It’s a big night 1 of WWE Draft edition of this week’s SmackDown In A Nutshell.
We have not had a draft in a little while, and it will be Triple H’s first time running things…if in fact he is running things.
Let’s assume he is. Night 1 of the WWE Draft is his first of two nights to mix things up.
We already learned on RAW that, once the draft is complete, each show will have a world champion.
What Night 1 answers is whether it will be RAW or SmackDown getting the new title.
Beyond that big question? Everyone wants to know who is going where.
And, according to plenty of reports leading up to Night 1, there are Superstars who don’t even know where they are going to wind up.
That’s pretty exciting, I think. I mean, for a scripted show to have any semblance of a draft mimicking real sports?
Pretty slick.
Night 2 happens Monday, but for now it is time for us to see how things get started.
That means it is time for…
Night 1 Of WWE Draft : SmackDown In A Nutshell
Let’s get this draft started and find out who is going where!
Best Match of the night:
It got the crowd chanting “this is awesome”, so is there really any doubt?
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn versus Jimmy and Jey Uso, in their WrestleMania rematch.
Was not as good as ‘Mania, but that’s to be expected. For a television main event, however?
Pretty nice match.
Worst match of the night:
I suppose Zelina Vega versus Sonya Deville fits the bill here.
Star of the Night
Hats off to Owens and Zayn with their defense. Curious to see where that all goes, because one would hope that closes that particular feud.
But, with Triple H getting RAW a world title…will he split the tag titles?
Spot of the Night:
Ricochet and Strowman are fun to watch with some really crazy offense. That’s it.
Jobber of the Night:
Not feeling a jobber tonight.
Upset of the Night:
Shawn Michaels was probably upset during his segment with the Road Dogg.
The boss of NXT lost his women’s tag champs and women’s champion in consecutive draft picks.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
We knew he’d be back, but AJ Styles and The OC came back in a huge way tonight.
The Viking Raiders had been rolling of late, but The OC came out to celebrate being drafted, and took out the Raiders.
LOL Moment of the night:
Teddy Long’s goatee made me laugh. Maybe it was the angle, maybe it was how it was dyed?
But it looked crooked.
Noteworthy Moment:
As of Night 1, we’ve got some shuffling going on.
The RAW Women’s Champion-Bianca Belair-is heading to SmackDown.
The NXT Women’s tag champs and Women’s Champion? All got drafted, and all are recent winners.
Meaning…kinda surprising, no?
Also, maybe I just overlooked it, but having the draft now was probably not done just because the NFL draft is this weekend.
WWE talent is in Europe working a tour, so having a draft on both shows helps fill in some blanks, I suppose.
Also…this…
Overall lowlights:
It’s less a lowlight and more me just griping.
I’ve said it before, I will say it again…I think, especially with the WWE Network, having this be a three hour special, on Saturday or Sunday, would be cooler.
Bring talent to Stamford or somewhere else cool, and do the whole draft in one shot.
Splitting it over two nights in between wrestling? Its OK…but I’d like to see something different.
Also, leading up to this draft, there was a ton of talk on both shows about “factions will be split up”.
Imperium, LWO and more? All together.
The only one even possibly at risk, until Monday, is The Bloodline, since Jimmy and Jey were not included.
Overall highlights:
For all my nits, the draft is still fun. I liked seeing some NXT names off the board tonight, and it was surprising that none of them were those most expected (Bron Breakker et al).
Now, we turn our attention to Monday and see who else moves where. Night 1 of WWE Draft was good-but heavy for SmackDown.
Will Night 2 be tilted for RAW?
After the final bell:
Not a bad show, obviously draft-driven, but not bad.
i have thrown some ideas out, here’s one more. There have been whispers of some free agents (like Matt Cardona), but they can’t be drafted since, well, the pools were announced.
The only “surprises” come from NXT, because the entire roster is available. It would be nice, perhaps, if there was a bit more suspense?
For now, Night 1 of WWE Draft for 2023 is over and done with, with night 2 promising more excitement.
