7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 28)

4. Using Legends Properly

WWE Draft 2023 RVD Michael Hayes
WWE.com

Stephanie McMahon had a thankless task three years ago when delivering every single Draft pick in front of TV screens in the "ThunderDome". In 2021, both Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville really struggled to convey excitement for the picks they announced too. So, this 2023 revolving door of legends was a strong idea.

It worked.

WWE elected to bring in different names for each round of the Draft, which kept things ticking over nicely. The likes of Rob Van Dam, Teddy Long and Shawn Michaels all received polite pops from the live crowd, and their appearances immediately sparked some interest in who was heading where.

This is something the promotion should run with for future Drafts. Yeah, it'd be a nice to see a bit more immediate reaction from the men and women on the roster themselves, but WWE doesn't seem interested in that anymore. This will do for now - it was an improvement on recent presentation.

Advertisement
Contributor

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.