10 Reasons To Be Optimistic Following WWE Draft 2016

The 2016 WWE Draft is in the books, and the Brand Split is officially underway. Tuesday night’s first ever SmackDown Live was the combined group’s last show together, and the freshly-formed Raw and SD rosters will go their separate ways after Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view.

The Brand Split isn’t universally popular, but with lagging TV ratings and a product beleaguered by apathy, WWE had to do something to shake things up. This is the last roll of the dice for a company desperate to refresh their flagship shows and recover their former lustre, but it hasn’t gotten off to the best start, and the Draft’s outcome has been met with widespread cynicism and frustration.

WWE missed a number of big opportunities to completely revitalise the company on Tuesday night. They’ve failed to create a strong distinction between Raw and SmackDown, stretched the Women’s and Tag divisions to their limits by cutting each in half, and NXT call-ups Mojo Rawley, Nia Jax, and Carmella have disappointed those who were expecting Shinsuke Nakamura and Bayley.

Tuesday night disappointed on many levels, and most fans’ concerns are entirely justifiable, but it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s within WWE’s best interests to make this work, and while they’re not exactly off to the best of starts, the Draft resulted in a number of positive moves.

Here are 10 reasons to be optimistic following the 2016 WWE Draft.

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.