10 Reasons To Be Optimistic Following WWE Draft 2016
4. Raw's Exciting Young Core
The previous Brand Split saw SmackDown establish a reputation as an exciting show that eschewed Raw’s sports entertainment trappings and emphasised the art and excitement of in-ring competition.
While there isn’t such a clear distinction between entertainment and pure wrestling with this year’s Draft, Raw has quietly acquired a core group of athletes that doesn’t quite put SmackDown to shame, but should make for some thrilling in-ring action.
Seth Rollins is one of the company’s finest wrestlers, and as the number one draft pick, should be established as WWE’s biggest star going forward. Just below him are the likes of Zayn, Owens, and Cesaro: outstanding competitors who’ve been having great matches against one another for years on end. Then there’s Rusev, Balor, Neville, Brock Lesnar…
It doesn’t match SmackDown’s epic mid-2000’s roster, but Raw is jam-packed with some of the best wrestlers in the company. SmackDown’s new roster, meanwhile, is crammed with star power, but the bulk of its wrestlers are more solid than spectacular.
Whatever happens creatively, Raw viewers should at least be guaranteed some outstanding in-ring action every single week. There’s little to differentiate Raw and SmackDown at the moment, but if Raw’s top grapplers continue to shine as brightly as they have been, that’ll soon change.