Friday Night SmackDown | 2023 WWE Draft | Night One

It's time to shake things up again, it's draft time! Night One took place on Friday Night SmackDown. Triple H began proceedings by going through the rules, also mentioning NXT superstars were eligible. The Game announced the first round.. 

The Round One Draft Picks 
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa with Paul Heyman SmackDown
Cody Rhodes - RAW
RAW Women's Champion - Bianca Belair - SmackDown
Becky Lynch - RAW

Roman and Cody being drafted number one for their respective brands is a good thing, as that will hopefully quieten down the people who are still talking about the story not being finished between the two, which may have to wait until WrestleMania 40. Bianca being drafted to Friday nights means Rhea will be going to Monday nights, with the titles being swapped, similar to what we saw between Charlotte and Becky last time, speaking of Becky, she remains on RAW. The Man will look to get revenge on the legendary Trish Stratus. 

Round Two Draft Picks - announced by Rob Van Dam & Michael Hayes
The Street Profits - SmackDown
Imperium - RAW
Edge - SmackDown
Matt Riddle - RAW

Like Bianca, the Street Profits return to Friday nights, meaning the rumoured split between Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins is on hold, Imperium will be making the move to RAW including the Intercontinental Championship, currently held by Gunther, logic states Austin Theory will be moving to SmackDown on Night Two of the draft, on this day, I see clearly, Edge is on the blue brand, let's see what is in store for the Hall of Famer. Matt Riddle remains on RAW. 

Round Three Draft Picks - announced by JBL & Teddy Long
Bobby Lashley  SmackDown
Drew McIntyre - RAW
The OC - SmackDown
The Miz - RAW 

SmackDown has, excuse the pun, an almighty pick, Bobby Lashley will set his sights on Roman Reigns in the future, Drew McIntyre will target a fresh start on RAW in a bid to become the new World Heavyweight Champion, The OC were drafted to SmackDown, it was phenomenal to see the return of AJ Styles, the group look set to feud with the Viking Raiders. Miz staying on Monday Nights is......Awesome!

Round Four Draft Picks - announced by Shawn Michaels & Road Dogg Jesse James
Damage CTRL - SmackDown
Shinsuke Nakamura - RAW 
Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn - SmackDown 
Indi Hartwell - RAW 

Damage CTRL were drafted to SmackDown as a collective, Bayley being on the same brand as Michael Cole will bring back hilarious memories and moments of the jokes and banter they shared during the pandemic era, Shinsuke Nakamura will be going to RAW, a match in between him and Gunther will be fantastic to see, if it were to happen, but first he must deal with Karrion Kross on SmackDown next week. Tick-Tock.

Congratulations to the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn and NXT Women's Champion Indi Hartwell for their main roster call ups. 

More draft picks will be announced on SmackDown LowDown and via WWE's social media, the content on this website will resume with night two of the draft on Monday Night RAW. 

Let's Talk About | The WWE Draft & Predictions

Welcome to the second edition of Let's Talk About. 

Today's topic of conversation is the WWE Draft, a two night event beginning on Friday Night SmackDown on the 28th of April and concluding on Monday Night RAW on May 1st. 

Having seen drafts in the past, prepare for the following scenarios to happen, teams to go their separate ways, factions splitting up, Champions to swap brands, including NXT call ups to the main roster. 

It has also been a while since General Managers were involved, we will find out if the role returns. In the meantime, let's delve into the draft predictions.

RAW & SmackDown Draft Predictions

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman & Solo Sikoa to SmackDown & The Usos drafted to RAW.  

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn drafted to RAW. 

Cody Rhodes drafted to RAW, Edge drafted to SmackDown.

RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair to remain on RAW & SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley to remain on SmackDown, no title swap.

Latino World Order drafted to RAW, Judgement Day drafted to SmackDown.

Women's Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez to remain on SmackDown & Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey drafted to RAW.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther with Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci drafted toRAW & United States Champion Austin Theory drafted to SmackDown. 

Montez Ford drafted to RAW, Angelo Dawkins drafted to SmackDown. 

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods drafted to RAW and reunite with Big E, Chad Gable & Otis drafted to SmackDown. 

Asuka drafted to SmackDown, Charlotte Flair drafted to RAW. 

LA Knight drafted to RAW (YEAH!) Miz drafted to SmackDown. 

Drew McIntyre drafted to RAW, Logan Paul drafted to SmackDown. 

Bayley drafted to SmackDown, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky drafted to RAW. 

Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch to stay on Monday Night RAW. 

Karrion Kross and Scarlett to stay on SmackDown. 

Mustafa Ali drafted to SmackDown, Madcap Moss with Emma drafted to RAW.

Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Pete Dunne drafted to RAW. 

NXT Call-ups 
Bron Breakker to SmackDown.
Grayson Waller to RAW.
Roxanne Perez to SmackDown.

Pretty Deadly to RAW.

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter to SmackDown. 

Cameron Grimes to SmackDown. 
Tyler Bate to RAW.
Zoey Stark to RAW.

Free Agents
Brock Lesnar.
Hit Row.
Alexa Bliss. 
Bray Wyatt.

Jinder Mahal.
R-Truth.
Tommaso Ciampa. 

The 2023 Draft Predictions are now complete, the content will resume with a recap of the first night of draft results from SmackDown this Friday, subject to change of course. 

Let's Talk About | Cody Rhodes

Welcome back to the blog, if you are new? then hello and welcome. 

This is a brand new series called Let's Talk About. It is only fitting we talk about The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes, he was the first person to return from AEW to WWE, at last year's WrestleMania (38) everyone knew he would be Seth Rollins opponent, the pomp and circumstance was fantastic to see though. 

Cody suffered a legitimate injury prior to facing Seth at Hell in a Cell and the reveal of said injury only added to the drama and intrigue of the match that he went on to win. 

When he was written off TV on the following episode of Monday Night RAW and the training montages were shown, it was obvious he was going to win the 2023 Royal Rumble match. 

A lot of fans on social media were constantly suggesting he should be the guy to end Roman's reign at this year's WrestleMania to send a message to AEW, there were so many narratives, that is where the tide turned for me, no disrespect to Cody as a person, I ACKNOWLEDGE that I wanted his character to lose to Roman Reigns and to see the reactions online, which, by the way, were very entertaining.

SummerSlam is way too early for a rematch, he is not ready to challenge The Tribal Chief at that prestigious event.

In order for Cody to be viewed as a genuine contender for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, he must face names such as: Brock Lesnar, Austin Theory, Gunther and perhaps win a United States or Intercontinental Championship along the way, including the Elimination Chamber next year to earn an opportunity for the top title, someone else should win the Rumble in 2024. 

If this happens? WrestleMania 40 would be a great place to complete his journey, before he loses the titles to either LA Knight, Seth Rollins or someone else, after they successfully cash in their Money In The Bank Contract, resulting in a heel turn for Cody and him blaming the fans that supported him, in true wrestling storyline fashion.

Let's see how this STORY plays out. 

Thank you for reading. Be sure to check out the archives on this website. 

WWE Champions Roll Call After WrestleMania

This year's WrestleMania weekend is now in the record books, bringing an end to another season in the world of World Wrestling Entertainment. below is a list of the title holders that are a part of this prestigious roll call.  

Women's Tag Team Champions
Becky Lynch & Lita

United States Champion 
Austin Theory 

RAW Women's Champion 
Bianca Belair

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions 
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn 

SmackDown Women's Champion 
Rhea Ripley 

Intercontinental Champion
Gunther 

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion
Roman Reigns

Congratulations to the current champions, there will be an updated Roll Call after Money In The Bank, which will be LIVE from London, England on July !st.  

Thank you for reading, be sure to check out the archived content on this website. 

WWE RAW Before WrestleMania

Welcome back to the blog, this is WrestleMania week, there is so much excitement and anticipation around in the run up to the Grandest Stage Of Them All. Let's take a look at the events that took place on the go home show LIVE from Phoenix, Arizona. 

We began with the Miz TV segment, the special guests were Women's Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch and Hall of Famer Lita and fellow Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, they were joined in the ring by Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky to exchange words, Becky was great in this segment, she cut an outstanding promo which led to her defeating Iyo minutes later. 

There was a video package about Asuka's career starting from NXT to this day on the main roster, including the thoughts of current superstars and Hall of Famers, there was a similar version for Bianca Belair later on in the show ahead of their RAW Women's Championship Match, who are currently scheduled for night one, subject to change of course. 

Seth Rollins backstage interview was interrupted by Mustafa Ali, this was a set up to their match, the crowd sang Seth's song, which is always awesome to hear, he went on to defeat Mustafa surprisingly quickly. 

Adam Pearce put Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green against Mia Yim and Candice LeRae to decide who got the last spot in the Women's Showcase Match. 

The weigh-in between Omos and Brock Lesnar ended abruptly, these segments never go to plan, a lot of people have been criticising why this is even happening at WrestleMania, the belief on this blog is this is an opportunity for Omos to prove the doubters wrong and see how good he is, hopefully they will change their views. 

We saw another video package, this time it was about Charlotte Flair which shifted to Rhea Ripley's backstage interview with Byron Saxton. 

The Street Profits & Braun Strowman & Ricochet defeated Viking Raiders & Alpha Academy, a preview to the Men's Showcase. 

Finn Balor responded to Edge's vignette prior to Hell in a Cell, it will be the Rated R Superstar versus The Demon. Cody Rhodes spoke to Cathy Kelley prior to the main event against Solo Sikoa. 

The Bloodline's parody of The Goodfellas was incredible, check it out on YouTube if you haven't already along with the others. 

The United States Champion Austin Theory cut a promo in an empty arena, saying he doesn't do this for the fans, or Cena, he does it for himself. Theory more or less guaranteed a victory on Saturday, this was eerie to watch as it brought back memories of the Performance Center Era. 

Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green defeated Mia Yim & Candice LeRae to qualify for the Women's Showcase to face Liv Morgan & Raquel Gonzalez, Natalya & Shotzi and Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler. 

Paul Heyman responded to Cody Rhodes by suggesting The American Nightmare wasn't ready for this show's main event or Sunday Night. 

Dominik Mysterio spoke about Rey finally snapping and accepting the challenge on Friday Night SmackDown. Rey versus Damian Priest ended in disqualification, Legado Del Fantasma ran down to save Rey. 

There were more packages than Amazon on this show, this time about the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, including a segment involving some of the participants such as: Elias, Rick Boogs and Bobby Lashley. 

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn talked about possibly winning the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships and ending The Usos reign. 

The Intercontinental Champion Gunther defeated Dolph Ziggler. 

It was time for the talking to stop on this particular occasion as Cody Rhodes took on Solo Sikoa. The Usos attempted to help Solo, however, they were chased off by Kevin and Sami moments later, Cody countered Solo's Samoan Spike with the Cross Rhodes to pick the win and continue his momentum as he looks to finish the story at WrestleMania. 

That is it for the RAW before WrestleMania, there was a lot to unpack here, hope you enjoyed the read, very much looking forward to seeing who wins the Battle Royal and what happens between Cody and Roman before Sunday on SmackDown and more.

The content will continue after WrestleMania with a Champions Roll Call, be sure to check that out as well as the archives on this website. 

 

WWE SmackDown | Did Rey Accept Dominik's Challenge?

Welcome back to the blog, the penultimate episode of SmackDown was LIVE from Las Vegas, Nevada. Cody Rhodes defeated Ludwig Kaiser in the opening match. Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa watched on nearby, afterwards, Heyman said Cody will face Solo this Monday Night and Roman will be on SmackDown next Friday.

Wade Barrett and Michael Cole announced John Cena vs. Austin Theory will kick off WrestleMania Saturday. 

Charlotte Flair responded to Rhea Ripley's promo from RAW. 

LA Knight defeated Rey Mysterio (YEAH!) thanks to Dominik, The Mysterio family were sat ringside, Dominik disrespected his mum and sister, Rey heard enough and hit Dominik, the crowd reaction was fantastic, Rey accepted the challenge.  

Natalya and Shotzi defeated Lacey Evans and Xia Li to qualify for the Women's Showcase Match. Shayna Baszler announced she and Ronda Rousey will be included in the Showcase as well, the final spot will be decided next week. 

Rey vs. Dominik was officially announced for WrestleMania. 

The contracts were signed by Drew McIntyre, Sheamus and the champion Gunther, for the triple threat Intercontinental Championship Match. Gunther talked about winning before he was attacked by Butch before the commercial break.

Gunther defeated Butch, he and Sheamus looked at the WrestleMania sign, Drew hit Gunther with the Claymore and confronted Sheamus. 

The Street Profits exchanged words with Braun Strowman and Ricochet.

Sami Zayn was Kevin Owens' guest on the KO sbow. Kevin called Sami the MVP of the past twelve months and presented him with a new shirt with WrestleZania on it. The Usos hit the ring and attacked Kevin and Sami and hit Sami with the One and Done before exiting the ring, thus sending a message to the longtime friends. 

This episode absolutely flew by, very good from start to finish. 

Thank you for reading, the content continues for the RAW go home show, which will be available on Tuesday. 

 

WWE RAW Review-ish | We Are Just Under Two Weeks Away From WrestleMania!

Welcome back to the blog, if you are new then hello and welcome. as the title above says, we are just under two weeks away from WrestleMania, the countdown continues. 

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn started off Monday Night RAW, the crowd cheered and chanted for both guys, they talked about their history until this day and looked at the WrestleMania sign which led to the Usos music hitting, Kevin challenged Jimmy and Jey to put the titles on the line, Jimmy said no at first, however, Jey accepted, the two teams were fighting until Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa arrived in the arena. 

The United States Champion Austin Theory defeated Montez Ford. Theory cut a promo to hype up his match against John Cena. 

During the Bloodline segment backstage, Roman told Jey to stay with him while the others left the room, the champion questioned his cousin's loyalty, Jey played down those thoughts before walking away. Paul Heyman asked Roman if he got the answers he was looking for, Roman said yes, however, he looked unsure despite saying that.

Omos defeated Mustafa Ali in a quick match. 

Impaulsive TV was next, Logan Paul was great here, he always knows how to get a reaction from the crowd, Seth Rollins was in the control room and cut off the microphone, he played his own music before making his way to the ring, the two brawled until the officials intervened, Logan struck Seth with a right hand before getting away, it is almost guaranteed they will provide us with a WrestleMania Moment when they meet again. 

The Men's WrestleMania Showcase Match was announced. Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. The Viking Raiders vs. The Street Profits vs. Otis & Chad Gable.

Dominik Mysterio defeated Johnny Gargano, Dom said he will be heading to SmackDown this Friday to get his father, Rey, to accept his challenge.

Paul Heyman sent Jimmy and Jey to the private jet, while Solo Sikoa was told to stay in the Bloodline's room. Edge talked about his upcoming Hell in a Cell match against Finn Balor, hopefully we will see another Brood entrance from Edge and a purple version of The Demon from Balor. 

The 2023 Women's Royal Rumble Winner Rhea Ripley talked about her SmackDown Women's Championship opportunity against Charlotte Flair, she was interrupted by Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky and Bayley, this led to a match between Rhea and Bayley, Becky, Lita and Trish joined in to watch from ringside. Rhea went on to win here. 

Ricochet defeated Chad Gable via a Shooting Star Press. 

The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships was finally made official.  

Bianca Belair & Asuka defeated Piper Niven and Chelsea Green, after Bianca hit the KOD on Niven, we all know how strong Bianca is, this was another example. Asuka attacked Bianca and put the EST on notice prior to WrestleMania. 

Roman and Cody continued the build to Sunday April 2nd. Roman talked about Cody's past in and away from the WWE. Cody fired back by saying Roman will lose the titles and the Bloodline will break up as a result, leaving Roman his own again. Roman heard enough and walked away with Paul Heyman. Cody verbally provoked Solo Sikoa and hit him, Roman stopped Solo from responding as RAW went off the air, promo battle wise, Roman and Cody are now level at one round apiece.

Thanks for reading, the SmackDown review-ish will be available on Saturday.