Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Ben Williams and Chris King will be giving their opinions on the WWE Draft that took place over the most recent episodes of Raw and SmackDown.

The WWE Draft took place over 2 nights, with a different selection of superstars available to choose from during each show. The interesting thing is that no NXT superstars were eligible for the Draft, with only Raw and SmackDown superstars permitted to be drafted.


ALLSOPP: Undeniably, Raw appears to have the better roster in terms of talent who can put on great matches, such as Seth Rollins, Andrade and Buddy Murphy. However, SmackDown has bigger names in the form of Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt. Therefore as an overall package, I have to go with SmackDown, as they have the better mix of star power and wrestlers with a great wrestling pedigree.

WILLIAMS: Obviously, we were all expecting SmackDown to come out on top in this years Draft due to the insane WWE and Fox network deal, and I think it’s pretty safe to say they did just that. With the likes of Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Sasha Banks, Daniel Bryan and The New Day, SmackDown has a roster full of big and marketable stars that can be easily pushed to the moon, creating some big moments in the coming months.

KING: The obvious choice is SmackDown, but I think Raw has enough talent to create some fantastic stories, as well as intriguing matchups with fresh opponents.


WILLIAMS: For the first time in her main roster career, Sasha Banks is no longer competing under women booked way harder than her. With her move to SmackDown, her long time dream destination, Banks is escaping the likes of Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax, all of whom have been arguably detrimental to Banks' career, as she repeatedly puts them over. Hopefully, this fresh start on the blue brand can equal big things for one of the brightest stars on the roster.

KING: Actually two. The first is Aleister Black, who desperately needed to get away from SmackDown after months of not being used. Here's hoping he challenges for the WWE Universal Championship soon. The second might come to some as a surprise, but Drew Gulak getting drafted to SmackDown is amazing news. The possibility of a dream match against Daniel Bryan can now become a reality. I watch and do a recap of 205 Live every week, and Gulak was the most dominant Cruiserweight Champion since Neville.

ALLSOPP: Without a doubt, Andrade will benefit the most from this Draft. He was drafted quickly which indicates the high level of faith in him, and hopefully he will be able to translate this into a run for the WWE Universal Championship. Andrade always felt like an afterthought on SmackDown, however being on a 3 hour show allows for him to be featured more often, which can only be a positive thing.


KING: NXT is the official third brand now. For years there was talk about it eventually happening, and now the talking is over. No NXT superstars needed to be drafted because they are on the main roster now. Plus, with NXT being live every Wednesday, they are going to need a ton of star power. I was actually hoping to see some superstars from Raw or SmackDown return to NXT such as Cesaro, who would have been my first choice, as well as The Ascension and many others.

ALLSOPP: I think it is very telling that no NXT wrestlers were eligible for the Draft. However, rather than be a sign of a lack faith, I feel it is the complete opposite as WWE are allowing NXT talent to stand up and compete directly against AEW. The talent in NXT speaks for itself, and in all honesty, any Draft picks from NXT would have been lost in the shuffle, therefore it is a blessing in disguise that no NXT stars were eligible for the Draft.

WILLIAMS: I think the lack of NXT call ups is a positive thing, because the so called development show is becoming a legitimate brand, with legitimate WWE level stars. The likes of Undisputed Era, Johnny Gargano and Shayna Baszler could easily do well on the main roster, but in NXT they’re the main event players that are needed to help distinguish the uniqueness that NXT has built over the years.