10 Times WWE's Smackdown Brand Got Shafted
5. Nothing For You (2006)
The only "draft" in 2006 was one meant to bolster the revived ECW brand. Paul Heyman was permitted to choose one wrestler each from Raw and Smackdown to provide a foundation for his show. The selections were Rob Van Dam from Raw and Kurt Angle from Smackdown, two heavy hitters. Angle wouldn't be all that Smackdown lost.
Not only did announcer Tazz leave for the brand whose letters were synonymous with his greatest wrestling fame, but Randy Orton left as well - for Raw. Smackdown lost Angle to ECW, and also lost Orton to Raw, without any real story merit behind the jump.
Add to the woes the fact that Chris Benoit took an extended sabbatical from wrestling in May 2006, and Smackdown thinned faster than Heyman's scalp.