10 Reasons The WWE Draft Concept Failed

As WWE struggles with a lack of roster depth now more than ever before, it's been suggested that they return to the days of the Brand Split. Implemented in 2002 with the inaugural WWE Draft, the Brand Split saw separate wrestling rosters for Raw and SmackDown with certain championships relegated to each show. Although splitting the roster up into two was excellent in theory, it was poorly executed as SmackDown never felt like an equal to Raw, leading to the Brand Split dissolving in August 2011. But what was worse was the annual Draft, which set the stage for a turbulent few months. It made for an exciting special every year, but rarely was it well done. Even the first ever Draft in 2002 wasn't as glorious as fans remember it as. It was a monumental show for sure, but the historic night wasn't without its flaws. There wasn't logic behind it then, nor was there toward the end of its run. As much as WWE aspired to be like other sports, their system of drafting wrestlers was bizarre, making the entire event a massive sham. The Brand Split was certainly successful in creating stars over its near-decade long run, but the WWE Draft wasn't what it could and should have been. Taking off our rose-colored glasses for a moment, let's look at ten reasons why the WWE Draft failed.

10. Wrestlers Didn't Know They'd Be Drafted

The biggest appeal about the WWE Draft to fans was the element of surprise. Granted, most of the major moves were predictable, but it was fun to see who was going where. It was fine for fans not to know what moves WWE was going to make, but out of common courtesy, it would have helped if the wrestlers were in on whether they were getting drafted or not. Yes, various wrestlers have gone on the record in the past in saying that they were at times left out of the loop when it came to getting notified about being drafted. They were every bit as shocked as the fans. The most infamous instance of this happening came in 2008 when Jim Ross, despite being previously told he had nothing to worry about, was drafted to SmackDown, a decision unbeknownst to him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v61pLxoeCFE Ross nearly quit the company over being moved away from the flagship show and his anger was justified. Not letting your employees know that they'll have to switch shows and touring groups is asinine. This wasn't a major issue storyline-wise, but it really went to show how far WWE will go to keep a secret.