WWE Draft 2016: The Inherent Problem

While the Draft may create internal competition itself, what WWE needs may be to stop living inside of its own bubble.

The original WWE Draft in 2002 was a direct result of WWE’s acquisition of WCW and ECW. The two companies were presented, storyline-wise, as having taken the WWE by storm, resulting in the near-year long InVasion angle, the precursor to the Draft. After WWE had defeated the WCW/ECW alliance, the company found itself in a glut full of talent from three companies. As such, the Draft provided two separate shows that would be able to showcase many of WWE’s talents, hometeam or otherwise, that would not have been possible under a single-promotion structure; there simply would not have been enough TV time for storylines and matches to accommodate everybody.

Fast forward 14 years later, WWE finds itself on the precipice of yet another WWE Draft, the first in nearly a decade. While the tagline for the Drafts have always been to “shake things up” and to create competition for WWE within its own parameters, perhaps what WWE needs is not to artificially manufacture competition, rather, than acknowledge that there is wrestling outside of the WWE Universe.

must read: WWE Draft 2016: Final Mock Draft

this arrogance only hinders the competition within wrestling rather than help it

Apart from how goofy it sounds, the WWE Universe brand effectively dismisses other viable wrestling promotions that exist outside of its boundaries. Perhaps one of the most damaging things WWE did to itself was not only establish itself as the only game in town in 2001, but since then, has truly believed and acted like they are the only wrestling promotion on Earth. Maybe this was the unexpected side-effect of Vince’s idea to dissolve the old NWA and the many territories under its umbrella in his quest to become the greatest promotion, but in a way, this arrogance only hinders the competition within wrestling rather than help it.

There are plenty of other fine wrestling promotions out there: despite their financial hardships, TNA has largely been viewed as the number two wrestling company in the states; a distant two, but two nonetheless, thanks in part to their exposure and ability to tour. There is also Ring of Honor, Lucha Underground, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, EVOLVE, Chikara, Revolution Pro, and New Japan Pro Wrestling to name a few, each with their own incredible talent and exciting brand of wrestling. There is more wrestling in 2016 today, than there was in 2001, however, the problem is that the general WWE fan is unaware of these companies because WWE conscientiously opts to completely ignore them, as opposed to how frequently WWE used to namedrop WCW and ECW during the heated Monday Night Wars, a war largely waged over ratings rather than wrestling.

The wrestling world today is no longer locked in a battle for TV supremacy, so why does WWE continue to not acknowledge any of their competitors? They have no problem naming them in regards to plundering their talent, as they have done on occasion with ROH, or if a WWE talent competed and captured a championship in another promotion, as Brock Lesnar had done with the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but why don’t they ever want to talk about the wrestling that exists outside of their precious WWE Universe? WWE commentators are quick to compare and contrast today’s stars to the stars of the past, but why not simply compare them to other stars of today in other promotions? Would it really hurt the company’s ego if Will Ospreay was namedropped during a high-flying Neville match on RAW? Interestingly enough, NXT appears to be breaking away from old WWE traditions, but the real test is to see if whether or not such tactics and practices will carry over to the mainstream Raw and Smackdown audiences.

More from WWE

Which brings us to the next question: what exactly is the Draft for? For example, instead of pretending that Lucha Underground doesn’t exist, why don’t they, whether on-record on the air, or behind the scenes, acknowledge the brand of wrestling LU puts forth, and instead use the talent they have on their roster to compete with LU? If Prince Puma steals the show in a barnburner of a match, why ignore that accomplishment? Why not simply put Kalisto out there and try to one-up Lucha Underground in that sense instead of under-utilizing him? JBL often compares a wrestler’s skill that night to a recent feat accomplished by an athlete in another sport, whether it be baseball or soccer; just imagine how much better it would be if he did it instead with another wrestler in another company

WWE has the talent to match and counter what every promotion in the world has to offer without having to directly compete against them

WWE has the talent to match and counter what every promotion in the world has to offer without having to directly compete against them. The problem is that instead of WWE putting them in positions where they can excel and succeed, WWE instead believes the laws, the rules and the parameters of their own universe and has these pieces pitted against one another in a fictional Raw vs Smackdown scenario rather than working together to help elevate the WWE brand as a whole and keep the company up to date and fresh with the rest of the industry.

The mentality of “you come at the king, you best not miss” that WWE appears to carry is counter-productive. Why expect and wait for the opposition, in this case, other wrestling promotions outside of the WWE Universe, to do something to you when you can instead acknowledge that other kingdoms exist and study and observe them and in turn, do what they do at a much bigger and better scale?

More from Daily DDT

WWE is a massive, multi-million dollar, publicly traded company. It’s not going anywhere, and it certainly doesn’t have to worry about the other wrestling companies putting them out of business as they feared WCW would have, and potentially may have, done. Furthermore, no one in charge of those companies would personally love to kill the WWE. The dictator-esque approach that Bischoff and WCW had in their war against WWE was truly poisonous and ultimately, whether you supported it or not, bad for business. One would hope that the wrestling world learned a lot from that time period and hope to not revisit that climate. It’s one thing to compete against your opponent in a respectful way, it’s another to outright try to exterminate them for good. With that fear removed from the equation, perhaps it’s time for WWE to stop living in a subconscious state of paranoia and finally embrace the notion that they are the end all be all of wrestling. They’re an empire, sure, no question about it, but they’re not the only thing that occupies the wrestling space.

Rather than focus on whether or not the New Day might be affected by the Draft and potentially split up, it would do wonders for the WWE and all of wrestling really, if the company simply took a minute to acknowledge the influence and impact of The Elite has had on tag team wrestling, including the New Day. It would allow the New Day to remain as they are and indirectly compete with The Elite. It would raise awareness for both companies and their fans and create genuine, organic interest, rather than the manufactured feel of a company trying to create competition for itself.

Next: WWE Draft 2016: Rules for Selection Show Revealed

True competition would arise and thrive once the biggest promotion in the world begins to pay attention and acknowledge the other wrestling companies. WWE’s work with the Cruiserweight Classic, the blockbuster deal that allowed Brock Lesnar to compete at UFC 200, and the direct homage to the Final Deletion angle may be a sign of things to come; the stepping stones in this New Era where WWE stops living in its own Universe.

Home/WWE