The 2019 WWE Draft is in the books. I think. Are we sure it's not still continuing? WWE tried to present the draft as "real sports" this year with hockey, baseball, football, and soccer analysts giving their generic gritted teeth thoughts on the draft. They even (kinda) did a trade and (not really) did free agency.
Those who read my weekly AEW Power Rankings know that if a wrestling company wants to be treated like a sport, I will treat them like a sport.
Let's get to grading.
Night One - Round One
Raw - Becky Lynch
SmackDown - Roman Reigns
Raw - The OC (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
SmackDown - "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
Raw - Drew McIntyre
Raw - A+
SmackDown - A
Raw turned three picks into five picks, snagging the biggest star in the company, a three-for-one deal, and a high upside player in Drew McIntyre. SmackDown got the top star of the last five years and potentially the top star in the next six months. As long as they don't screw him up. With so much talent on the roster, it would have been tough for either brand to have a bad first round.
Night One - Round Two
Raw - Randy Orton
SmackDown - Sasha Banks
Raw - Ricochet
SmackDown - Braun Strowman
Raw - Bobby Lashley
Raw - B+
SmackDown - A-
I like what SmackDown did with its two picks. Sasha Banks is a primetime player, but injury issues are a concern. Braun Strowman has proven he can play the scary monster or the kind monster. That kind of diversity is a bonuses. Raw didn't do bad. Orton and Lashley are the kind of veterans you need, though neither are lighting the world on fire. Ricochet is a high upside pick.
Night One - Round Three
Raw - Alexa Bliss
SmackDown - Lacey Evans
Raw - Kevin Owens
SmackDown - The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)
Raw - Natalya
Raw - B+
SmackDown - B
No idea why Raw picked Alexa Bliss without Nikki Cross. Especially given what they did later. Kevin Owens is a great value pick as he should have gone ahead of a guy like Lashley and certainly ahead of Lacey Evans. Natalya is a veteran hand for their women's division. SmackDown reached on Lacey Evans, especially with Owens still on the board. Even Natalya would have been a better pick given that she won their recent feud, though SmackDown was probably looking towards the future. The Revival are a strong pick at this spot.
Night One - Round Four
Raw - The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
SmackDown - Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik, & Lince Dorado)
Raw - Nikki Cross
SmackDown - Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker)
Raw - The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
Raw - B+
SmackDown - C-
The Viking Raiders and Street Profits are excellent picks, especially in round four. Things worked out even better for Raw as the Viking Raiders went on to win the Raw Tag Team Titles. Nikki Cross was a head-scratcher. Why not take her with Bliss if you're still going to take her. That hurts their grade in this round, but the two tag team selections make up for it. SmackDown on the other hands, they maximized value with five wrestlers in two picks, but why Lucha House Party instead of Nikki Cross and why Heavy Machinery over the Street Profits?
Night Two - Round One
Raw - Seth Rollins
SmackDown - Brock Lesnar
Raw - Charlotte Flair
SmackDown - The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods)
Raw - Andrade & Zelina Vega
Raw - A+
SmackDown - A+
Both brands killed it in round one. Rollins makes sense as the top pick as he's the Universal Champion and holds two wins over Lesnar. Charlotte was the top female on the board and has massive star quality. And Andrade is a high upside pick who also appeals to the Spanish demographic. SmackDown smartly took the WWE Champion, though their are concerns about his willingness to be a team player. But when he shows up, he's a special talent. And going three-for-one with three guys who have crossover appeal is how you do it.
Night Two - Round Two
Raw - The Kabuki Warriors (Kairi Sane & Asuka)
SmackDown - Daniel Bryan
Raw - Rusev
SmackDown - Bayley
Raw - Aleister Black
Raw - A+
SmackDown - A+
Another great round. Raw snags high upside talent in the Kabuki Warriors, Rusev, and Aleister Black. SmackDown does just as well with Daniel Bryan and Bayley. Both war rooms should have been proud after this round.
Night Two - Round Three
Raw - Cedric Alexander
SmackDown - Shinsuke Nakamura & Sami Zayn
Raw - Humberto Carrillo
SmackDown - Ali
Raw - Erick Rowan
Raw - B
SmackDown - A+
SmackDown with another great round, taking top talent in Nakamura, Zayn, and Ali. Raw gets off to a strong start with Alexander, but Carrillo and Rowan? Carrillo has a lot of potential, but potential gets GMs fired. And if they wanted another Spanish star, why not Rey Mysterio? They could have gotten Carrillo much later. A real reach, especially with Ali sitting right there. Rowan isn't a bad pick, but do you want a guy who just attempted to murder a top star in your locker room?
Night Two - Round Four
Raw - Buddy Murphy
SmackDown - Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
Raw - Jinder Mahal
SmackDown - Carmella
Raw - R-Truth
Raw - C+
SmackDown - B
Once again, Raw starts strong with Buddy Murphy. But Jinder Mahal ahead of Miz, Corbin, Joe, and Mysterio? Mahal is a former WWE Champion but there are major injury concerns. And he has a high contract for a guy whose best days are behind him. R-Truth is a good pick but a small reach given the talent still left on the board. SmackDown does well, getting two solid veterans who can be used as singles talent as well. And Carmella is a versatile performer.
Night Two - Round Five
Raw - Samoa Joe
SmackDown - The Miz
Raw - Akira Tozawa
SmackDown - King Corbin
Raw - Shelton Benjamin
Raw - C
SmackDown - A
Same story for Raw. Strong start and then what the hell happened? Tozawa and Benjamin ahead of Corbin, Mysterio, Elias and Gable? It makes no sense. And why wouldn't they have taken Miz earlier (ahead of say, Jinder) given his reality show? SmackDown with another strong round, grabbing two great value picks with Miz and Corbin. Really shocked Corbin fell this far given that he's the reigning King of the King.
Night Two - Round Six
Raw - Rey Mysterio
SmackDown - Shorty Gable
Raw - Titus O'Neil
SmackDown - Elias
Raw - Liv Morgan
Raw - B
SmackDown - B+
More great value for SmackDown. Raw getting Mysterio at this spot is huge, but taking Titus over Elias and Liv over Fire & Desire or The IIconics was a misfire.
Free Agent Signings (Or Supplemental Picks)
Raw - EC3, Eric Young, Sin Cara, No Way Jose, Mojo Rawley, Sarah Logan, The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay), Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
SmackDown - Apollo Crews, The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Chris Axel), Drew Gulak, Heath Slater, Tamina, Luke Harper, Cesaro, Fire & Desire (Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose), Drake Maverick, Dana Brooke
Raw - C
SmackDown - C+
A lot of untapped potential in both free agent classes. Cesaro, Harper and Gulak give SmackDown a slight edge, though Cesaro may be damaged goods at this point, Harper's contract is expiring soon, and Gulak might be slotted into a certain position. Raw gets EC3 and The IIconics, who just need screen time and a microphone.
Trades (Or Roster Moves)
Raw - Future Considerations
SmackDown - Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
Raw - F
SmackDown - A+
This move is just baffling. Future Considerations is what teams trade for when they're trying to get rid of a certain player. Why would you want to get rid of Bliss and Cross, especially after you used separate picks on them when you could have taken them in a single pick? And do you know what Future Considerations actually is? Literally nothing. When Team A acquires Future Considerations, they call Team B in the future and ask, "Would you consider trading [insert literally anyone]?" And Team B replies, "I have considered it. And I will say no." And that ends that.
Average Grades
Raw - B (2.94 GPA)
SmackDown - A- (3.53 GPA)
The general consensus after the draft was that Raw has the better roster. And maybe that's true as they had an extra pick in each round. But in terms of selection savvy, SmackDown did a better job. Both rosters are loaded, but that's to be expected given WWE's talent pool. The fact that Fox executives were so displeased with the draft that they fired Eric Bischoff the following day shows their commitment to excellence. Granted, the final grades were much more even prior to the "blockbuster trade." Raw had a 3.21 GPA while SmackDown had a 3.45 GPA.
Go ahead and give Bruce Prichard the GM fo the Year award.