It was logical to have everyone involved with the inaugural WWE Draft in 2002 in order to separate the wrestling roster into two, but all future Drafts should have seen only an elite few switch shows. That was the case in 2004 coming out of WrestleMania 20 when the Raw and SmackDown general managers, Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman, were given six draft picks each. Consequently, the GMs had to choose wisely, similar to how a legitimate Draft would work in any other sport. Things started to take a turn for the worse in 2005 when the Draft turned into a "lottery," and from there, just about everyone on the roster was getting sent to another program (including ECW when it was brought back as a third brand in 2006). The more people that switched shows, the less special it felt. In the final years of the WWE Draft, 8-10 Superstars were getting drafted during the main broadcast with another two dozen making the move in the supplemental draft. And no, the roster wasn't any more loaded in 2011 than it was in 2004. If anything, there was less star power. If more people were getting drafted than not, then how exactly were compelling storylines created using the same Superstars?
Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.
