WWE Draft 2016: SmackDown is at a Disadvantage Following the Selection Show

The WWE Draft has concluded and SmackDown has come out looking like the losing brand.

When the brand split was announced, everyone knew it was because SmackDown had to be fixed. Over the past few years, SmackDown became the obvious B-show and with it moving to USA Network, they had to find a way to get better ratings for it. Making the show live and implementing the brand split seemed like a solid solution, so all WWE had to do was execute it well to secure a bright future for the blue brand. Well, the execution was questionable, to say the least

With the draft in the books, Raw indisputably has the better roster. The only place SmackDown may have the advantage is their main-event picture as they have Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, John Cena, Bray Wyatt, and Randy Orton, while Raw seemingly only has Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns until they elevate some other guys. But let’s discuss every other aspect of the roster construction of both shows and see why Raw has such a big advantage.

More wwe: WrestleMania 33 Match Card Projections

First, the upper mid-card. These are the superstars who are likely to challenge for either the U.S or Intercontinental championships, whether they’re brand-exclusive or not. So for Raw, in addition to the champion Rusev, they have Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Neville, and Finn Balor as credible, interesting challengers. As for SmackDown, they have the champion Miz, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Dolph Ziggler, Kalisto, and Alberto Del Rio. That is a decidedly less exciting bunch. Also, just to quickly touch on the issue of Finn Balor, he alone could’ve gone to SmackDown instead of Raw and that would’ve evened things out a bit more. Instead, Raw has the upper mid-card advantage and the advantage of calling up one of NXT’s most beloved superstars of all-time.

Next, the Women’s divisions. Most people probably assumed Charlotte and Sasha Banks would be put on different shows because they’re the obvious alpha dogs of the division. After all, the goal was to make Raw and SmackDown’s rosters fairly equal in talent, right? Well, apparently not, as the division’s two biggest stars are staying on the flagship show. SmackDown will be led by Becky Lynch, who is capable of spearheading the SmackDown Women’s division, but she needs help. Instead, she got the less-than-exhilarating Natalya and Naomi, along with several women from NXT. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big believer in Alexa Bliss and Carmella and maybe down the line the Women’s divisions look more even, but the star power currently on Raw trumps that of SmackDown, and that’s not a good way to get things started when you’re trying to re-establish a brand. SmackDown needs a heavy dose of Bayley and they need it now.

Third, there are the tag team divisions, which are actually more uneven than the Women’s. Raw has by far the two most entertaining teams on the roster with the New Day and Enzo and Cass, along with probably the best heel team in Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. SmackDown chose American Alpha to lead them, who are probably going to be great, but they’re joined by the likes of the Usos, the Ascension, and the Vaudevillains. Yikes.

And finally, to top it all off, Raw has the Cruiserweight division. Obviously, this isn’t a new development as it was announced on Monday, but it just puts a cap on Raw’s extreme advantage over SmackDown. If they’re going to give Raw the better roster, SmackDown should at least have something like the Cruiserweight division to set it apart, especially since they pioneered it back in the day.

To sum this all up, Raw should be a great show. They cut their roster down while keeping the majority of the talent, meaning that talent will be given more TV time. That’s good. As for SmackDown, this isn’t an ideal way to start things off, but it isn’t a death sentence. It can still be a good show, it’s just that a lot of things will have to go right. If SmackDown is going to compete with Raw in terms of quality, a lot of superstars will have to step up. Superstars like Alberto Del Rio, Apollo Crews, Alexa Bliss, and the Vaudevillains are going to have to take on big roles and thrive in them.

Related Story: WWE Draft 2016 Review

Overall, the most surprising thing about this is that many expected WWE to push SmackDown as being a great show. That’s why so many people predicted John Cena would be face of the blue brand; because it would prove WWE is serious about re-establishing SmackDown. But beyond Cena, Ambrose, and Styles, it doesn’t seem like making SmackDown a superior, or even equal show, was ever their intention. The distribution of talent is painfully uneven in Raw’s favor, and that’s shocking since the point of all this was to revitalize WWE’s perennial B-show.