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, Matt Morgan and Bodeen Green review the 2020 WWE Draft.

The 2020 WWE Draft promised so much, however a large portion of the roster remained on the same brand, or were transferred to the opposite brand with their current feud intact. Talk about fresh! Are WWE struggling to build effective feuds? Which areas of the roster have been neglected? And just who was the best pick of the Draft?


ALLSOPP: As much as I absolutely love The Hurt Business, I am glad they can now move on from Apollo Crews and Ricochet. This is how most feuds should have ended, with a final flourish during Draft week. I have no faith that Seth Rollins will make his feud with the Mysterio family feel fresh, but on the other hand, I have faith that Bayley vs Sasha Banks will be fabulous. WWE is struggling to make most of their storylines matter, but they are certainly not helped by continuing feuds that have already dragged on for months. Overall, WWE seem unable to vreate truly compelling and interesting storylines, oustide of the biggest feuds in the company.

MORGAN: Having long feuds doesn’t bother me. Where the problem comes in, is how to have a long term program that can consistently hold the interest of the audience. There are some feuds, such as the Mysterio family and Seth Rollins, where layers keep getting added onto the storyline. In situations like those, I really appreciate that the storylines are continuing. However, a lot of times with feuds in WWE, we see the same old matches with no real end goal or no exciting, climatic ending. If WWE can prevent that from happening with the feuds that have switched from one show to another, then I have no problem with the continuation of different feuds.

GREEN: I’m pretty torn about WWE’s decision to do this. On one hand, seeing the same old recycled storylines is annoying and makes these feuds seem even more drawn out and tedious. On the other hand, it stops storylines being dropped without a conclusive and proper finish. There is no doubt WWE are relying too much on existing storylines like Seth Rollins vs the Mysterio family. This is a result of creative booking for tomorrow, and making things up as they go along rather than booking ahead of time. I personally don’t think they are struggling to make organic and interesting storylines, as they have used the same feuds for months now. As a result of this, most feuds and storylines feel stale.


MORGAN: The tag team division in general is struggling on both brands. However, I believe SmackDown came out with a weaker tag team division. There are now only three active tag teams on the brand: The Street Profits, Cesaro and Shinske Nakamura, and Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. From a longevity standpoint, I can’t see the tag team division holding much interest with the audience when there are such few choices to choose from. Unless more teams are created, or a tag team from NXT gets called up, I worry for the success of SmackDown’s tag team division.

GREEN: SmackDown’s women’s division is the weakest it’s been in years. It was already weak before the Draft, and unfortunately, the Draft reinforced that. Apart from Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair and Bayley, to me, there is no credible woman who can be SmackDown’s Women’s Champion, and worse yet, there are few credible challengers. The only way to fix this is by calling up a few of the female names from NXT. Whilst NXT names have struggled on Raw and SmackDown in the past, SmackDown needs a breath of fresh air in it's women’s division.

ALLSOPP: I'm going to go for a left field pick here and say that Raw doesn't really have the resources to make the 24/7 Championship relevant. As much as R-Truth is entertaining, the whole situation over the belt has become boring. I desperately crave for the excitement of the Hardcore division to return, and this could be achieved by taking the 24/7 Championship seriously. Unfortunately, no-one jumps out at me as capable of giving the title legitimacy, without also ruining their own reputation. I would remedy this by making Dabba-Kato a killing machine in the division, which would not only make him a star, but also set up the wrestler that eventually beats him as a star.


GREEN: Honestly, I don’t see any major strong draft picks. I guess if I had to choose, The Fiend being drafted to Raw will help both Raw and his own character. The Fiend persona is used sparingly, which helps add to it’s effectiveness. Every time The Fiend has wrestled on a pay-per-view, it feels important and has meaning to it. The Fiend has feuded with everyone he can on the blue brand without wasting a feud. The jump to Raw allows him to challenge new names that are on the red brand, which helps both The Fiend and Raw stay fresh.

ALLSOPP: The new version of Alexa Bliss is by far the strongest Draft pick. That may sound like a bold statement, but her new persona and affiliation with The Fiend give her so much untapped potential. As Raw Women's Champion or just a bruiser for The Fiend, she has so much upside. In terms of sleeper pick, I have to go with Angel Garza. He could easily be pushed as the next Hispanic star, in the same vein as Braun Strowman's initial push. You know, just without the monster angle.

MORGAN: AJ Styles moving from SmackDown to Raw seems like the strongest pick. Styles consistently delivers with his performances, and he is a bonafide superstar. It does not matter which show he is on because he will shine regardless. Now that he is on Raw, I have no doubt he will be amazing in whatever role they find for him. The sleeper choice for me is Zelina Vega going to SmackDown. Vega has been an excellent manager when working with Andrade and Angel Garza, but seeing her go against Asuka lately has made me really excited for her potential as a singles star. Her look is so unique and she can go in the ring. I don’t know if she will become a champion anytime soon, but the thought of Vega and Sasha Banks mixing it up makes me extremely optimistic for Vega’s future.