WWE Draft News: Potential Leak Of ‘SmackDown’ Picks, Brock Lesnar To Miss Draft?
We are barely two days away from what the WWE hopes will be an event that finally kick-starts the “New Era.” For all the previous promises, Monday Night RAW and SmackDown suffered from a staleness that was getting the programs nowhere fast. The long-awaited WWE Draft should kick-start new storylines and finally give SmackDown a chance to escape RAW‘s shadow.
Well, it appears that some of SmackDown‘s draft picks may have accidentally leaked ahead of the much-anticipated draft. According to WrestleZone, ads for a live event in Philadelphia included “Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, the New Day, the Usos, AJ Styles, and Cesaro.” The event in question will take place after the draft. While there’s speculation this information indicates the draft outcome for these wrestlers, WrestleZone notes “as always, cards are subject to change.”
Still, it’s hard to overlook that the ads in question were viewed as recently as Friday. If “subject to change,” wouldn’t a notification of potential changes have already been made? Speculation will no doubt continue until the WWE Draft takes place.
While on the subject of speculation, it’s worth noting that the fate of a couple of major WWE Superstars remains up in the air. Roman Reigns is still serving out a 30-day ban for violating the WWE Wellness Policy. While the ban will not affect his upcoming match at the Battleground PPV event, it doesn’t officially end until later this week.
Meaning that when the WWE Draft is live on SmackDown, in theory, Roman Reigns shouldn’t be available.
It’s unknown at the moment if the WWE intends to ignore him as a draft pick, draft him way late in the show, or save him for last — as a “surprise” final draft pick. It’s suspected the final spot will be saved for a main eventer and Brock Lesnar was a heavy favorite for such a spot.
Unfortunately, Lesnar was flagged for a potential doping violation. While this situation will most immediately impact his UFC 200 purse, there are whispers the outcome could also play a role in his WWE draft status.
So my no.1 pick in the draft for raw is Brock lesnar #WWE #wwedraft pic.twitter.com/h1oMGB6eO3
— WWE/NXT (@wweukfanatic) July 17, 2016
If both Reigns and Lesnar are subsequently unavailable for Tuesday’s draft, it will be interesting to see how RAW and SmackDown treats them post-draft. Their absences could be used for surprise introductions later on.
Brock Lesnar’s “part-time” status could make the WWE feel like there will be nothing to be gained from a ban or cutting him from the draft. As mentioned in the WWE’s response to the doping controversy, Brock Lesnar hasn’t truly featured in WWE events since WrestleMania, with his next planned appearance being at SummerSlam against Randy Orton.
https://youtu.be/tbl9rCb2Ibo
Because of the newness and timing of the UFC 200 scandal, it’s highly possible that nothing of consequence will happen to Brock Lesnar until after the WWE draft – and potentially, after SummerSlam as well. Arguments could be made that his much-hyped match against Randy Orton will be a “one and done” match, with their rivalry being resolved and both wrestlers going their separate ways. This will make sense if Orton and Lesnar end up drafted to two different shows. It will also be highly convenient should Brock be severely punished.
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are doing a great job playing up their rivalry with references to Roman Reigns in the latter man’s absence. It would certainly be hard for Orton to keep up a rivalry with no rival around.
UFC Champion Says WWE Should Change Their Plans For Lesnar: “To Hell With Randy Orton” https://t.co/QXOEFQzEtP pic.twitter.com/s6riu1Sm7u
— SEScoops (@sescoops) July 11, 2016
Speculation aside, there’s still one question that won’t be answered until well after the WWE Draft is completed: Will it provide the vital change the WWE needs to kill its stagnation and ratings problem?
The very first WWE Draft lottery, which took place in 2002, was a genuinely exciting event that brought lots of hype to the company, but largely in the short-term. Old habits die hard, and subsequent drafts failed to solve the problem of having a virtual wrestling monopoly. As with past drafts, It’s possible that RAW will go back to being the favored show with SmackDown once again treated as the less-important weekly show.
Do you think the draft will give WWE new life? Will Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar be left out of the draft altogether? Share your thoughts below!
UPDATE: According to the official draft rules posted over at WWE.com, both Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are available for the draft. It’s not yet clear if Reigns will be on SmackDown in person, despite being banned.
[Image via WWE.com]
