 I had to wait and see what went down on Night 2 to determine whether the 2024 WWE Draft was a success or not, and honestly, we won't know for sure until months down the road when the fresh feuds and storylines start to take shape. But in a nutshell, it wasn't necessary, at least not in the way WWE attempted to execute it. Look, I love the WWE Draft. I always have. It was one of the first major editions of Raw I was a fan for when I got into wrestling in 2008. I was partial to the "battling for brand picks" concept, as goofy and as illogical as it was, and it's evolved quite a bit since then. As I already made clear in my Night 1 analysis, I didn't think the rosters should have drastically changed this year, which is why they probably should have done something different instead such as trades between the general managers. That would have made more sense so fans weren't left as underwhelmed or disappointed. Night 2 was a bit better than Night 1. It was almost the exact same format, mind you, but way more Superstars switched brands, including a handful of familiar faces from NXT. Thus, anyone arguing that everyone stayed where they were is wrong, but it is true that there wasn't that much movement toward the top of the card. On the whole, I didn't have any major complaints regarding the moves that were made (aside from the questionable order of picks at times), but it is safe to say Raw walked away with the stronger roster. Then again, when is that not the case? Here's my round-by-round analysis of every pick made during Night 2 of the 2024 WWE Draft. Round 1
GSM's Analysis: Kaiser's not only a first-round pick, but the first overall pick period. Okay, so Gunther had a lot to do with that, but still! In all seriousness, Gunther going first on Night 2 was awesome. He had an outstanding last year as Intercontinental Champion and is primed for the main event scene soon (after winning King of the Ring, of course). The only surprise was that he remained on Raw, at least in my opinion. I had him going to SmackDown where he could feud with Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship, but apparently not. Regardless, he should be world champion before long. Cargill made total sense as SmackDown's first pick given big of a deal her debut was last month. Her leaving for Monday nights after only being on Friday nights for a month would have been ridiculous, not to mention she can continue her team with Bianca Belair on SmackDown beyond Backlash when they're virtually guaranteed to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Speaking of Damage CTRL, I love that they went to Raw. They desperately needed to get away from Belair and Bayley and Raw needed depth on the heel side of its women's division, anyway. Has Owens ever been a first-round pick? Good for him. I don't know that he should've gone before CM Punk or Drew McIntyre, but at least he's a top talent and a valuable asset to any brand. He was just traded to SmackDown in October. I'm curious what he does once he's done with The Bloodline (again), though. I'd like to see him turn heel and feud with Randy Orton and Rhodes, but perhaps in due time. Round 2
GSM's Analysis: Punk staying on Raw was a given so he could resume his rivalry with McIntyre but also eventually feud with Seth Rollins. In fact, everyone in this round stayed put and I have no issue with any of them. You had to know The Pride weren't moving when Belair was drafted to SmackDown on Night 1 (WWE didn't split up any married couples to my knowledge). Meanwhile, Strowman was drafted to Raw last year but never appeared due to undergoing neck surgery. He returned on Monday night and teased something with Logan Paul, but Paul's on SmackDown, so there's no indication what he'll be doing now that he's back. I don't think he'll reunite with Ricochet in the tag team division (though that wouldn't be an awful idea), but maybe he'll have something do with the Uncle Howdy stuff? That would be intriguing. Stratton has been shining on SmackDown so far this year and it was wise to not interrupt that. She'll be challenging for the WWE Women's Championship at Backlash this Saturday, but that doesn't matter because I don't see her winning. I need a Stratton vs. Belair storyline soon and them being on the same show seems to indicate we will indeed get it at some point. Round 3
GSM's Analysis: Yes, I'm well aware that McIntyre getting drafted later on was intentional so he could whine about it as a heel, but Punk going ahead of him could have accomplished that. Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce selecting stables such as LWO and Legado before him makes them look like they're terrible at their jobs. McIntyre is still on Raw with Punk and that's what matters most. The fact he just re-signed with the company is a very encouraging sign for his immediate future. LWO and Legado have been feuding for so long that they needed to be separated. I thought their brands would be switched, but it doesn't make much of a difference. However, it was bizarre that Carlito was included with LWO despite turning on them on SmackDown yet Giovanni Vinci wasn't included with Imperium after being betrayed by them last Monday on Raw. I suppose you could say the draft pools were locked before SmackDown last week, but they should have made that clear. Nakamura heading back to SmackDown was one of the few picks all weekend I wasn't a fan of. He had never been on Raw before last year and I enjoyed his run for what it was, but he further cemented his spot as a stepping stone to those higher up on the card. I don't see that changing on SmackDown, and I really don't want him and Rhodes rekindling their rivalry from Raw. I'd actually like to see him back in NXT for a bit. He'd definitely benefit from the change of scenery. Round 4
GSM's Analysis: I realize Judgment Day lost a little value by not having Damian Priest or Rhea Ripley eligible, but fourth round? Damn. They should've gone higher for Balor alone. Separating them from Priest would have been interesting, but the breakup is coming at some point, and you can't do that with them on different brands, so I was fine with that. Raw could've used Naomi, but I assume SmackDown is where Jimmy Uso stays when he returns from injury, and in that case, Naomi will be on SmackDown with him. She isn't winning the WWE Women's Championship at Backlash, so is she going to be directionless after that? That's what I worry about for her. Dragunov is an amazing pickup for Raw and he should've absolutely been picked earlier. The former NXT UK Champion and NXT Champion is one of the very best in the world for my money and getting him on the same show as Gunther is extremely exciting. I like Green and Niven, but it doesn't matter where they go considering the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship can float between brands. On SmackDown, they can bother Aldis instead of Pearce, so there's that. Round 5
GSM's Analysis: New Day dropping to the fifth round really goes to show stale they've become. They should've gotten away from Imperium and been drafted back to SmackDown, but Kaiser and Vinci are no longer a team, so that shouldn't be a concern after Gunther beat Woods on Monday's Raw. Pretty Deadly are a nice fit on SmackDown and hopefully they'll get a run as WWE Tag Team Champions down the road. It was either Valkyria or Roxanne Perez getting drafted and I'm glad it was Valkyria. Perez is obviously ready for the main roster, but they shouldn't interrupt her reign as NXT Women's Champion (though having her declare for the Draft the night after WrestleMania 40 was silly in retrospect). I'm happy LeRae and Hartwell are headed to SmackDown for the sole reason that it means their rivalry with Maxxine Dupri is over and they can mix it up with fresh opponents on the blue brand, including Bayley. Round 6
GSM's Analysis: With The Pride staying on SmackDown, Final Testament moving to Raw was a must. Do I see them (or Kross as a singles star) faring well with the fresh coat of paint? No, I've pretty much given up on them getting beyond a certain level, but I do expect their NXT run to continue for the next little while and then report to Raw full-time once it's over. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa joining LeRae and Hartwell on Friday nights was hardly shocking. They needed to leave Raw after failing to win the Undisputed/World Tag Team Championship three times since January. Unless they turn heel or break up before then, there's a chance they can capture the WWE Tag Team Championship from Austin Theory and Grayson Waller in Gargano's hometown of Cleveland at SummerSlam. Their main roster run has been lackluster and they have yet to truly connect with the audience, but that would be a wonderful moment if they can make it happen. Davenport being the last pick of the televised Draft came out of nowhere, but I probably should have seen that one coming. She unsuccessfully challenged for the NXT Women's Championship at New Year's Evil and has lost every feud she's had in NXT, so what was there left for her to do other than challenge for the new NXT Women's North American Championship? I figured she'd stay in that enhancement role indefinitely on the black-and-gold brand. This gives her a chance to show what she can do and add even more depth to SmackDown's women's scene. Additional Draft Picks
GSM's Analysis: SmackDown LowDown on Saturday afternoon didn't feature any picks as they were all revealed on WWE's social media platforms shortly following SmackDown. I thought there would be supplemental picks announced on Raw Talk because it airs live immediately after Raw, but nope, they again saved them for social media a few hours later. To my knowledge, similar to Night 1, everyone that was eligible was accounted for. Natalya has bounced between the two brands for 16 years. Raw or SmackDown, I don't care either way. Crews has also been on Raw and SmackDown several times and was primarily relegated to Main Event during his most recent Raw run. I'd be amazed if he even sniffed television time on Friday nights. I don't have much to say about Chance and Carter remaining on Raw because of how their televised appearances have become less and less frequent this year, but New Catch Republic joining Gunther and Dragunov on the red brand should make for some fun, hard-hitting matchups. Funnily enough, Odyssey Jones didn't make a single appearance on Raw despite being drafted there last year, so who knows if he'll actually appear this time around. He has potential, so fingers crossed he does. I didn't think Diamond Mine would be drafted as a unit because they haven't done anything together in months, but the key was keeping the Creeds on the same show as Chad Gable so they can become a heel faction sooner rather than later. Nox has been underutilized on both Raw and SmackDown since returning to the company in late 2022, so I don't have high hopes for her on the blue brand. The same goes for Vinci, who just got booted from Imperium. He's bound to be SmackDown's resident jobber, but another run in NXT wouldn't hurt. Anything's better than him getting released. Finally, I'm stoked to see Dijak on Raw again. He's had quite the career resurgence in NXT and deserves a serious shot at success on the grand stage. He's a terrific talent but needs the proper push. Needless to say, there's no shortage of stars for him to showcase his skills against on Monday nights.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
May 2026
|
RSS Feed