10 Most Impactful WWE Draft Picks

2. John Cena To Raw (2005)

John Cena Christian Highlight Reel 2005
WWE.com

We mentioned Batista's 2005 switch earlier, but the flip side had an even bigger impact on the future of the company. It was that year where John Cena absolutely solidified himself as the face of WWE, when he jumped over to the top show with the WWE Championship in his hands. Because of this, SmackDown was left without a world champion. The draft that year took place over the month of June, and not until the 30th of the month was Batista sent packing over to the blue brand.

This was good news for Cena, as he no longer had to compete with Batista for the top babyface spot in the company. Vince had made his choice, and wanted the top guy on his top show. This is when the WWE machine really got by Cena, and went with the Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin blueprint of one heel after the next taking their shot at him, and all failing.

Cena went through Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Edge, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels over the next couple of years. He was pushed as near superhuman, with no one else pushed as being in his league. And it all started with two top stars trading places.

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As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at." Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week. Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com