The 2021 WWE Draft was a welcome change of pace in what has been a generally quite poor year for WWE television. Despite the return of the fans earlier this year, the company has been mostly unable to deliver satisfactory weekly television, even if some parts of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT have been quite good.
The draft as usual brought some degree of anticipation from loyal WWE fans, but it was delivered in such an unusual way that it felt like another missed opportunity for the company. The strange use of draft pools over two nights, the splitting of factions, and the general unimpressive nature of the roster changes made it all feel somewhat frivolous.
WWE could have pulled off the draft in a much more impressive and logical fashion, but when do they ever do things that are just good and simple?
Changing The WWE Draft Format
The format of the draft in recent years has absolutely stunk, as the overall roster is split into two pools, which are used on different nights. Yes, WWE does have a big roster, but they can do the draft over one episode of Raw, as it is three hours long.
In terms of the champions, it really doesn't make sense to have the likes of Roman Reigns, Big E, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair in the draft, as they should be the stalwarts of the brand they already exist upon. It also means that the first round isn't exclusively all the current champions, so other people can use their status as a high pick to challenge them.
Furthermore, Raw and SmackDown should be competing for who gets the first pick, or the most picks in the draft. This could lead to a match between both shows champions to decide who gets the first pick, which only makes the show more entertaining to watch.
Changing The Top Picks Of The 2021 WWE Draft
So, to begin the draft there should be places for the current title contenders. For this reason, SmackDown will select Drew Mcintyre and Sasha Banks in the first round, whilst Raw will take Seth Rollins and Bianca Belair, which is in line with WWE's actual picks.
The Tag Team Champions on both brands, being RK-Bro on Raw and The Usos on SmackDown, should stay where they are, whereas the women's tag champs should float across both brands. In the second round, Raw should select Edge and the New Day, so the beloved faction doesn't get split up again. SmackDown should take Lashley and the rest of the Hurt Business, whilst also taking Keith Lee as a surprisingly high pick to increase his value.
To begin the third round, Finn Balor should go to Raw as a potential WWE Championship contender, whilst Shayna Baszler gets picked by SmackDown, where she will hopefully be used more effectively. Karrion Kross will stay on Raw as the next pick, whilst SmackDown selects Happy Corbin and his lackey, Madcap Moss.
In the fourth and final televised round, Raw selects Kevin Owens and the Street Profits, whilst SmackDown takes Sheamus and the Mysterios, where their inevitable breakup will likely be handled better.
Dividing Up The WWE Roster
The lack of NXT call-ups to this point is explainable, as in a realistic setting both brands would rather select established stars over lesser-known talent. This will be rectified by the supplemental draft that will occur online on one of WWE's shows like The Bump, which sees the likes of Hit Row, Austin Theory, Xia Li, Gable Steveson, and more move up to the main roster. Also, some people who went undrafted in real life should be selected, like Kyle O'Reilly, Cameron Grimes, and LA Knight.
Of course, every draft seemingly has some tag teams being split up, so there are a couple of good candidates for this. AJ Styles and Omos were reportedly being considered for a split before they were both drafted together, but in this draft Styles will be going to SmackDown (and turning face), whilst Omos can stay on Raw to continue his monster push. Also, Mustafa Ali and Mansoor can be split, turning on each other on the draft show itself ahead of a presumed match in Saudi Arabia.
In truth, the rest of the field can go wherever, as WWE will likely book them as inessential mid-card talent on either brand.
When a little bit of logic is applied, the draft can actually be structured in a way that can advance storylines, as well as freshen things up on either brand. Instead, fans end up getting a hectic and nonsensical process leading into Survivor Series, where both brands have to compete against each other after being established for less than two months.
It's nonsense.