WWE Mock Draft V.1 - Pre-MITB Edition

             

   

               This one will be pretty cut and dry since I will not be going through the entire roster, rather just the Top 5 picks for each brand. I am working with the existing titles in play but I like everyone else expect some type of the World Heavyweight Championship to make a return. Raw will get the 1st pick since they still are the flagship brand of the WWE and the rest of the picks will follow a snake draft format. Tag Teams/Stables can and will be drafted together since I cant imagine too many being broken up since their just are not that many.

Currently I only see Brock Lesner & Undertaker playing the Free Agent card so everyone else is up for grabs!

Pick 1 - WWE RAW

Roman Reigns - WWE World Heavyweight Champion

The guy will go number one for no other reason but to continue to legitimize his spot at the top  of the WWE. With the premier championship around his waist and off the heals of the AJ Styles clash that raised his bar, the momentum is strong for The Roman Empire.

Pick 2 - WWE Smackdown

John Cena -

This will happen despite the deep rooted wrestling fans desire to NOT see Cena towards the top of the pecking order. The fact is that Smackdown is going live and they will need their top demographic draw to show up on a nightly basis to ensure that this move is a successful one. We will continue to see Cena bury up and coming talent with the surprise lost occurring every now and then.

Pick 3 - WWE RAW

The Club - Styles/Anderson/Gallows

The hottest thing WWE has going for them will make an impact where ever they go but I expect them to run roughshod all over Monday nights. Despite his fair share of recent losses AJ Styles is running at full steam with his NJPW buddies. Anderson and Gallows are the biggest threat in the tag team division and together the three men are a force to be reckoned with.

Pick 4 - WWE Smackdown

Seth Rollins -

Injury robbed The Architect of his WWE World Heavyweight Championship and on his return to in ring competition we saw Seth set his sights on The Guy. This fued will go well past this program with Reigns and it remind the WWE Universe how impactful Rollins is. He will challenge for the top prize available to him for years to come.

Pick 5 - WWE RAW

Charlotte - WWE Womens Champion

I can see this pick happening sooner than this spot since the WWE will do is do diligence to ensure that the push they are given the Womens division stays strong. Charlotte will continue her reign at the top with plenty of worthy challengers that will all be showcased on the flagship brand.

Pick 6 - WWE Smackdown

The New Day - Kofi/Big E./Woods - World Tag Team Champions

We need to enjoy these guys while we can since I see them being broken up next time the WWE Draft comes about. Each have demonstrated their ability in the ring and have gotten over with the WWE Universe tremendously. Together they are thoroughly entertaining and talented enough to tangle with the best of them. Kofi is the best of the lot which is why I expect another singles run for him in the near future. So embrace these unicorns while you can.

Pick 7 - WWE RAW

Dean Ambrose - 

My bet to win the Money in the Bank briefcase will stay on the red brand and be the fans chosen hero. A fued with Roman Reigns could outshine the Reigns/Styles program that everyone loved. Expect the lunatic frindge to headline his fair share of WWE Network events.

Pick 8 - WWE Smackdown

Finn Balor - 

The reason that this pick is a few slots lower than it deserves to be is because the WWE will not undermine their established talent by having an NXT guy go higher then them. So how to solve that problem....place him right in the middle. Finn will bring his loyal fan base over to Tuesday nights and everyone will expect the greatness we have come see from The Demon throughout his illustrious career.

Pick 9 - WWE RAW

Randy Orton -

The Viper will be the seasoned veteran with ability to headline the show or steal it with another deserving superstar. Since he has been out with injury the WWE Universe has missed his high spots and methodical matches. He still has enough left in the tank for one more great run before father times starts tugging on his cape.

Pick 10 - WWE Smackdown

Kevin Owens - 

The fan favorite baddy has it all going for him at the moment. He has mastered the ability to do dastardly things all while entertaining the WWE Universe with his witty banter. The man that claims clean wins over John Cena and AJ Styles is gearing up brighter lights as he continue to be the WWE best prize fighter.

Honorable Mentions: Superstars that could easily go in the Top 10

Wyatt Family

Cesaro

Becky Lynch

Alberto Del Rio

Let me know what you think of my Mock Draft! - How do you think the brand extension will play out? 

Comment below or let me know on Twitter - @AP_Neversettle

The TNA Effect On The New Era - #FlashBackFriday

               I hadn't really paid much attention to the former TNA talent showing up on WWE programming the last year or so other than geeking out on AJ Styles. It wasn't until today when I hit #FlashBackFriday mode that I realized how important TNA was in regards to being a legit wrestling proving grounds. For a long time Impact Wrestling was a place where WWE cast-offs could collect a check all while trying to put over some home grown talent. As much as Dixie Carter tried to serve up a sequel to the Monday Night War, her promotion could never really compete with the WWE despite the efforts of her ragtag group of wrestlers.

Currently TNA is a shell of its former self with a just a few bright spots that keep them relevant in today's wrestling world. I will review the "Fall of TNA" for another time, today I want to focus on a group of guys once thought to be "not good enough" for the big league. Guys that had to travel the world to legitimize their careers in order to make the WWE roster. Superstars that come with a championship pedigree that is overshadowed by the fact that it all occurred outside the world wide leader in sports entertainment.

On this date four years ago TNA provided its fans one of its highest rated pay-per-views ever, Slammiversary 10 which took place in Arlington, TX.  Here are the results:

Check out the highlighted names

At first glance you can see the big names that had once called the WWE home and carried a fair amount of clout. The arrival of stars like Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy gave the home grown TNA talent house hold names to help establish them. At the time it would have been hard to believe that the cream of the crop would find themselves in the WWE only four years later.

• Three championship matches where held at Slammiversary and at the end of the night we saw Bobby Roode defeat Sting to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. We recently saw Mr. Roode make his WWE debut during NXT Takeover: The End on The WWE Network.

                                   Full Match > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjCPjZ9o2v0

• At NXT Takeover: The End we witnessed Austin Aries lose a hard fought battle against the NJPW import Shinsuke Nakamura. Four years ago Aries fared much better when he defended The X-Division Championship against the man that is currently the raining NXT Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe. 

                                  Highlights > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j81Y0TUNnfY

• AJ Styles made his presence felt at this years Royal Rumble and has been a constant in the Main Event spotlight since taking a loss to Jericho at Wrestlemania. Above you can see the picture of Styles holding his half of the TNA Tag Team Championship that we won along side WWE Legend Kurt Angle at Slammiversary 10. 

                                 Highlights > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntWEJgTim0I

Some how TNA's managed to grow talent that is now helping cement the foundation that the WWE New Era is built upon. These men proved their metal many years ago but now have an opportunity to apply their craft at the highest level. If anything this proves that at one point TNA had it right and was going in the positive direction. If only they where able to better manage their creative process and hold on to this talent that they invested so much in. Since that did not occur wrestling fans are being blessed with arguably the most diverse and talented WWE roster in recent memory. With a sample sizing of NJPW, strategically placed TNA vets, a heavy dose of life long Indy Players and some home grown talent the WWE is set for the long run.

Years from now we will value TNA for serving as a launching pad for WWE Superstars just like we do now when thinking about ECW. If that would have been said out loud four years ago very few would have taken it to heart. But the proof is in the pudding as they say and I for one am happy to have these TNA Alumni going into The New Era.

The Randy Orton Effect On The New Era

“We rise by lifting others.” ~Robet Ingersoll

               When Randy Orton returns to the active roster we will finally have a superstar representing an era that has long passed us by. A legit superstar with multiple championship runs that can work a main event program without making anything feel forced. Even though he is not the last of his OVW mates on the roster, he is the only one that comes without restrictions.  He will work a full-time schedule unlike Brock Lesner and is not handled with kid gloves like The Prototype John Cena. His resume is wildly accepted by the WWE Universe and the pop that he will get from those lucky enough to be in attendance when he returns will defiantly have staying power.

The NXT Alumni that are fortunate to get paired with The Viper will have to go at 100% to reach the clip that he operates at. A successful program with Orton will do more towards getting other superstars over than a program with Cena or Lesner ever would. He is respected for his ability to command the ring and will give high spots just as fast as he will take one. A clean victory over The Legend Killer is possible and unlike his contemporaries it will leave him unscathed and ready for his next battle. 

The Match of the Year Candidates that he participated in with icons of the business like Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Edge, The Undertaker, and Rey Mysterio are proof of his ability to accommodate any ring style at a high level. Early on in his career he held his own when running with Triple H which is easier said than done and quickly become the youngest World Heavy Champion in WWE history. The main-eventers of his time put him over knowing that in turn he would make their battle seem hard fought and well deserved. This kept his interactions with headliners and mid-carders exciting throughout his career since his matches had the ability to both steal the show and make his opponents look amazing regardless of the outcome. This is what Randy Orton brings to the table and the roster will benefit from what will surely be the last leg of his career as a full-time member of the WWE Roster. 

The WWE was gifted AJ Styles and in short turn he was been able to make Chris Jericho relevant again, he legitimized Roman Reigns as Heavyweight Champion and put Kevin Owens over cleanly all while bringing over that New Japan allure that the WWE was sorely lacking. His program with John Cena is hyped as being Wrestlemania Main event worthy and this comes from a man that has lost more than he has won since joining the sports entertainment juggernaut. He built his career outside of WWE but regardless was embraced by the wrestling universe at a level which currently no one on the active roster can match. If done right Styles will be able to help raise John Cena to a level he only reached before when entrenched in his vicious feud with The Apex Predator. The timing of Orton's return could have not been better as it will raise the bar heading towards the brand extension. 

The dream matches is not what I am looking forward when it comes to the return of Randy Orton. It's the programs that will help further establish superstars that have proven to be at the top of the NXT roster invasion that I want to see. His battles with Seth Rollins leading up to Wrestlemania 31 only further proves my point when it comes to Orton's ability to support the future Main Even Superstars of the WWE. Injuries robbed us from seeing an Orton and Ambrose run but I have no doubt that they would have stolen the show. Instead we got the Lunatic Fringe losing a lot more than winning and getting very little from tagging with Reigns or his battles with Lesner and then Jericho. Here's hoping they pick up from where they left off since Ambrose has Heavy Weight Champion written all over him. 

Going into this New Era of WWE Wrestling is exciting because we are witnessing two era's clashing right before our eyes. Not since the times of Austin vs Hart can I remember such a tremendous wave of new talent taking over and changing the game for the better. I am ready for the ride, I just hope the old dogs go out with a fight and that Randy Orton gets the opportunity to pay it forward, the WWE Universe deserves nothing short of that.