In 2002, WWE held its first-ever Draft. The roster was loaded after taking on stars from WCW and ECW, so they would be split between Raw and Smackdown. That night started something that has almost become an annual tradition for the company. Raw has often been seen as the flagship show, but that doesn't mean that Smackdown has drafted poorly.

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A few drafts were done completely at random, so nobody can be blamed or praised for Smackdown's picks. Some were game-changers, others were hidden gems, and some were head-scratchers. We're here to take a look at the best and worst picks ever made by the blue brand.

10 Worst: John Cena (2011)

At first glance, you might wonder why this would make the list. John Cena is arguably the greatest WWE Superstar in history and would be a huge acquisition for any brand. But that's the thing. Smackdown never truly got to attain the skills of Cena.

Big Show and Kofi Kingston won a battle royal to earn Smackdown the first pick in 2011. They landed John Cena in a shocker that would send Cena back to his original home for the first time in six years. However, the final pick of the night saw Cena get sent back to Raw, rendering the whole ordeal pointless.

9 Best: CM Punk (2009)

CM Punk became World Heavyweight Champion in 2008 but the run was lackluster. He was barely a focal point on the show and never even properly lost the title. Thankfully, his career rebounded when he was moved to Smackdown during the 2009 draft after the Great Khali earned the pick by beating Santino Marella.

Punk brought his Money in the Bank briefcase to his new show and cashed in on Jeff Hardy. From there, Punk turned heel and was a featured player for the brand going forward. It was the first great stretch of his career and led to the formation of the Straight Edge Society.

8 Worst: Alberto Del Rio (2016)

The mistake of the 2016 draft. Smackdown selected Alberto Del Rio with their 12th and final televised pick. Considering he's a former multiple time WWE Champion and Royal Rumble winner, it doesn't seem that bad of a choice on paper.

Several things made this a questionable selection. Better names were still on the board like The Usos, Alexa Bliss, Braun Strowman, and Sheamus. Del Rio shouldn't have gone higher than any of them. The bigger issue was that Del Rio wrestled his last match for the company less than a month after the draft.

7 Best: Carmella (2016)

In 2016, the draft picks were made by the people running the show and not done randomly. That's important. Smackdown made a lot of good moves during this iteration but a key one came at the end. In the NFL Draft, the title of "Mr. Irrelevant" goes to the final person picked.

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Smackdown made Carmella their "Ms. Irrelevant" with the last choice in the draft. And what a steal it was. Carmella blossomed on the main roster. She's become one of the most popular females on the roster. She has won two Money in the Bank matches, the Mixed Match Challenge, the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal, the 24/7 Title, and the Smackdown Women's Title. All while never moving over to Raw.

6 Worst: Maven (2002)

After winning the inaugural season of Tough Enough, Maven was pegged as a can't miss prospect. Truth be told, he had a fair amount of athletic potential but was a bland personality. When the 2002 draft rolled around, Maven was considered valuable property because he held the Hardcore Title.

Whoever selected Maven would get the exclusive rights to that title. Smackdown did that with their 10th pick. Unfortunately, Maven lost the title to Raven before the split and the title ended up on Raw. Further adding to the wasted pick was the fact that names like Lita and Bradshaw were still available when Maven was taken.

5 Best: Batista (2005)

The 2005 draft was filled with surprises. The first pick saw Smackdown's WWE Champion John Cena move to Raw in one of the most stunning moments in history. This draft took place over several weeks and, after the Cena pick, Smackdown was left without a top champion for the entire time.

However, just when they were about to crown a new champion, everything changed. Batista became the final pick of the draft, coming just before time expired. He brought the World Heavyweight Title along with him and became the face of Smackdown for years to come.

4 Worst: Jim Ross (2008)

Other than Triple H getting drafted to Smackdown, not much of note happened in the 2008 draft. To showcase that, Smackdown's second pick wasn't even a wrestler. Instead, they ended up with Jim Ross and lost Michael Cole to Raw soon after, effectively swapping the lead commentators.

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Most fans would see Ross as a big upgrade over Cole. But this wasn't prime Jim Ross. His time as the lead voice of Smackdown was filled with him making easy mistakes. It didn't help that Ross was displeased by the move and you could tell in his work. You got the sense that he was going through the motions for this entire run.

3 Best: AJ Styles (2016)

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon made some great calls during the 2016 draft. After selecting WWE Champion Dean Ambrose with their first pick, they followed it up by securing AJ Styles. Just about six months into his WWE career, Styles may have seemed like an odd choice in that spot.

AJ Styles rewarded Smackdown by making it the "house that AJ Styles built." He beat John Cena in his first PPV match as a Smackdown member and then won the WWE Title in his next. Styles remained a key player for the brand, including a year reign as WWE Champion, until he was finally moved to Raw in 2019.

2 Worst: D-Von Dudley (2002)

Vince McMahon and Ric Flair took the 2002 draft as added fuel for their personal rivalry. They wanted to one-up each other and that hurt them at times. The biggest indicator of that came when Flair chose Bubba Ray Dudley with his seventh pick. That was too high for Bubba but McMahon made things worse by picking D-Von with his eighth pick.

That decision split the Dudley Boyz and they were always better together. Furthermore, Vince's desire to irritate Flair cost him in a big way. After Vince picked D-Von, Flair selected Brock Lesnar, who would win the WWE Title within the next few months. Smackdown would get it right with Brock over a decade later. Other top names available when Smackdown took D-Von included Trish Stratus and the Hardy Boyz.

1 Best: Becky Lynch (2016)

Raw made Charlotte Flair the first woman chosen in the 2016 Draft, only coming behind Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. In the second round, they took Sasha Banks just before Smackdown made Becky Lynch the first female picked exclusively by Smackdown. Daniel Bryan called her the best women's wrestler in the company.

Becky made this a tremendous choice as she became the first Smackdown Women's Champion. Even though Becky suffered through some struggles, she remained one of the most popular members of the roster. At no point was she ever moved to Raw and she saw her rise to the top of the company as "The Man" while part of the Smackdown roster.

NEXT: The 5 Best Raw Picks In The History Of The WWE Draft (& The 5 Biggest Flops)