Breaking Down the WWE Draft Rules

WWE has released guidelines for the draft. Let's break it down and isolate the pros and cons. First, here's the rules as written by WWE.com:

The rules for the WWE Draft are as follows:

• Raw has the first overall pick.
• Since SmackDown Live is a two-hour show and Raw is three hours, for every two picks SmackDown Live receives, Raw will receive three picks.
• Tag teams count as one pick unless a Commissioner/General Manager specifically only wants one member of the team.
• Six draft picks will be made off the NXT roster.

In addition to the listed rules, WWE has listed a roster of singles wrestlers and tag teams, with singles wrestlers divided by gender. Absent from the singles list is the Undertaker, which opens up speculation on his future with the company. Obviously, this could be because of the fact that he wrestles the most limited schedule of any performer in the company. Brock Lesnar, however, is eligible for the draft. 

Let's hit the positives that come out of this.

Tag teams. Thank goodness there are rules that add hope that most tag teams will not be broken up. Though there is no guarantee that every tag team will remain intact, hope is there. The fear is still apparent that WWE will deem someone ready for a singles run even if that really isn't the case. I guess we'll find out.

Only six NXT wrestlers will be brought up to either Raw or SmackDown. Six call-ups somewhat insures that NXT will not become a victim of this situation. In theory, gutting NXT of most of its top talent could be bad for WWE as a whole. There are veterans at NXT that are valuable to the growth of younger talent working along side them. To bring up more than six (Possibly more depending on the number of tag teams) NXT wrestlers could make it easy for new call-ups to get lost in the shuffle on either of the two shows. Hopefully WWE has done their due diligence in determining which NXT wrestlers are truly ready for a spot on the main roster. There's another way to look at this call-up situation, though.

If WWE is presenting this draft as a shoot, then how could a general manager justify not drafting Shinsuke Nakamura or Samoa Joe? If the goal is to draft the best wrestlers possible and at least six people from NXT can be picked, you're basically obligated to draft the current champions from developmental. NXT has actually made enough signings to stay strong (Bobby Roode, Eric Young, Austin Aries, Kota Ibushi, and some of the other Cruiserweight Classic competitors). We'll have to see how the company plays this one.

Alright, time for the negatives.

I'm a bit back and forth on this one, but I'm going to discuss it anyway. I think splitting the women is a bad idea. Assuming that there's only going to be one Women's Championship (there's not enough women to justify a second belt anyway), why split such a small roster? There are only ten women listed as eligible to be drafted. One or two of the NXT selections will certainly be women, so we're looking at about five to seven women on each show. WWE is really limiting the different match-ups in its women's division. My fear is that the non-title angles will come off as unimportant compared to the main title angle that will be taking place on one show for a period of time. Cutting such a small division in half doesn't appear to be the right thing at this stage of women's wrestling in WWE. This issue speaks for the tag team division, as well.

Let's take moment away from the rules. When taking into consideration all of the booking issues that the draft could create, we must also consider the amount of WWE programming that will result. We will not be getting (in theory) five hours of important weekly content between Raw and SmackDown. We will also get pay-per-views for each show. That's a lot of extra content and an enormous amount of time that a fan will have to invest in the product. For diehard fans, this is not a problem. The issue is that WWE has ran off most of, if not all of the casual viewers. It would be hard to make an argument that the casual fan would be willing to watch both Raw and SmackDown and then watch a three-hour special event on a Sunday. WWE's creative department seems to always be under fire, so imagining quality programming on an even larger scale is a tough proposition.

WWE has an incredible challenge ahead of them. They must make SmackDown important, that's the obvious. But straight away Raw is recieving the first pick and getting more talent in terms of quantity. Yes, it's a three-hour show, so in those terms it makes sense. But for Vince McMahon to clearly state that Raw is the "flagship show" last Monday seems to illustrate the mindset that's been in the company for years. I agree, Raw is the main brand of the company. But Vince didn't need to put that out there, front and center. It's somewhat of an unspoken fact. Everyone knows it's true, don't beat the point into everyone's head, especially right before a draft that is supposedly making the two shows equal. 

With a heel Stephanie and a babyface Shane as figureheads, it feels right that their general manager selections need to both be babyfaces. Shane's will certainly be a face. Stephanie's must also be one. If Stephanie opts to pick Triple H as her GM, then what has really changed on Raw? We've seen the heel authority figure angle for years now. It's played out. Time to move on. If the draft is about shaking things up and doing something different, that's your first move. Two babyfaces underneath Stephanie and Shane. 

We're two days away from what is arguably the most important show in WWE in a considerable amount of time. Our questions will be answered over the coming weeks. This is the company's opportunity to right the mistakes they've made over the past decade, as well as learn from the ones they made in the first brand split.

There is great opportunity ahead. WWE must capitalize now, or the consequences could be severe.

Link to official rules and eligible Superstars:
WWE Draft Rules 2016

Brady Sauvageau
The Heater