WWE’s two night draft event has come and gone, and as Vince McMahon likes to say, it was time to “shake things up again”. The new rosters will not be set in stone until after WWE’s Crown Jewel event on Thursday, October 21st. So until then, we will likely see more superstars crossing over to other brands until that date. Certain changes were by the margins, while others may have bigger implications as we are soon approaching the road to WrestleMania once again. With that said, let us take a look at where each roster stands. I figured the easiest way to evaluate the collective talent is to divide up each roster by main event talent, mid-card talent, the tag team division and the women’s division. Let’s start with Monday Night RAW.
Monday Night RAW
The Main Eventers
Key-pickups: Big E, Edge, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Finn Balor
You can probably place AJ Styles and Randy Orton in this category as well, but since they’re technically in the tag team division, we’ll leave them off for now. That said, RAW was in need for a much needed shakeup in their main event division. Bobby Lashley was an admirable WWE Champion for the red brand this year, but he was low on credible challengers. Upon taking the title from The Miz, he’d face Drew McIntyre in one form or another on three straight PPV’s, followed by a squash of Kofi Kingston and another extended squash of the soon to be 55 year old part timer, Goldberg. Big E has now firmly become the face of WWE’s marquee brand, and there will be a more diverse set of stars for him to feud with.
RAW picked up Edge, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins from the blue brand, a trio of stars that will help in one way or another. Edge has proven himself to be a high level worker despite being a part timer, and him being on the red brand gives him fresh stars to feud with, new opportunities to put certain stars over and perhaps pursue the WWE Championship. Seth Rollins makes his return to red brand, and his proven track record as one of WWE’s reliable top guys makes him an easy pick. Finn Balor, along with his Demon persona, also provides RAW with another versatile, high-level worker WWE could use interchangeably in the main event division and in the upper mid-card.
Bobby Lashley returning is also a good pickup for them as well, as he’s been a monster powerhouse and a credible challenger for any title he may put his eyes on. Him being seemingly reunited with The Hurt Business (wonder if they will follow up on why they decided to reunite), also presents bold possibilities as well.
Overall, RAW’s main event picture got a sizable boost from what it had been for the past year. The red brand was in need of fresh faces fighting for the WWE Championship, and that’s what we got here. Overall, I have little complaints.
Grade: A-
The Mid Carders
Key-pickups: Damian Priest, Kevin Owens, Keith “Bearcat” Lee, Apollo Crews, Austin Theory, Karrion Kross, John Morrison, The Miz Gable Steveson, Jaxson Ryker, T-Bar, Reggie, Akira Tozawa, R-Truth, Veer
RAW’s mid-card is something I feel a bit uneasy about post-draft. There is an interesting mix of names, although I’m not sure if it presents the best crop of competitors for mid-card feuds or challengers for the United States Championship. Damian Priest has been a very serviceable United States Champion thus far, but I don’t think crowds have fully warmed up to him as of yet. If you noticed, upon retaining the United States Championship against Jeff Hardy, the crowd was seemingly deflated because of Hardy’s popularity. Priest’s work ethic and abilities in the ring is not to be questioned, but the ability to fully get over will be a different story. I think his stock can increase by gradually feuding with some of the main event guys.
Keith Lee having the “Bearcat” name assigned to him in the middle is a sign of his entire tenure on the main roster. WWE has little idea what to do with him. One may assume that he’ll be squashing some of the lesser talents on the roster until he gets into a feud for a championship, which I hope will be sooner than later. Keith was one of NXT’s greatest in-ring big men, and you’d think someone like him would be a hot commodity. But he quickly got lost in the shuffle, and went from fighting for the WWE Championship to almost fighting for the United States Championship to not being seen on months on end (although part of it was due to a medical condition). Having an official position on RAW should hopefully turn things around, but that all depends on consistent booking. If done correctly, Lee will be a valuable asset.
Looking down the rest of the list we have a bunch of unknowns. First is Kevin Owens, who had been floundering on SmackDown the past few months and has not really done anything of note since WrestleMania. One interesting thing to note with the former Universal Champion is that his contract with WWE is due to expire in January of next year, meaning he will effectively become one of the highest in demand free agents. You can best believe that AEW will look to make a run at him. Owens further fueled speculation of a potential move to AEW by briefly tweeting and deleting the coordinates to Mount Rushmore, which many perceived to be a reference to the stable he was involved in with Adam Cole and The Young Bucks. Is it crazy to believe that Owens would join the ever growing list of WWE mainstays that have crossed over to TNT on Wednesday nights? If that’s the case, one of RAW’s biggest mid-card accquisitions will only be available for about three months.
John Morrison isn’t around much these days, but he’s good for putting over talent and is still a more than servicable performer when needed. The Miz was last seen on RAW in late August when he turned on Morrison before taking his current hiatus. Miz has been one of WWE’s most reliable performers and arguably the best mid-carder of the past decade. So Morrison and Miz, whether as a tag team or two singles competitors, is good for depth purposes.
Beyond that, there isn’t much to be painfully excited about. The former 2 time NXT Champion Karrion Kross has not lit anyone on fire, and these days, he is reduced to cutting generic Sean O’Haire like promos backstage. He’s literally just another face, especially without Scarlett. It’s clear to me that bringing him up to the main roster while being NXT champion is quickly looking like a premature decision. You can expect Reggie, T-Bar, Tozawa, R-Truth, Ryker and maybe Veer to continue their painfully overly choreographed 24/7 segments backstage.
Gable Steveson makes for an interesting choice. He signed an official contract with WWE last month, and he’ll be training with WWE while competing for the Division 1 title in Minnesota. He is WWE’s first olympic gold medalist since legendary Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, and he’s received some rave reviews and glowing endorsements, most notably from one Seth Rollins. So it’s likely we won’t officially see him in a while as he looks to train for professional wrestling and learn all the nuances of being a WWE superstar. But he looks like the prototypical athlete WWE would faun over. If there’s one thing WWE’s scouting team are into, it’s wrestlers who have competitive backgrounds and legitimacy. It doesn’t get any more legitimate than being an Olympic gold medalist. It will be interesting to see where he goes.
RAW’s mid-card is a mix of promising talent with aging veterans, castaways in the 24/7 division and stars who are not nearly over enough to make for compelling storylines. Losing Sheamus was an especially big loss as well. I think there’s some work to do here, and while some of these concerns can be quelled by mixing some of the main event talent in here, the mid-card talent on its own power may see some repetitiveness and monotony here.
Grade: C+
Women’s Division
Key-pickups: Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Carmella, Doudrop, Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H, Nia Jax, Liv Morgan, Mia Yim, Zelina Vega, Dana Brooke, Alexa Bliss, Tamina Snuka, Tegan Nox
RAW’s women’s division after the draft has depth, but I can’t help but feel it is a little top heavy. Becky Lynch has become one of the standards for WWE women, so her being the face of one of the two brands upon her return was a given. She’s back like she never left, although you can feel that the same intensity of her previous run prior to the pandemic doesn’t exist, partly because of the long layoff caused by the pandemic and her official turn as a heel. That said, there are few better in the ring than her, and she remains elite in her craft.
Bianca Belair had a breakout 2021 by winning the Royal Rumble and winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship in Night 1’s main event of WrestleMania. She has continuously improved in the ring and her confidence on the microphone has gradually increased as well. I suspect that she will continue her great year into 2022 and will still remain firmly in the title picture as well. If she’s not in the title picture, she’ll be sure to be going over a lot of the other women on the roster.
Liv Morgan is another relatively solid pickup. While she has deficiencies, she seems to be coming into her own in a way as a consistent in-ring performer. I think she is starting to find her footing, and I believe this could be the opportunity for her to finally break out of her shell and compete for a women’s championship. I think eventually Carmella will find herself in the title picture as well, being a former Women’s Champion herself. I just think she won’t be prioritized as other up and coming stars.
Alexa Bliss is another mainstay acquisition, as she’s been one of the most accomplished women in the past half a decade. Right now, she will be reportedly on a hiatus, but when she comes back, she will go right back to where she’s been, which is competing for women’s championships. One has to wonder, however, if that whole “evil” gimmick will come to an end upon her return. With the absence of The Fiend and with Charlotte destroying her doll, causing an emotional temper tantrum after, I think that whole gimmick may have potentially run its course. I think WWE felt the need to continue Alexa’s gimmick after Bray Wyatt’s firing simply out of principle and continuity. But the hiatus and the way in which she lost could provide the opportunity for her to go back to her previous self.
Nia Jax never seems to cease stirring the pot with her seemingly reckless in-ring style, but she is serviceable in certain ways. Jax and Lynch being on the same roster again may present an opportunity to rekindle their incident from three years ago. Beyond that, she really is just another body for WWE to use. I don’t know if Bianca would be able to lift her up for the KOD without seriously hurting Jax, but that would be something. Zelina Vega is another very serviceable performer.
After we get past those names, we run into the jobbers, curtain-jerkers and unknowns. The biggest unknowns right now belong to Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H, the reigning women’s tag team champions. After the draft, the women’s tag team division, if you even want to call it that at this point, is on life support. As of right now, the champions are the only formal team in their division. Tamina and Natalya seemingly did not know they would be split up, but sure enough, Tamina is now solo (what could possibly go wrong?) on RAW and Natalya is on SmackDown.
In addition to that, Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart (who repeatedly beat Natalya and Tamina when they were champions but never got a title shot), have gone to RAW and SmackDown respectively. So where in the world are the challengers going to come from? Like much of the history of the women’s tag team division, there will likely be some makeshift tag team created from two women not occupied with anything. Perhaps Doudrop, Mia Yim, Dana Brooke and Tegan Nox may divide themselves into two tag teams. It’s lazy, uninspiring and unoriginal, but it aligns with what WWE has done to create challengers for those titles.
RAW’s women’s division seems to be a bit top heavy, and I expect about half of the women’s division will be used to occupy the tag team situation. If not, then there is even more uncertainty here. However, having Lynch, Bliss, Belair and Ripley on the same roster does count for something.
Grade: B-
Tag Team Division
Key pickups: RK-Bro, AJ Styles and Omos, Alpha Academy, Street Profits, The Mysterios, The Hurt Business, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler
RAW did a nice job here of shoring up the tag team division, which was floundering for a lot of this year as well. I think the biggest factor to consider is how long the top tag teams will stay together. Will RK-Bro and AJ Styles/Omos still be fully together by the time WrestleMania season kicks in and big matches have to be booked? If so, then it spells good news for the tag teams for RAW. RK-Bro have been one of the few consistent bright spots for RAW within the past few months, as the unlikely duo have made a seamless fit. Riddle especially has had some standout singles matches, which may fuel speculation as to when they will go their separate ways. Maybe a WrestleMania match between the two? Just thinking out loud.
AJ Styles and Omos‘ time may soon be coming to an end, as they’ve pretty much exhausted everything they could do as a tag team, including winning the tag titles. My hunch is that AJ will go back to being a singles competitor with Omos as his manager, or they will have a breakup storyline between those two as well. Omos is still very much green in a lot of areas, so I’m thinking the former would be the more likely scenario. But as depth pieces for the tag team division for the time being, they will be valuable.
The Street Profits and The Hurt Business may cross paths, but both those teams are filled with workhorses and high level athletes that can make for competitive tag team matches. According to WINC, The Street Profits were actually being considered to get broken up, with Ford on RAW and Dawkins on SmackDown, but eventually yielded to keeping them together. The same can also be said for The Mysterios, although we have been getting teases of Dominik splitting up from his father. Who knows if that storyline will transfer over to the red brand. So this is a tentative addition for now. Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler are also two vets who are good for some solid matches and putting others over as well.
Alpha Academy looked to be challenging for the The Usos’ SmackDown Tag Team Titles before being drafted to RAW, so something will materialize there. I personally like Otis’ new attitude, and Gable is the perfect athlete to handle the bulk of the in-ring stuff before Otis comes in and does his big man moves. Overall, I think we have a nice balance of tag teams representing RAW. Before, AJ/Omos were fighting The Viking Raiders or The New Day every so often. This should freshen things up a bit in my opinion. They took some quality tag teams from SmackDown, so we’ll see how they transition on the blue brand.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
I believe RAW overall has a solid roster that can fill three hours of TV time each week, but much of this will depend on the booking and storylines the superstars will engage in. The main event and tag team divisions have many possibilities and got bolstered quite a bit. The women’s division is relatively solid, although the women’s tag team division leaves a lot to be desired. The biggest question is how WWE will fill up most of the show with the mid-card, which has some holes and questions. How engaging can the mid-card be on their own power? Do they engage with the main eventers? Or can Damian Priest create engaging storylines with the likes of Karrion Kross or Austin Theory?
There are many questions left to be answered, but that is probably the allure of WWE Draft, which is to wonder how many pieces can interact with each other to fill three hours of television per week. We’ll get the answer after Crown Jewel. But for right now, things look promising in a lot of areas.
Next up is SmackDown.
