on a YouTube video I found. He did say that recently, yes. Have NXT ticket sales been slowing down across the board now that it's not as hot of a product as it once was and they've already toured the major areas once? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 2 minutes ago, Oyaji said: He did say that recently, yes. Have NXT ticket sales been slowing down across the board now that it's not as hot of a product as it once was and they've already toured the major areas once? Thanks for the Dave Meltzer confirmation. I'd say it's a combination of NXT isn't as hot compared to where it was, some hardcores will still go and people were waiting to see who will/won't be called up to the main roster and miss the tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 17 minutes ago, Oyaji said: He did say that recently, yes. Have NXT ticket sales been slowing down across the board now that it's not as hot of a product as it once was and they've already toured the major areas once? Quick search for NXT UK Tour 2015/2016/2017 and the big names on it: 2015: Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Revival, American Alpha, Bayley and Alexa Bliss. 2016: Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Asuka, Revival and Austin Aries 2017: Nakamura, Asuka, Kassius Ohno, Booby Roode and Eric Young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 32 minutes ago, Oyaji said: He did say that recently, yes. Have NXT ticket sales been slowing down across the board now that it's not as hot of a product as it once was and they've already toured the major areas once? They definitely slowed down. The next TV tapings at Full Sail (not the ones tonight) as of couple of weeks ago still hadn't sold out which is the first in FOREVER that that had happened. And over the last 4 or 5 months - the on the road shows always have plenty of seats available. (Granted that might also be that they never really promote who is going to be there ahead of time and I think fans are over the novelty now) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 14 minutes ago, RIPPA said: They definitely slowed down. The next TV tapings at Full Sail (not the ones tonight) as of couple of weeks ago still hadn't sold out which is the first in FOREVER that that had happened. And over the last 4 or 5 months - the on the road shows always have plenty of seats available. (Granted that might also be that they never really promote who is going to be there ahead of time and I think fans are over the novelty now) I'll second that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumanChessgame Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I'm sure others might have actual numbers, but they're touring considerably more than they used to be. There's no more "holy shit, NXT is finally going to be somewhere other than Florida!" excitement. Now that many fans realize if they don't make it out, they'll be around again sometime they're likely not as apt to go. The aforementioned lack of specific match/wrestler promotion is also a factor. If someone isn't going to see their favorites they're more liable to stay home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zev Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 28 minutes ago, RIPPA said: And over the last 4 or 5 months - the on the road shows always have plenty of seats available. (Granted that might also be that they never really promote who is going to be there ahead of time and I think fans are over the novelty now) I'll third that. They had a show at an arena less than 20 minutes from my house and I didn't go because I couldn't find out who was going to be on that tour and who was going the Florida loop that weekend instead. End result? Missed Asuka, Bayley, Alpha, and Nakamura. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 2 minutes ago, zev said: I'll third that. They had a show at an arena less than 20 minutes from my house and I didn't go because I couldn't find out who was going to be on that tour and who was going the Florida loop that weekend instead. End result? Missed Asuka, Bayley, Alpha, and Nakamura. Liking this post for the first paragraph but wanted to say it's a shame you missed out on those wrestlers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Rhyno was uber-focused there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bink_winkleman Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 They just set up Nak/Miz, so I don't see how Miz gets to Raw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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