10 Reasons To Be Optimistic Following WWE Draft 2016

10. The New Faces

It was announced on Sunday evening that six NXT talents would be called-up as part of the Draft. Naturally, this lead to rampant speculation that some of Full Sail University’s biggest and brightest were on their way to breathe new life into Raw and SmackDown.

Finn Balor, American Alpha, and Alexa Bliss delivered on this excitement, but the others? Not so much.

Have WWE missed an opportunity by drafting a group of undeveloped wrestlers whose NXT education was far from finished over some of their more celebrated peers? Absolutely, but that doesn’t change the fact that all six of the NXT draftees will go a long way to revitalising their respective divisions.

We’ll get to Balor a little later, but American Alpha are one of the most dynamic and exciting tag teams in the company today, and will be immediate hits in SmackDown’s threadbare division. Mojo Rawley will reignite his Hype Bros connection with Zack Ryder to add another mid-level team to the tag scene, and Alexa Bliss is an uber-heel in waiting, and an ideal foil for Becky Lynch.

Nia Jax, meanwhile, has a unique look, presence and skillset, and while unseasoned, she’ll immediately stand out on Raw. Carmella is the most questionable call-up of all, and would’ve benefited more had she been drafted to Raw with Enzo and Cass, but she’ll progress leaps and bounds working alongside Becky and Natalya on SD.

They might not be the most exciting names in the world, but the NXT call-ups will generate plenty of fresh, new match-ups from top to bottom.