WWE Sending Brock Lesnar to SmackDown And John Cena to Raw During Next WWE Draft
It’s been reported that the next WWE Draft will be happening this summer, and there are some huge trades coming that will change the rosters for Raw and SmackDown, including the possibility of Brock Lesnar and John Cena changing brands. Apparently, both General Manager will have a handful of picks to take from the rival brand or from NXT. On paper, that means more picks will be involving WWE’s biggest superstars.
Originally, Brock Lesnar and John Cena were planned to be the first two picks in the WWE Draft last year, which means WWE officials consider both men to be of equal value to the product. All the negative press for Lesnar after UFC 200 forced WWE officials to push his selection down a few picks, and Cena’s hiatus made the powers that be do the same for him. However, this year’s WWE Draft is expected to be much different.
The belief is that all WWE Champions will be exempt from being chosen by Raw or SmackDown, but since the idea is to take the biggest stars possible from each brand, that may leave a lot of the WWE Superstars on the cusp on the next level running in place. However, WWE officials annually changing the rosters for Raw and SmackDown by trading the top performers could be the best way to create new matchups for everyone.
For instance, WWE could be planning to move John Cena to Raw while SmackDown gets Brock Lesnar in return. On paper, both brands are shaken up from that one trade. Of course, the SmackDown roster will be changing more dramatically than that, but the possibility of Lesnar starting new rivalries with Bray Wyatt, AJ Styles, and others would be plenty for Brock Lesnar to do in 2017 and change the SmackDown roster.
The rule that WWE Champions are exempt from switching brands isn’t confirmed. In fact, the next WWE Draft isn’t confirmed either, so Brock Lesnar winning the WWE Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 33 and potentially holding onto it through WWE Summerslam won’t stop him from moving to SmackDown.
However, logic would tell you that if Brock Lesnar and the WWE Universal Title move to SmackDown, then Raw would receive the current WWE Champion in return. On paper, WWE officials would likely prefer to have the WWE Championship on Raw rather than SmackDown. Putting Dean Ambrose and the WWE Title on SmackDown last year was an attempt to bring the brand more importance, which worked out very well.
The only problem WWE will be facing with John Cena is the long hiatus he will be taking from WWE after Wrestlemania. The assumption is Cena will return before WWE Summerslam, but he’s not currently being advertised for any events until WWE Survivor Series. On paper, Raw may lose Brock Lesnar and Cena until November, which would be a big hit. However, John Cena would have plenty of options when he returned.
Based on the current Raw roster, Cena could begin new rivalries with Samoa Joe, Goldberg, Roman Reigns, and many others. Considering John Cena’s star continues to rise outside of WWE, the powers that be would likely want to capitalize on that publicity by having him on WWE’s flagship show as well as have Cena win his historic 17th World Title on Raw. The WWE fans would also welcome Cena back to Raw with open arms.
A potential trade to send Brock Lesnar to SmackDown and John Cena to Raw during the next WWE Draft is not only plausible, but it makes a lot of sense. Both men would represent a “part-time” presence for the brand that would be used for the big WWE PPVs. Hypothetically, Cena being traded for Lesnar is very fair.
[Featured Image by WWE]
