Change the game is what the fans of WWE were promised for this year’s draft. WWE Friday Night Smackdown was brought to us live from American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The first night of the WWE draft did just that change the game and the complexion of the entire company. HHH also said no one is safe when it came to the draft. This Friday night Smackdown there was a lot of buzz due to the first round of the draft. Fans were left wondering who was going to be moved. What tag teams are going to be broken up? What new rivals are going to be created due to the draft that would change the game?
The First Overall Pick
The first round started the night off by showing the fans how much this draft would change the game. Smackdown got the first pick overall due to them being the host show. Of course, Smackdown went with the bloodline. Consisting of 900 + day world champ Roman Reigns. Along with Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa. Left out of this first-round selection of the Blood Line, the tag team The Uso. This left many fans shocked and confused as to why this would be.
We later found that this decision was done as a test for the Uso by Roman Regins. Paul Heyman informed the Uso that they would need to win the night’s main event. For the WWE tag team titles. To “return to the island of relevancy or be cast out to the ocean of irrelevancy.” The Uso were not able to win the titles back in the main event so we will have to wait for Raw Monday. To see how the Uso fait plays out.
Raw followed up Smackdown’s first-round pick by selecting fan favorite the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. This was a very interesting decision. Separating Roman and Cody. Now we will have to wait and see how Cody will complete his story with Roman and capture the belt. Smackdown finished out their first round by taking Women’s champ Bianca Belair. Raw finished their first round by taking Becky Lynch. The four top togs of the WWE from both the men’s and women’s divisions were off the board early in the WWE draft. In total, there were four rounds that took place tonight on Smackdown.
The results that change the game
What Worked For The Draft
There was a lot to like about the results from tonight. However, there were some choices that left fans not as pleased. AJ Styles making his long-awaited return from injury with the OC. Was a selection that fans did not see coming. Having one of the best pure wrestlers in the world AJ Styles return is always good for business and the fans. There were a couple of selections that did not make much sense. These selections were all the teams being drafted together and staying together. We were told over and over how this draft would change the game. How no one was safe, and teams would be spilt. However, every team that was selected tonight where together, and none were split up. I just wish we would have seen at least one team spilt up in the same round due to the selections.
Overall night one of the WWE draft that promised to change the game did just that. We have seen rivalries spilt. We also saw long-awaited returns. WWE laid the groundwork for new rivals to begin. Smackdown was action-packed. Night two of the WWE draft takes place this Monday on Raw only on the USA network. What other shocking returns does WWE have in store for us? Will any teams be spilt up? These will all be answered on RAW live from Dickies Arena, in Fort Worth, TX. We all look forward to seeing the rest of the rosters flipped upside down.
Joe Wood was born and raised in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia. A dedicated father of 2, a boy and a girl. Who is a lifelong Philadelphia 4 for 4-er. Joe found a passion for Professional wrestling from a young age thanks to his father, who took him to live events. Currently, Joe is studying at Full Sail University to achieve his bachelor’s degree in sports marketing and media. Once completed, he hopes to be able to cover sports full-time.
