The New Smackdown Roster
Here’s a look at the Smackdown roster with their overall selection number in (parentheses) and my thoughts on each selection.
The choices were made by Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon and General Manager Daniel Bryan.
Announce team: Mauro Ranallo, John Bradshaw Layfield & Byron Saxton
(2) Dean Ambrose – It’s a no-brainer pick to choose the WWE Champion second overall. He’s arguably the most popular guy on the roster too. Perfect choice for the good guys in charge, like Shane and Daniel as well. I’ve always said he can thrive as a heel and maybe he will do that one day, but for now he’s doing a great job as the face champion.
(4) AJ Styles – If I had to pick the WWE Wrestler of the Year in the first six months of 2016, it would be Styles. He’s almost 40 years old, yet he moves like a man much younger. It’s impossible for him to have a bad match. Slotting him in as the top heel on Smackdown is a smart move.
(7) John Cena – He was rumored to go to Smackdown as a way to give it credibility to Smackdown Live right off the bat. Any time Cena’s involved in a storyline, it’s more important because of him. He’s working for WWE less than he has in the past because of outside interests, but he’ll still be on TV almost every week. The Styles vs. Cena feud can continue, which is great news for both of them.
(9) Randy Orton – Putting him on the same show as Cena makes me groan a bit because of how many times they’ve wrestled in the past, but I assume they’re not going to do this rivalry again. Orton’s fresh after being out of action for about eight months. I’ve missed the RKO… out of nowhere.
(12) Bray Wyatt – I really like this pick. A few years ago, he was in that class with Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns as future stars. He still can be a top guy if they figure out the right way to book him. He’ll be one of the top guys on Smackdown and I think it could be a huge turning point in his career moving in the right direction.
(14) Becky Lynch – The first woman drafted by Smackdown hasn’t held a title in WWE yet. Right now the Women’s Title is on Raw, so it will be interesting to see if they create a second Women’s Title for Smackdown. Lynch is pure babyface that is well liked. She’s ready to be the top woman on this brand.
(17) Intercontinental Champion The Miz with Maryse – Ever since Maryse came back on the night after WrestleMania, The Miz has done a great job. She adds to his arrogant heel persona. He’s done well as the IC Champion. Please don’t let him feud with Cena again. It doesn’t excite me.
(19) Baron Corbin – It was notable that Michael Cole immediately called him a future WWE Champion. Management likes him because he’s a big guy that looks intimidating. The problem is he’s not that good in the ring yet. It wouldn’t shock me if WWE puts Cena or Orton against him soon as a way to make him seem like a bigger star.
(22) American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) – They’re my favorite team in WWE, so I’m happy they’re on the main roster as expected. They have a special connection with the audience as faces that work hard and have incredible chemistry together. If there are Tag Team Titles on Smackdown, they should win them soon.
(24) Dolph Ziggler – A solid veteran that isn’t used right. There are a lot of people you can say that about, but Ziggler might be at the top of the list. I hope they turn him heel because the face act is boring and isn’t getting him anywhere. He could do well as a heel again.
(27) Natalya – Since she turned heel recently, it makes sense to put her on the show that doesn’t have Charlotte. That makes her the top women’s heel on Smackdown. She should do well in that spot.
(29) Alberto Del Rio – He’s a solid in-ring performer that is stale. They need to keep him as a heel, but he has to find a spark to become more relevant. Right now, he’s just floating along in the midcard even though he should be something more.
(32) The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) – They have been locked in as a face tag team for several years. Perhaps they can turn heel on Smackdown to feud with American Alpha. I’m sure those guys could have great matches.
(34) Kane – He’s the oldest full-timer on the main roster at 49 years of age. He probably has a year or two left before calling it a career. They separated him and Big Show, which is smart.
(37) Kalisto – The former US Champion is one of the smaller guys on the roster, but he’s very good in the ring. I thought he would have fit better on Raw with their new Cruiserweight Division.
(39) Naomi – She’s a very athletic woman that came close to winning the Divas Title in the past. In order to get to that spot again, she should probably turn face because the heel act wasn’t working.
(41) The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) – They were one of the best tag teams in NXT. Their main roster run has been very poor. I’m not sure if they can be revived at this point.
(43) Zack Ryder – I’m very surprised that he was picked so low. He should have gone about 10 spots earlier considering he’s in a US Title match at Battleground. Ryder’s popular with the fans, yet management never seems to believe in him. I wish they would.
(45) Apollo Crews – Another guy that was picked too late. He went 26 spots after Corbin even though they are similar as new guys on the main roster. Difference is Corbin is much taller. Crews can go in the ring, but still needs a lot of work as a character to make him stand out.
(47) Alexa Bliss – Coming from NXT, she has done well in terms of going from a manager role to becoming a solid in-ring performer. She’s one of the smallest girls in WWE, though, so it’s going to be tough for her heel act to get over. Might have to make her a face in the underdog role.
(49) Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango) – I like this team quite a bit, even though they are presented as jokes that are egomaniacs. Breeze could be a standout singles star one day too.
(51) Eva Marie – She is considered a main roster woman even though she has barely done anything since WrestleMania. Eva’s a heat magnet, so it would be smart to use her on Smackdown to get the crowd riled up. Give her some credit for improving in the ring too.
(53) The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch) – They have good chemistry as a team, but I’m not sure if the gimmick is going to work. English has more breakout star potential out of the two.
(55) Erick Rowan – It would be smart to pair him with Bray Wyatt again because Rowan isn’t that interesting on his own. Perhaps when Luke Harper comes back from his knee injury, he can join Smackdown to team up with Rowan again.
(57) Mojo Rawley – This was one of the more bizarre picks, just because he’s barely been used on NXT for months. His team with Ryder called the Hype Bros could be a part of the Smackdown brand.
(59) Carmella – She’s an example of somebody that wasn’t thought of very much as a wrestler in the last couple of years, but she improved a lot in the last year. I would have liked to see her on the same show as Enzo & Cass. I guess management felt like those guys don’t need her around.
The only person on the list that wasn’t drafted was Heath Slater, who is apparently a free agent now.
Best Pick: American Alpha – They will thrive on the Smackdown brand. No doubt about it.
Worst Pick: Baron Corbin – He’s not as good as WWE thinks he is. If he was, the crowd would react to him more than they do. It’s up to him to prove us wrong.
Biggest Surprise: John Cena and Randy Orton back to back – I thought they would be on separate shows because they have been linked together for so long. It’s hard to tell people it’s a “new era” when you have both of them.
Best New Feud: Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles – They’ve had some televised matches, but now they get to be the top guys on Smackdown. Should be an awesome rivalry.
Smackdown Roster Grade: B-
It’s easy to feel sympathetic towards Smackdown because they had fewer picks than Raw. When Raw gets six of the first 10 picks, for example, that severely limits what Smackdown can do. I thought it ended up fairly well for Smackdown, though.
The Smackdown roster looks like a mostly veteran group with a few “new” guys in there, but none of those newer guys look like main event performers that will really catch the eyes of the fans. Baron Corbin isn’t very interesting. Apollo Crews still has to improve a lot.
I’m hopeful that good wrestlers who have lost their way a bit like Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio can find a way to become relevant top guys. The brand is going to need guys like them in significant roles very quickly.
The women’s division isn’t very deep after Becky and Natalya, so some of the other women are going to have to improve quickly. In terms of tag teams, I love American Alpha, but Raw has better teams overall.
What Smackdown has in its favor is that it’s a two hour show as opposed to 3+ hours that Raw. That extra hour of Raw has done more harm than good in terms of the television audience. Perhaps Smackdown will “win” because of the fact it’s an hour shorter. We can only take so much WWE content after all.
Closing Time
It’s hard to say who won and who lost without looking at what WWE might do with the actual rosters on their shows. Within a few weeks, there will probably be significant heel and face turns while also the return of some familiar faces. I hope there are changes to the sets of the show, the theme songs, some of the logos and other things like that. Both shows could benefit from feeling new.
Now that the rosters are set, all we can do is wait to see what WWE brings us in terms of new storylines and content starting next week. I’m cautiously optimistic that it’s going to work out well.
I’ll be back on Friday for a preview of WWE Battleground.
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