10 Times WWE Gave Us Something Awesome (...And Immediately RUINED It)

8. The 2023 Draft

Vince McMahon CM Punk Rey Mysterio
WWE

Pre-2023 Draft, WWE wheeled out everyone and their grandmother to brag about how huge brand exclusivity was/is. Imagine Roman Reigns being drafted to Raw?! That'd be hugely damaging to SmackDown. Or, what if SmackDown secured a major star like Brock Lesnar full-time, meaning he couldn't appear on Mondays?

Or, y'know, just sidestep the whole point of your gimmick by shoving Brock and countless others into a bogus free agency pool so they can work both brands. That'll do it. Worse, a string of champs (including Roman) can apparently circumvent WWE's "ironclad" rules, which takes one almighty dump on the whole idea.

The Draft should be awesome, but it's sullied almost overnight by this kind of booking. WWE has no less than 11 "free agents", and a whole bevy of workers who weren't even involved in the battle for talent between Raw and SmackDown at all.

This is why so many folks opt out of caring about the thing.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.