Transcript
Today, not Sam wrestling, we are doing a complete mock draft of both Raw and Smackdown, a very controversial ending to a Pay-Per-View that I've got thoughts on extreme rules. For God's sakes, the rope broke. This is not Sam wrestling. This is not Sam wrestling, introducing your host from New York. Here is Sam Roberts. I believe that from this day forward, the rope broke will be a wrestling metaphor that lives forever. And then what happened? The rope broke. Welcome to not Sam wrestling. Thank you for being here. Hope you're all doing well. Hope you're ready for another great week of professional wrestling. Coming right off of extreme rules, we've got a lot to do. I'll tell you what made me excited about extreme rules. I had done a complete full on draft of both Raw and Smackdown before extreme rules, and the whole pay per view didn't screw up even one plan that I had. So there's that to be excited about. We'll go over the whole my draft in a little bit, but we got a lot to cover. Extreme rules went down last night at the time of the publishing of this podcast, and of course, a lot of people are talking about it. Speaking of talking, if you if you're on Peac**k and you haven't watched it yet. I got to be a part of talking smack that aired on Saturday morning over there on Peac**k. So if you haven't watched it, myself and Matt Camp got to jump on there and break down everything that had happened on Smackdown. And I got to tell you something. It's fun to do those after shows when there is stuff happening. And my God, if there isn't stuff happening, I mean, think about it, let's go over just the week we've had alone, I swear it feels like it's been a month. But I can't believe that the last time we spoke unless you're on Patreon and you've listened to Thursday, not see him Thursday over at Patria CNN.com slash, not Sam Wrestling, The Last General, Not Sam wrestling podcast. We had came out the morning. Do we saw that triple threat match on Raw Roman Reigns vs. Big E vs. Bobby Lashley? And it's a point that I made on Thursday, but I think that a big part of Raw doing well in terms of ratings and the general consensus that I've seen amongst fans, I think fans are generally saying, OK, you know what? Even if I haven't been a fan of Raw lately, the last couple of weeks have been good. And Roman Reigns has a lot to do with that last week. But just as much, I think, is the fact that Big E is champion, the fact that there's a new person there, the fact that I knew it breathes new energy into the show. It feels like there's something happening, like if you don't watch, you're going to miss something. That's the energy that you need going into wrestling shows. If you don't watch, you're going to miss something because it's real easy to become predictable. And it's real easy to just rely on the fact that wrestling fans watch wrestling. Because while that's true, if you want to talk about big numbers, if you want to talk about growing and you want to talk about being successful and being a real force in pop culture, you have to get to a place where every week people are watching number one because they like it, but number two, because they're worried that they're going to miss something. If they don't, it's difficult to do on our DVR age. But the fact is, wrestling being a live show has that advantage that if you don't watch it live, people are going to be talking about something. You got to be there to tweet about it. You got to be there to give a take right after it happened. You got to be there to experience it while the rest of the world is experiencing it. And I think you're getting that energy on raw and you're getting that energy on Smackdown, you're absolutely getting that energy. I think you're getting that energy. Even on Tuesdays, you know, I feel like while it may not have the immediacy because we're just getting to know people, you're still feeling like there is something happening on next 2.0 on Tuesday nights that you know, new characters are being introduced, you're watching something blossom, you're seeing something in this sort of very incubation stage where we're like, some people are optimistic. Some people are pessimistic. Some people are just being observational about it. But we know looking at this thing that for better or worse, it is going to become something and that can be a fun ride to go on. And if you look at the ratings and did well, comparatively speaking this week as well or last week, I guess it is now. And then you look at the shows that AGW put on this week, both Dynamite and Rampage shows that really displayed that that company has that same attitude when you are opening a show, when it's a Wednesday night, random, Wednesday night, 8:00 p.m. on TNT and you can turn that on and watch Kenny Omega vs. Brian Daniels in in a 30 minute time limit draw. You're in a good place as a wrestling fan. OK. When they're sitting there going like we've got so much to do, we'll give you the Adam Cole match and the CM punk match on the Friday show. You're in a good place when you got two different companies that are putting on two. Can't miss shows a week, and that's just a minimum. That's just the bare bones basics to be a fan. My God, is it a fun time? And then I really believe in this philosophy, and I think every when he was on the podcast talked about it. Other people have talked about it. The wrestling does not have this rigid definition. That's why I don't accept it. When people go like, well, one show is sports entertainment. One show is pro wrestling. It's all pro wrestling. Pro wrestling is such a broad term in reality that sports entertainment is pro wrestling, and pro wrestling is pro wrestling. And this is pro wrestling and that is pro wrestling. On Thursday night, I got to go to Melrose Ballroom because I was thinking to myself, You know, I'm sitting there and I'm like, OK. On Monday, I got raw Tuesday, I got next Wednesday, dynamites on Friday, Smackdown's on Sunday. I got a paper for you to watch extreme rules. But what's that Thursday? There's no wrestling on on that Thursday, so I hopped in my car, I drove to queens, I went to Melrose Ballroom and I checked out IMO Fight GC w game changer wrestling put on a show which, by the way, packed a packed room full of people on a Thursday night in Queens, went to a get this emo themed. Independent professional wrestling show IMO themed in 2021. A whole generation of people that are now in their late 20s that grew up with a top eight on MySpace, just celebrating that culture. Literally. Nick Gage, the death match king, the guy that people are afraid of, the guy that people think is a bad influence on children together, bank robber the guy who almost killed David Arquette is standing on a stage while a deejay plays my chemical romance. And Nick Gage is trying to get the kids to sing along to the Black Parade or whatever they were playing in St.. It was, but it was just great, like I was watching that show and I had a smile on my face from beginning to end, the show climaxed. With Jimmy Jacobs. Having a match and then revolt, resolving a storyline that was started in Ring of Honor in 2006 between him and Lacey. So if you were watching Ring of Honor in 2006, this is literally the story. The storyline that started the age of the fall, which is what launched Tyler Black into stardom in Ring of Honor, the man who would become Seth Rollins. I say that all to say that's how long ago this storyline was. And the climax of this independent show was a payoff to a thing that happened in Ring of Honor in 2006. And what happened? Wrestling fans lost their minds because it was fun. It was fun. Pro wrestling. Is anything. But it's nothing if it's not fun. And my God, is it a fun time? So let's talk about extreme rules. Before we get into the drive because I want to spend some time on this draft, OK, I've sat down and I've gone through the entire roster Raw and Smackdown, and we're going to do it today. But first of all, why bury the lead? I think people are enjoying extreme rules. And I think I think the ending threw people for a loop, so it's the demon. Vs. Roman Reigns and the Demons entrance was spectacular, this is the first time we've seen the demon in years years. And after losing to Roman Reigns on Smackdown, Finn Balor channels the demon to finally return the last couple of week it's been teased on Smackdown. We saw the demon perched on top of the corner post on Smackdown, which, by the way, tonight at Extreme Rules. If he had jumped off the corner post like he did on Smackdown instead of the rope, we wouldn't be in this mess. But we see the Demon and Finn Balor, the Demon and Roman Reigns in this extreme rules match. And it was a great match. First, I do want to say this the crowd in Columbus, Ohio, that was there for extreme rules. One of the best crowds since crowds have come back. They were just on fire and engaged the entire night. They loved everything. They went with everything. It was just it felt like an energy of people that really wanted to be there and not that there have been any bad crowds. Since wrestling started being performing, we started being performed in front of audiences again. But I just love. I loved. Sitting at home and watching that and listening to the ambient noise of the Columbus crowd as that show went on on Sunday, I thought they were just so great and there was a couple of moments where they really shine and I'll talk about that. But. The demon. Going after Roman Reigns, they end up going into the crowd, Roman Reigns has a mask on and he's still fighting extreme rules. He's there. They're over in the in the in the pre-show desk area, fighting on top of the table. They're getting knocked through tables at ringside, hitting each other with chairs. Finn Balor, the demon has a super kendo stick, which is with like 10 kendo sticks, all taped together with one handle that he's just go into town on Roman Reigns on his nose, selling shots early in the match. I mean, the demon is back. And the match hits its peak. When everybody's laid out, right, Finn Balor, the demon hits the coup de grace one two three. The demon gets pulled off by The Usos, the bloodline, all three members are now attacking the demon. He goes through a table. Everybody ends up laid out everybody. Then all of a sudden that heartbeat starts. Boom, boom, boom, boom. That same heartbeat that sounded after Roman Reigns defeated Finn Balor. That heartbeat that made people go, Is it the demon? Is it Brock? What is that sound? That's the sound of the demon coming to life. Boom, boom, boom, boom. The red light flashes all of a sudden with each with each pulse. The Demons body starts to move. Like, he's on an operating table, like they've got the clear. Zapping him and he starts coming back to life. Boom, boom, boom, boom. And then it goes through like when the music starts and the demon is back to life. The demon is resurrected, dude. The music starts. The lights are red. The demon is now this beautiful combination of Finn Balor meets The Fiend meets new jack as this music is blasting. And luckily, the Demons got some dope a*s music and it's blasting as the demon is taking control again. And people, there were some, of course, cynics and again, pro wrestling can be anything, but it's nothing if it's not fun and this is fun. This is it's a good time. People in Columbus were having a good time with it. I saw some naysayers on the intranet. Shocker. Totally off base because here's what happened. And this is why people got so annoyed with the finish. I pulled the the shills, the Nazeem shills that are subscribers at Patria Slash, not Sam wrestling. I looked around at what people were saying on the internet. And I said. Is there a chance that the demon wins the Universal Championship from Roman Reigns, they said zero is a percentage chance that he wins is zero. We already know that the Brock Lesnar match is coming up. Brock Lesnar is not coming to face Roman Reigns in a non-title match as AJ ain't flying to Saudi Arabia to have that match. Finn Balor, the demon. I don't care what you're paying him up as he is not winning the Universal Championship tonight, and all of a sudden I felt it. I read it. I it was clear when the heartbeat starts pulsing and the music starts playing and the demon is taking control again. The crowd believed that was officially when the crowd believed that the demon could become the Universal Champion. I get this text from Hot Dog who's just back from a day that I'm sure was not great for the person who was on the date with. But he goes. Uh, Bra fanned out to win this thing bout to win this in the immortal words of hot dog Finn. Bout to win this. And Hot Dogs spoke for WWE fans across the globe. Nobody, nobody when that match started was thinking to themselves, Finn Balor, to win this, but once that music hit and the heartbeat started, people started thinking. Finn Balor to win this. You cannot boo a heel champion winning a match unless you actually believe there's a chance that his opponent might win in order to really feel the pain of Roman Reigns. Retaining the universal championship, you first must visualize a reality in which Roman loses the title, and that reality must be appealing to you and that must be snatched away from you. And that's exactly what happened in the last one hundred and twenty seconds of that match. The reality was presented to you that Finn Balor could become the universal championship. You accepted that reality. And then it was snatched away from you. And then you were left going like this. Boo, boo, boo. As Roman Reigns stood tall, the lights were red. The music was playing and you hear pop snap. And somehow, before he's able to hit the coup de grace. The demon tumbles to the mat, gripping his knees. Now I heard some people saying, Well, that doesn't make any sense. The demon is supposed to be unbeatable and an invincible. Not true. Because before the heartbeat. The demon was laid out completely if Roman Reigns had been able to pin the demon before the heartbeat started. If we're just following law, if Roman Reigns had been able to pin the demon before those heartbeat sound effects started, there were several several seconds of the demon laying flat out on the ground before the red light hit and his music started playing. Certainly more than three seconds. And if Roman had been able to roll them over and pin him, Match would have been over. Problem was he was laid out long enough that the magical heartbeats and and and voodoo red lights started coming on and it resurrected the demon. The ropes break. The demon hurts his knees. Now, who knows if Roman Reigns hadn't been able to take advantage of that, maybe 10 seconds later, some more heartbeats were to come on, some more red lights would have come on, then the demon would have been all good again. But Roman Reigns didn't give it the opportunity. He took advantage. He pinned him. And Bob's your uncle. Now. A lot of people were were annoyed that it was like after this whole buildup, the best thing you could come up with was the ropes broke. Well, what if the rate ropes break? The rope break guy ropes just broke and then he lost. We went through all this. And then the ropes just break. Which if it is if that's what we're dealing with, if we are dealing with a story where it's like, Oh, Finn Balor is going to beat Roman Reigns, but then the ropes just happen to break at an inopportune time. At feels a little lazy. Feels a little bit like lazy storytelling. However. If the ropes were tampered with. I'm still on board. Who's to say? But one of The Usos or Paul Heyman himself. Didn't snap that rope. Who's to say there wasn't foul play involved? And if there was foul play involved, then we're not through with our story. Not yet, not by a long shot. I got no problem. To me, if a member of the bloodline or Paul Heyman snapped the rope as Finn Balor was perched on top of it. It's not that dissimilar then finishes that we saw in the beginning of Roman Reigns run, where there was interference or one ouzo would tap out for the other ouzo or whatever it was. Roman Reigns, a very unique champion at times. He's choking out Braun Strowman at times when it really counts. He's piling up Edge and Daniel Bryan on top of each other at times he's beaten John Cena clean. But at other times. He's doing whatever he can to win in questionable ways. He's had plenty of matches that he's won because he's bent the rules, plenty of matches that he's won with screwy finishes, so it doesn't really hurt the legacy or the or the dynasty of Roman Reigns. If he won in a less than moral way. And if we find out that a member of his team tampered with the ring, I mean, that does seem like something his team would do it all logically. It all starts to make sense again. You do have to get over the hump of lights and heartbeat sounds, bringing the demon back to life, but if you're willing to accept the. Finn Balor can unleash a demon, and then he paints himself, and then he becomes much more powerful than I don't see how you couldn't be willing to upset that the demon could be brought back to life. And if you're not willing to accept the demon character at all. Then I, you know, go watch may. Go watch sports, not sports entertainment. That's the second part. How to make your partner like you again with post Postmates here, that that salmon sashimi fresh so fresh, you muting email now, Carol, because you were busy using chopsticks and not venting about traffic on the floor. As far as soy drips on your stretchy sweat pants, get sashimi on Postmates for $30 off your first three orders of $35 or more. Use code L.A. Throw terms apply. It was. So, yeah, I mean, I still see a lot of room for story here. I see a lot of room for people to find out whether it's Adam Pearce, I think there should be an investigation that goes into the equipment because if WWE has faulty equipment, that's a bigger deal either way. Finn Balor even as the demon has a complaint to be made here, somebody has to be responsible for that ring rope if. Ultimately, we hear it was just a faulty ring rope and it just broke. Well, then yeah, that feels a little lazy. That's almost like. You know, the the ladder match with Shane and Vince versus stone cold in the briefcase being moved up and down, and you just never even found out who was moving the briefcase up and down, because who cares? Yeah, that that stuff I don't like. But if there was foul play and tampering involved. Then I feel like it's it's a it's a it's a perfectly it's a perfectly good story and I think I think honestly, some not all. Some of the immediate negativity about the finish. Had to do with the fact that there were people on an emotional wave that thought Finn Balor was going to win and then he didn't win, and people don't like that, it doesn't feel good. So you go, that's bulls**t and you go, Yeah, it's supposed to be bulls**t. Roman Reigns is character as a character part of the Roman Reigns character is that he's kind of bulls**t. But also, he's not lying about being the best. And he is the head of the table, but he is also kind of bulls**t. You know, that's that is the character. I. Don't think that this is on a list of like worst finishes ever, I don't think as of now I could be wrong, but I don't know how I could rethink it. But coming off of this, I don't think that this will be one of those like legendary lousy finishes. Look, I personally. I don't think this is worse for Finn Balor than that SummerSlam contract signing was what happened to Finn Balor with the SummerSlam contract signing was one of the worst things I've ever seen happen to a person happened to a superstar on a wrestling show in my life. Story wise. The idea that Roman would just get thrown out of the I mean, Finn Balor would just get thrown out of the ring and somebody else would sign his contract and then that's it. We're moving on. Yeah, that's not. That's bulls**t. That's nonsense. That's crazy. But the idea that the ropes were tampered with and again. I'm going with Roche, were tampered with, and I'm cool with it. Roche just randomly broke, that's a little much for me. But I also don't think as far as finishes go like. You know, people were talking like, this is one of the worst finishes ever, and it's not, you know, it's not like like this is this is on a completely different level than Seth Rollins was just talking about it in his interview with Stone Cold on the WWE Network on Peac**k. The hell in a cell finish that ended in a no contest with The Fiend. I mean, that is levels upon levels worse than this finish even. With a worst case scenario for this finish. Even if it is just the ropes breaking that Helen itself, it just still way worse, I can think of some bad finishes. But we'll see. I'm ready for the story to keep being told. And I liked that I was taken on a ride. I liked that there was this moment where Finn Balor had it in his hands and we all believed it was fun. Speaking of had it in their hands, we also got it. And again, like. Wacky non finishes that aren't fair. They can be good at the story's good. That's why I said it matters what happened to that rope. If we can make some good out of it, then it's good, but if we don't make something good out of it, then it is bad. The Becky Lynch Bianca Belair thing, the finish was the finish was good, you could hear the reaction, it wasn't a bulls**t finish. It was like. OK, that's cool. Sasha Banks is back, I didn't see that one coming. That's not what me and my buddies were talking about before this show. I thought the the theme of tonight's pay per view was. Story wise, there was a bunch of stuff happening in terms of championships in terms of creating momentum for people. Not a ton happening, but great matches. A lot of people had really good matches. I was a little at first. I was wondering why Big E was not in a singles match. I was ready to see big in a singles match, but obviously it's because they're saving it for us because they wanted to use the Pay-Per-View to build the roar. We're going to start raw tonight with Big E vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship. I got it. It makes sense. I'm really looking forward to seeing Biggie defend the WWE Championship on a Pay-Per-View. I'm really hoping that Bobby Lashley does not win the title back. I'm a little worried that Bobby Lashley is going to win the title back and then defend it against Goldberg at Crown Jewel. I think that that's highly possible, but I think it would be a horrible idea. I think there's been a lot of positive response to Big E being champion. And I think it is very worth seeing if Big E can handle being that guy, and I think he can. I want to see what a world looks like where Biggie has a reign as WWE Champion. And quite frankly, the reason why I liked the way it went at SummerSlam with Goldberg and Lashley and eventually not first, but eventually is because with Bobby Lashley beating up Goldberg's son, you can do Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley without a title. And any time you can do a Goldberg match and there's not a title involved, it's good. It's a really good thing. Shows and street profits at a great match. I have a theory about Montez Ford that we'll get into when we talk about the draft. To Columbus chanting, Thank you, Lily. The greatest thing ever. You know, and this is like it's another thing, the lily thing, it's like. Yeah, I mean, on some levels, it kind of sucks. Of course, the dog winking, that was terrible. But at the same time, even if it is ironic, first of all, Alexa bliss as a performer. He's doing so well with making something out of nothing. I don't think anybody can pull this off. I like the Charlotte brought a little bit more seriousness to it. I liked it. It was an actual wrestling match, but Alexa bliss is doing so well. The reason the crowd was chanting Thank you Lilly, and not like s**tting all over this. The whole segment was because Alexa was doing such a good job. Screaming and crying and ripping her hair and. Doing all of this stuff, I thought it was absolutely fantastic. And, you know, I mean, the fact is, even though it was reported that people were leaving the arena during the Charlotte and Alexa Bliss segment on Raw last week, everybody saying that that's not true. And if you just watched the TV show, you can hear people chanting Charlie, Charlie. During the segment, they're chanting for the Charlotte Dole. And then tonight chanting, thank you, Lily, even if people in the audience are starting to appreciate the storyline in an ironic way, there is still something to that. You can absolutely take advantage of an ironic appreciation. I do not think this story is anywhere we didn't is going anywhere. I do not think this is the end. We did not hear. Alexa saying goodbye to Lily, and if I know anything, the fact is they moved a lot of lily dolls at SummerSlam. They're selling lily dolls at WWE Shop as soon as the Charlotte Charlie doll was announced on Raw. It was up for pre-order on WWE Shop. I 100 percent believe that we will have a new incarnation of the Lily Doll. It will be all sewn back up together like Frankenstein, and that Frankenstein version of Lily will also be available on WWE Shop. And God bless it, because I'll be buying the three pack. I'm getting all of them. And then what? Mattel puts out an action figure that comes with a tiny little version of Lily. I'll have that too. I'm here for it. And then the triple threat United States Championship match. I mean, as a wrestling fan, if you don't have kind words for Jeff Hardy, I don't think I have kind words for you. The stuff that that guy did in that match was incredible. Incredible. And it's not that far fetched to think that he's, you know, away from the main event scene, he's in his 40s like he's been around for a while, but you forget how young he was when that guy start. Jeff Hardy is not the oldest guy on the roster by a long shot. So. You know, I. That was another thing, I mean, I think the crowd felt like potentially we could have Jeff Hardy win this match and they were way OK with it. But I thought Damian Priest did a great job. I love the little things that he did. I loved it. Damian Priest When he fell off the apron, you know, when he was going after Seamus and he fell off the apron. In a in a moment, and this is where you can really tell who's ready for this stuff in a moment. Instead of just jumping back up on the apron and starting his spot over again, which would have looked hideous, he falls off the apron and as soon as he gets up, he like kicks Seamus in the shin. So it's like he re weak in shame as so he can start his thing again. So it doesn't look like Seamus has just been standing there like a goof the whole time that kicked it, he added in after he slipped off. I was, I was. I was impressed by that. I was impressed by his ability to to roll with the punches because that can be a humiliating experience, I'm sure. And it's sometimes tough to think on your feet when you're embarrassed. I can only imagine I've never been embarrassed. I usually am right on the money with my shots, so that's kind of where I landed on extreme rules. It's going to be a big week because on Friday, the WWE Draft starts and then it continues a week from Monday. So I'm sure that that we'll talk about this again on Thursday, not same Thursday over on Patreon. And I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about next week on Monday, when the podcast drops and have the draft has already happened. Where else are we going and everything? There's a lot of rules that they may or may not be sticking to. We have no idea yet and again doesn't start till Friday. The draft doesn't start tonight on Raw and starts on Friday, this Friday on Smackdown, I believe, and then continues on next week on Raw. So since this is the first, the last opportunity, I should say that I have to talk to you guys. I went ahead and drafted up. A complete mock draft that we can go over here today and even after the pay per view, I personally think this draft is money. Go ahead and send this to to Vince McMahon. Send it to Bruce Prichard. Send it to whoever you have to send it to. Because if you get your rosters looking like this, I feel like in my mind, you've got a year's worth of brand new stories to tell on both Raw and Smackdown. You know what time it is. It's time to shake things up again. Yes, it's the draft. I love the draft. I'm a fan of the draft. I like the brands being split. I love to rosters. I think that it provides more opportunity for stories. I think it provides opportunities for a bigger roster. I think it's a good thing. You know, I don't like it when it's, uh, not taken seriously. But realistically, I mean. When they had to redo it because the rosters became combined, they did like Raw and Smackdown, they did like the raw super shows. Every Raw was a raw supershow. So generally speaking, on Raw, you'd get all everybody. And then on Smackdown, you'd get half the guys and people. There was no reason to watch Smackdown. You know, I mean, because it just becomes it becomes too much. I think the way things are done now is really, really good. And I think that doing a draft once a year. Is a perfect refresher. Ultimately, a WWE draft is very different from like a fantasy football draft. That's what I was thinking about. How are we going to do this today? And at first it was like, should I bring somebody else on? And they draft draft smackdown and I draft Raw. And it's like, No, that doesn't make any sense because it's not like we're legitimately watching two brands competing. Raw is legitimately responding to what Smackdown is doing. If we're going to discuss this, I feel like we should discuss it in the real way that it's done, which is it's a storytelling mechanism and we can talk about who's going to what roster and why. Right? It's not like it's just randomly done. So that's that to me, is even more important than the WHO. Is the the why? Why are these superstars going over to Raw or Smackdown? So what I've done is I've basically looked at the entire talent roster that we have right now, the entire active talent roster, raw, smackdown and next. Now I'm not drafting this as if everybody's I'm drafting this as if everybody's eligible, but I'm not, for instance, bringing anybody from Raw Smackdown over to next. And I'm not acting like there's any obligation for a minimum amount of next talent to be drafted to the main roster. I just think the timing is very good, with next 2.0 being kind of refreshed. The the idea that some talent from next year would make their main roster debut because of the draft, I think only makes sense. And I think it would draw eyes over to next 2.0 for the right reasons, which is this is developmental. This is where the future superstars are currently performing. Sports entertainment they're currently wrestling over an anecdote to point out, so I feel like. Incorporating some of that into the draft, and I thought of interesting ways to do that, too. And I am specifically not drafting. Well, I guess there are a couple of injured or off TV talents that are being drafted, but if they're not coming back on TV any time soon. I'm not drafting them. Or if I think that their return is its own event, then I'm not driving them. For instance, MVP is not eligible for the draft. Bailey not eligible for the draft because I think that when MVP returns, it'll either be in Lashley or somebody else's corner. When Bailey returns, that will be a big deal on its own. So the people that are returning in the draft, I'm I think it's deliberate to me that they return during the draft. I am maintaining the rule of. You can either draft as a team or singles. And here's why. Because on paper, it's really stupid. Because why would a brand draft a singles when they could draft a team? Why would they draft one member of a team when they could have two superstars and break them up anyway? And the answer is that if you draft as a team to me, it it adds credibility to that act as a team, when you draft is a team, you're establishing. Here's who we have as tag team acts. And while yes, they could be separated and yes, they could end up wrestling singles matches as well. Realistically, we're saying, well, there are no tag teams. Well, here's the tag teams. If we're drafting as tag teams or establishing these are the tag teams. And I think that that's specifically important when it comes to the women. There's multiple acts here that I'm drafting as female tag teams so that people realize that the female tag division is something that Raw and Smackdown are taking seriously. Um, I'm trying to think of this any more. I'll kind of get into my philosophies on what the rosters look like after I start going over some of these names. And I have Rob's roster about a third longer than Smackdown roster because I think that's how they usually do it. They usually draft the Smackdown roster to be about two thirds of what the raw roster is. Theoretically, because Raw is three hours and Smackdown is two hours, OK? So here's what I've got, and it's important that we start this way. I'm not going to go over the orders that everybody needs to be drafted in because that's too specific for this exercise. But I think that the you do have to start somewhere. And since the draft starts on Smackdown this Friday, we have to look there. And I believe that on Smackdown, Paul Heyman said when he was talking to Adam Pearce about the match with Montez Ford on Friday, he said then we'll talk about the draft later. So clearly, Paul Heyman has a plan. And my first draft pick revolved around that. Paul Heyman has set up a deal for this first draft pick. And the deal that he has set up is the bloodline is a unit that the bloodline not be separated. The same rule that applies to tag teams now applies to the bloodline shows that a roster has the option of drafting the entire three man group. Obviously, Paul Heyman goes with them. I'm not drafting, you know, I don't think managers or advocates or whatever Paul Heyman is now separately. Paul Heyman says the bloodline goes together. So Smackdown drafts the entire bloodline, so that's the first pick. Smackdown has The Usos and Roman Reigns staying on Fox. Then we find out that in order to make this fair, Paul Heyman has given raw or orchestrated it so that Raw can now have two picks. And I know you're sitting there going, like, How is Paul Heyman in charge? Is this just the deal that he made? If Smackdown can get the entire bloodline together, then Raw can have two picks, whatever they want. Now we say whatever they want, but we think Paul Heyman was involved in these picks because I'm sure raw because Ross first two picks are Biggie. So WWE Champion Big E is exclusive to Monday Night Raw, Universal Champion Roman Reigns exclusive to Smackdown. And the second pick on Raw. Is Brock Lesnar. And Paul Heyman smiles to himself, satisfied. And over the course of weeks, we will find out now. This is a device, obviously, because now what we're doing instead of saying, well, clearly Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar is the future. Paul Heyman is separating Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. He's going to try to get the match at Crown Jewel to not happen. It's still going to happen, obviously. But Paul Heyman is keeping Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar apart so that maybe a crown jewel maybe screws Brock Lesnar and then Brock Lesnar can't get his revenge because he's not on Smackdown, and now Roman gets to go on a whole nother show. Now, eventually, the question is going to come up. Did Paul Heyman orchestrate Brock Lesnar being drafted to Raw because he wanted to keep Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns away from each other? Or was he acting towards the financial benefit of Brock Lesnar? Was this move while on the surface, it looks like Paul Heyman was working for Roman Reigns? Was he working for Roman Reigns or was he also working for Brock Lesnar? That question hasn't been answered yet, and of course, eventually we will get to Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. But the draft is going to be used as a buffer. So Smackdown gets The Usos and Roman Reigns Raw gets Big E and Brock Lesnar. Raw is also going to get the new day as a tag team. Kofi and Xavier Woods are going to go together, so they're going to stay on Raw. We've now got Big E Kofi and Xavier all together. I think this is only good news for Big E. I think as Big E grows, the idea that Xavier and Kofi are there to be his support system is only going to be good for Big E. And Smackdown responds by drafting. Rated RKO. So Riddle and Randy Orton move over to Smackdown and I know what you're saying. Now Smackdown has the Raw and Smackdown tag team champions on their show, and that is something that will deal with maybe on Friday or next Monday. But I'll tell you how we'll deal with that in a second. Now, as I start going through these names, my thinking is that because Roman Reigns is your champion on Smackdown and he is a confirmed villain, you're going to want a roster that is fairly good guy heavy. You're going to want a babyface heavy roster so that post-draft US fans can have conversations about who is going to be the next person to challenge Roman Reigns at the same time. You want Raw to have a fairly heel heavy roster so that as fans can discuss who is going to be the next one and the next one and the next one to challenge Big E for the WWE Championship. With all that said, I have happy Corbin, who I think has been on fire on Smackdown. He's bringing some of that fire over to Raw. I think when you look at raw, raw needs a complete refresh. That's the other thing I'm looking at with Monday Night Raw, especially Smackdown, can continue to be the Roman Reigns show. I think that Smackdown has to be different, too, but Raw has been very good for the last two weeks in a row. And the reason that Raw has been very good is not just because Roman Reigns was on Raw last Monday. But the reason that Raw has been very good is because it's been different is because Big E being thrust into the WWE Championship scene is a brand new fresh face that we didn't necessarily know was coming, which, as I've said before, is the whole purpose of the money in the bank briefcase. And and when it works, really gets people's attention and biggie works. I think big checks all of those boxes. So with that in mind, you don't want to do too much on Smackdown to disrupt the Roman Reigns show, although you can bring in some new opponents on Raw. You kind of want an entire facelift. And I think I've figured out how to get an entire facelift going on raw. So as I said, happy Corbyn is going to bring all that energy over. And the other thing to consider, importantly, is the Brock Lesnar. Even though he's drafted to Raw, he's going to be on raw even close to every week. You know, he's not an active member of the raw roster by any stretch of the imagination. It's just interesting that he's not allowed on Smackdown. Happy Corbin is really the first Smackdown superstar that we know from Fridays that is going to be bringing that over to Mondays and going with him is going to be Sami Zayn. Sami Zayn going over to Monday Night Raw and I have a position in mind for Sami Zayn as well. Seth Rollins, to me, should stay on Smackdown. And the reason for that is that you need at the moment. A villain that is under Roman Reigns, you need somebody that is that second tier villain. The other reason is that eventually we get to this place where maybe Roman and Rollins team together, and maybe eventually Rollins turns babyface because I do believe that at some point a Seth Rollins Roman Reigns match needs to happen. So I'd like to keep them close. I'd like to keep them both in the villain column for now, and eventually they'll be there for each other. Drew McIntyre also goes over to Smackdown. So now on Smackdown. On the villains side, you've got Roman, The Usos and Seth Rollins, and on the heroes side you've got Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton and Riddle, and you can look at this any way you want to for Riddle. You got you can you're going to see the riddle and Seth Rollins coexisting on the same roster. Maybe we'll finally get that riddle. Seth Rollins match. You're going to see Riddle, who's had comments to make about Roman Reigns. Obviously, the first rivalry is going to be The Usos and Rey, and I'm sorry, R.K. bro. To find out who the true tag team champions are, there's a lot to be done there. Then on Smackdown, big move comes Montez. Ford gets drafted solo. It's time to find out if Montez Ford can do what he did on Friday and be that main event solo act. And I think in order to do that, you got to cut Dawkins loose. And I don't mean cut Angelo Dawkins off the WWE roster. I just mean, get him away from Montez Ford. Maybe you bring him down to next. Maybe do something else. But I would not draft Angelo Dawkins. I would repackage and figure out where to go with him, because the priority for me would be to get Montez Ford to a place where he can be. That next main event level star because good guy star, because that's what we're doing here. Over on the Smackdown, I mean, over on the Monday Night Raw side, Lashley is going to stay on Monday Night Raw because eventually he'll get that opportunity a big e. But there's going to be plenty of people for Lashley to want to face A.J. styles and almost get drafted as a pair, and they stay on Monday Night Raw. And then the big one, let's get into some of these women. Becky Lynch goes over to Monday night right now as this portion of the podcast is being recorded. I have not yet watched extreme rules. What I would like to see happen is Becky Lynch beats Bianca Belair at Extreme Rules. Maybe not under the fairest of circumstances, but she's going to take that Smackdown Women's Championship over to Monday Night Raw, and we're going to pull the old switcheroo and have Charlotte bring the Raw Women's Championship over to Smackdown. Now, Bianca Belair is going to stay on Smackdown. And Charlotte is going to be the hurdle for Bianca Belair to have to get over. I see. Bianca Belair being the Smackdown women's champion, but we do the old switcheroo like we've done with the Tag Championship in the past where we take Charlotte. Who beats Alexa bliss, I suppose, at Extreme Rules? She's the raw women's champion, she now becomes the Smackdown Women's Champion. Becky Lynch is now the raw women's champion. Eventually, maybe at WrestleMania, we finally get back to Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch because eventually Bianca Belair will get that victory over Becky. But we're going to separate them for the time being and have Becky be the big star on Monday Night Raw. And I say that for a couple of reasons. Number one. Roman Reigns number two are bro. The fact that you're taking so many big acts from raw and putting them on Smackdown, you got to give raw some juice. Becky Lynch is that juice now at the same time? We're going to see some, some new faces show up. I'm also, by the way, since Smackdown is losing Becky. Not only do they now receive Charlotte, but the announcement gets made that Sasha Banks is coming back to Smackdown. So Sasha Banks stays on Smackdown, so you don't got Charlotte, Bianca and Sasha Banks all on Smackdown, Becky on Raw. We'll get to what the rest of the raw women's roster is going to look like, but first, the announcement gets made. We're going to try again. We're going to go all the way. Keith Lee is coming to Monday Night Raw. He's coming back. It's going to be a different Keith Lee. It's going to be an aggressive Keith Lee. It's going to be a villain as Keith Lee, a bad guy. Keith Lee comes back to Monday Night Raw with again his eye on the prize. Coming off of this draft, it needs to be made clear to Big E that the story of the toughest part about being champion is staying champion has never been more true. Coming off of this draft, it's the whole world wants a piece of Big E and we've just got matches upon matches upon matches. So Keith Lee, while he has been on raw, becomes a fresh face because it's a new Keith Lee. It's a it's a it's a bad guy, aggressive, non fan favorite Keith Lee. And then we have real fresh faces. See? I want Austin Theory back on Monday Night Raw again as a new Fresh Austin theory, and I don't even think he gets acknowledged that he was a part of Raw during the Performance Center pandemic era. I think Austin Theory gets completely reintroduced as if he was never on raw as Austin Theory. But as I've stated on the past on the podcast, the true value of Austin Theory is the fact that he looks like he does. He comes across like a superstar. But he also has that entertainment factor, and that entertainment factor to me has not come out anywhere close to as big as it has with the way. So I am bringing Johnny Gargano, Austin Theory and Indi Hartwell all over to Monday Night Raw. The entire group goes to Raw as a unit unless you want to do, you know, Johnny Gargano goes with Austin Theory to Raw. And then they also draft Indi Hartwell because Indi Hartwell doesn't need to stick around. The way doesn't need to stick together, but I think that Johnny Gargano has also really shown how much he can do with a microphone and how entertaining he can be lately on an. I think that Johnny Gargano would be great in an MVP type role guiding Austin Theory. And eventually. Austin Theory gets to turn babyface on Johnny Gargano, beat Johnny Gargano and move forward. But Johnny Gargano here is being drafted to Raw really as a device as the pedestal to put Austin Theory on. And because I think the way could be a really successful, entertaining group on Raw and could lead to Austin Theory becoming a big, big star. Speaking of fresh faces, you're probably wondering Dexter Lumis last we saw he was married to Indi Hartwell. He also leaves next that story as a bow on it. It's perfect timing for both of them to leave next. Dexter Lumis comes to Smackdown. Dexter Lumis is not on Raw. Dexter Lumis is on Smackdown and it's kind of a sink or swim thing. Let's see if Dexter Lumis works on the main roster. I think Dexter Lumis has been hit and miss. I think when next he was a little bit more serious. Dexter Lumis wasn't really working for me when it was more character based. Dexter Lumis was, I thought, the next Lumis wedding was terrific. I thought all the vignettes with Dexter Lumis were great. You know, I think Dexter Lumis can be an entertaining act, so let's see if it works for bringing to Smackdown and we bring him over there as a babyface. That's that's what's important to me. I don't think in 2021, Dexter Lumis works as a scary villain, but as a babyface, that's kind of a take off on that scary villain. Just kind of a weird guy that likes to draw pictures. Yeah, I think that that can work. So let's try it. And we put him on Smackdown. Also coming to Smackdown, the next women's champion, Raquel Gonzalez, she comes over with the next women's championship. She floats back and forth for a couple of weeks, either. You know what? She doesn't flow back and forth for a couple of weeks. You know what she does. She comes to Friday Night Smackdown as the next women's champion, and then the following Tuesday, she's on next. And she puts down the next women's championship. It leads to an next women's tournament happening on next, which allows us to not only free up Raquel Gonzalez from being the next women's champion, but showcase eight new and exciting women and really present what that division looks like under the 2.0 banner. So I have recall showing up with the title and then coming to next and and dropping it, and then you want to talk about a fresh face and this is kind of. I don't this is my pick. Again, these are not predictions. This is just what I would do. This is what I would campaign for. If I were in the writers room, I would bring Andre Chase over to Smackdown. I would bring Andre Chase over to. I think he's in the couple of moments that he's had on next. I think he is a really entertaining dude. And I think that he would end up being more of a manager type. And I've got an act in mind that he would talk up. Andre James reminds me a lot of some of the really great stuff that Drew Gulak was doing in like 205 Live when he was doing the no fly zone. But I think Andre Chase, in terms of being behind a microphone, is ready to be on the main roster now. And I think he get some big guys with him. You've got a potentially very entertaining act, and I'll tell you who those big guys are. Once we get there in a little bit back over to Monday Night Raw, Karrion Kross is going to stay on Monday Night Raw in the gimmick that he's in now. But I have an idea for Karrion Kross and let's just pull the trigger a couple of more fresh faces. Again, I don't know what the deal is, what travel is, what anything, but this is my draft and this is what I'm campaigning for. The graphic comes up Monday night. Walter is coming to Monday Night Raw. Let's just do it. We got the guy under contract. Mattel's already making Walter toys. Walter comes to Monday Night Raw, and in my mind, Walter at least starts. Probably is a good guy. I think he's going to get cheered. You know, I think you've got enough big bad guys. Walter starts as a good guy. And I think there's plenty of guys for him to be paired up with, I don't want to give too many spoilers, but like, for instance, we could start with a he or Keith Lee vs. a babyface Walter. That's a thing that could happen in a WWE ring and done in a WWE style that I think could still be incredible. So Walter comes over to Raw and then also drafted to Monday Night Raw is Dakota Kai. It's time, I think, for Dakota Kai, and I think that she's at a spot right now where she's ready. I think it would be really, really good. Shotzi and NOx are staying on Smackdown, and Kevin Owens is staying on Smackdown. Kevin Owens I got some ideas for, but Kevin Owens is going to turn heel very, very quickly. Kevin Owens is not wanted because he's already had is. He's already been a challenger to Roman Reigns, and I think at this point in his career, it's time for Kevin Owens to be a heel again. So I'll tell you what kind of story I've got in mind for Kevin Owens after we finish going down this roster. If Oscar gets drafted, she stays on raw, but I don't I don't know that she'll be drafted. Tamina and Natalia are moving over to Monday Night Raw as a tag team. Damian Priest is staying on Monday Night Raw, and Jinder and his crew are all staying on Monday Night Raw, moving over to Smackdown. Alexa Bliss moves over to Smackdown, so even if she does win the women's championship from Charlotte by now, if you're listening to this, you already know if she did or not. But Alexa Bliss is moving over to Smackdown in my mind. I love the idea of Alexa Bliss and Raquel Gonzalez. Alexa bliss, by the way, she's bringing Alexa bliss, by the way. She's bringing all her dolls with her. Charlie's coming to Charlotte on Raw. I mean, Smackdown now I guess Lily's coming. And maybe Rachel for Raquel. And maybe she's got the Rachel from Friends doll haircut, I don't know. But Alexa Bliss comes over to Smackdown and as a tag team again establishing those tag teams. Angel Garza and Berto Carrillo, Smackdown, Angel Garza, Humberto Carrillo are drafted over to Smackdown on the raw side. You've got Shayna Baszler staying over there. You get The Miz staying on Raw as much as I think The Miz could use a refresh. And while I do think he could be an asset on Smackdown, I feel like eventually you could get to The Miz vs. Big E. I just, you know. I'd be fine if he was on Smackdown, but I'm keeping him on raw, I'm also keeping Nikki and Rhea Ripley on Raw as a tag team, although since the champions, there will be on both shows anyway. But as a team, they're on raw. John Morrison, Jeff Hardy both stay on raw boobs and Nakamura drafted as a pair stay on Smackdown for the Intercontinental title, the United States Championships, both staying on their respective shows. Dewdrop is getting moved over to Smackdown. I think the Dewdrop story has run its course and then run over its course and then run over its course again. You need a fresh coat of paint on Dewdrop. Already, Dewdrop needs to be established as an independent talent outside of what she's done with even Marie, and I think getting her on Smackdown is the way to go for that. I'm also moving Mansoor and Mustafa Ali over to Smackdown, and there's plenty you could do with them. They could be good guys, they could be bad guys. But I think having a nice, strong tag team base over on Smackdown would not be a bad thing. Ali Mansoor, I also think, would be able to maybe stand out a little bit more on Smackdown than they are on Monday Night Raw. The Viking Raiders are staying on, uh, on on Monday Night Raw and Apollo and the Great Commander are moving over to Monday Night Raw. So Apollo Crews and the whole act that he's been doing now as a as a duo moving over to Monday Night Raw, the 24-7 folks, as I wrote down here, they all get drafted together. Reggie in the seven crew stay on Monday Night Raw. Believe it or not, I've got mace and T-Bar. Moving over to smack them, Mace and T-Bar moving over to Smackdown and I have something in mind for them. I'll tell you what it is. Carmella and Zelina as a tag team again, given that women's tag team division Strong Carmella and Zelina as a tag team are on Monday Night Raw now says Zorro gets moved over to Monday Night Raw. Naomi gets moved over to Monday Night Raw and then for the last three big ones. Finn Balor stays on Smackdown. Seamus. Moved over to Smackdown, I love the idea of shame is being moved over to Smackdown. Shami's, by the way, is going to come over to Smackdown is a good guy, so you could have a Sheamus Kevin Owens rivalry. You could eventually get to Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns. And I think that that's a that's a match that people could be interested in for a Pay-Per-View one off. And then finally, my last draft pick and I might be like, Cedric Alexander is not on, You're here, Shelton Benjamin is not on here. There are a few that aren't on here, but Dominik Mysterio is my last draft pick, and the Dominik Mysterio pick is interesting because to me, Dominik Mysterio gets drafted by himself. It's not the Mysterio's getting drafted, it's just Dominik Mysterio. And then to keep the storyline going, rages follows him. Rey is not drafted anywhere. Rey's not drafted to Monday Night Raw, but he makes a deal with Adam Pearce. He says, Well, Dominic's over there, so he's going to follow Dominick over to Raw and just drive him absolutely insane. So that's what my rosters look like, Smackdown in no particular order. Roman Reigns, The Usos are bro Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Montez Ford, Charlotte Bianca, Sasha Banks, Raquel Gonzalez, Dexter Lumis, Andre Chase, Shotzi INOX, Kevin Owens, Alexa Bliss, Angel Garza, Umberto Carrillo, Bugs and Nakamura Dewdrop Ali and Mansoor Mason, T-Bar, Finn Balor and Sheamus. And On Raw. Big E Brock Lesnar, New Day. Happy Corbin, Sami, Zayn, AJ and almost Becky Lynch, Keith Lee The Way Walter, Karrion Kross, Dakota, Kai, Tamina and Natalia, Asuka Lashley, Damian Priest, Jinder Mahal and the Whole Gang. Shayna Baszler, The Miz, Nikki and Rhea, John Morrison, Jeff Hardy, The Viking Raiders, Apollo Crews, The 24 seven Division Carmela and Zelina Cicero, Dominik Mysterio and Naomi. Nia Jax also not on the list, but she just went out with an injury. So did Drafter, I don't think would make a whole lot of sense. So some of my thinking, as I said, you know, keeping the tags strong heels heavy on raw baby faces, heavy on Smackdown. So what I'm thinking basically is a few things. First of all, Kevin Owens turning heel. He's going to immediately go after Nakamura and Kevin Owens is going to be portrayed as a strong, strong heel. And Kevin Owens is going to win the Intercontinental Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura. Oh, yeah. Let me get so Kevin Owens is going to win the Intercontinental Championship from Shinsegae Nakamura, so Kevin Owens is going to be the Smackdown Intercontinental Champion. This is going to lead into a rivalry with Finn Balor. Now this rivalry will take us maybe in the December pay per view and then finalize at the Royal Rumble. There have been rumors about Kevin Owens contract that are already on the internet that he may not even make it to the Royal Rumble if he's not signed. Get him to sign an extension, just get him to stick around unless there's a January paper. That's not the Royal Rumble. I don't know. I don't know what's going on, but get him to stick around in time to do this. One last blow off match. Because to me, I think you got to start leaning into this contract stuff, you got to start leaning into this idea that people know what's going on and in specific cases, use it to build matches. I don't think we see the demon after extreme rules again until at least January. Because the even though, like you've told this story, this lifelong rivalry between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens over and over and over again, and we've seen that and I can see it 100 more times, I'm not complaining about that, but the story that I would like to see is this idea that Kevin Owens. Maybe going away and we don't talk about the fact that Kevin Owens may be going away, but people know that Kevin Owens may be going away. The perfect rivalry to me. To see Kevin Owens off is Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor. The rivalry that really, as far as the men's division goes, really made and you look at the show that made an impact and it was Takeover Brooklyn one. You look at Sasha Banks and Bayley, and then you look at the ladder match between Kevin Owens and Finn Balor. Kevin Owens and Finn Balor was the big world title rivalry that really made next. It was the first giant thing that Finn Balor and Kevin Owens had in the WWE, in my opinion. I think that. At the Royal Rumble or whatever the January pay per view is. You do. Kevin Owens vs. the Deacons, maybe do. Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor in December, Kevin Owens cheats. He beats Finn Balor. Finn Balor says he wants another shot. Kevin Owens won't give it to him. Kevin Owens says, All right, here's why I'm not going to give it to you because I know you're going to bring out the demon. I know you were. I know what you're going to do. You're going to bring the demon out. So here's here's what I'll do. I'll give you another title shot, you put your career on the line. And Finn Balor responds, I'll take you up on that. But I want you to put your title and your career on the line. So we've now got an intercontinental championship. Career ending match, and I think if done properly, this can be. Warrior Macho Level Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens in a career ending match, maybe we leaked some rumors about Finn Balor wanted to take some time off. Maybe, maybe we get that out on the internet. We know that Kevin Owens contract is coming to an end, and even if you resign him, you keep it so hush hush. The people assume he's going away and you do a career ending match. You do the demon vs. Kevin Owens Intercontinental Championship career ending match and the demon wins. Finn Balor becomes the Intercontinental Championship, and Kevin Owens either goes away in storyline and comes back in a few months. Or he goes over to commentary for a while, or he shoot, goes away and goes over to A.W. You know, I don't think that's the worse thing to shy away from. I think that sometimes it can be a good thing. I think Kevin Owens leaving and then getting hot outside WWE and coming back could be great for Kevin Owens. I think Kevin Owens leaving and just having people miss him and then coming back could be great for Kevin Owens. I think it'd be great for everybody. But I have Kevin Owens and Kevin Owens winning the Intercontinental Championship from Nakamura and then at the beginning of 2022, losing that title to the demon in a career ending match. I have as far as the Tag Team Championship goes, I have The Usos vs. R.K. Broke a survivor series is still going to be champion vs. champion, assuming titles don't get changed at Crown Jewel and didn't get changed last night. You've got Roman vs. Big E ! You've got maybe Charlotte vs. Becky, but that could have changed. But you've got your tag team championship most importantly. Usos vs. R.K. Bro. Now that match still happens, but instead of just being champions vs. champions, it now becomes this is the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match that one team leaves. The losing team leaves behind their title and the winning team gets to be called the tag team champions of the brand that they're on. So what becomes of the Raw Tag Team Championship? Well, at Survivor Series, the same way you're having Usos vs. Arcade Bro, you do a raw tag team eliminator match eight teams. Elimination, one member of a team gets pinned, the whole team's eliminated, but it's the new day vs. St, I've got to get to that. The New Day vs. the way Johnny Gargano and and, uh, Austin Theory vs. Jinder and one of his guys vs. the Viking Raiders vs. AJ and almost vs. Team Apollo vs. the mysterious Rey and Dominick and then the Athie. And then the winner obviously becomes the raw tag team champions the eighth team. Is the reason. Dad, I've got Sami Zayn going over to Monday Night Raw and our Monday Night Raw. I have Sami Zayn. Being the second to carrying cross, I have Sami Zayn doing crisis promos. I have Sami Zayn coming out with Karrion Kross to the ring. I have Sami Zayn as, I mean, almost the advocate for Karrion Kross. Do you understand? Not only because everything Sammy touches is gold, but also the amount of heel heat that it'll even be able to get from the smartest of sparks when they realize that they traded in scarlet for Sami Zayn. It's beautiful. It's perfect. I love the idea of Sami Zayn coming in and taking Karrion Kross under his wing. And while, yes, they will participate in this tag team match, generally they won't be a tag team. Sami Zayn will be there to guide the career of Karrion Kross and they will start going after Damian Priest. So the program that you're looking at is Karrion Kross, with Sami Zayn in his corner, going after Damian Priest again, freshness, fresh coat of paint on everything. New faces, new characters. New everything. Um, I have Lashley not going after Big E ! But the Mysterio's going after Lashley, Rey telling Dominic, You've got to make it, you got to, you got to make a stand, you've got to make a moment. And then maybe. I mean, I really want there to be a rivalry between Rey and Dominick. I would love to see Rey turn on Dominick instead of vice versa, although I think that for the betterment of Dominic's long term, it might be better if he turned heel was really good at that and then turned back to being a babyface that might make people like him more. But even if that doesn't happen, I still like the idea of Ray pushing Dominic into matches with Bobby Lashley when he is not ready for Bobby Lashley. I'm trying to think if there's anything else I didn't, because like with Big E, you could easily come off of, you've now got this, these are the opponents that you've got for Big E coming off of the draft. Happy Corbin. AJ Styles, Omos, Keith Lee. I mean, Austin Theory, eventually, Walter, it'd be babyface vs. babyface, but Walter, Karrion Kross. Lashley, Jinder, The Miz. Apollo Crews eventually maybe says at some point. Maybe a mysterious. You got a lot lined up for him without even telling stories to get other people into the positions that they need to be in. And then on the other side, with Roman Reigns, you've got riddle. You've got Randy Orton. Eventually, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Montez Ford. You're doing Finn Balor right now, but there's a lot there, oh, and Seamus and Seamus. And the reason that I have Andre Chase going over to Smackdown is Andre Chase starts by himself, just cutting promos and stuff like that and how you know. And somebody beats him up or, you know, people don't take him seriously. Andre Chase becomes the mouthpiece for Mason T-Bar. Mazin TIV are the muscle of Andre. No more corny 80s promos for Mason T-Bar. They can keep their gimmicks. They can keep their pain. You don't have to change him at all. It'd be such a weird act to have, like hilarious Andre Chase out there taking himself super seriously and having these Mad Max weirdos as his muscle. I think it'd be great. You know, he's coming out there and people actually have to listen to him because now, you know, Mason T-Bar can really beat some people up. I love it. You know, maybe maybe he started Montez Ford, maybe just four doesn't go right for Rome, and he starts in a kind of singles thing with Andre Chase, and he's got to get through Mason T-Bar. Maybe that's a thing for bugs and not to deal with after they get done with a. Kevin Owens. You know, there's a lot to get done, maybe Dexter Lumis, who knows, who knows so much to do. But that's basically. Where I see Raw and Smackdown. If it were up to me, I think. After the draft. That's probably the way that I would get it done. Send that along, make sure the powers that be at WWE see it. I think it's money. If you want to watch my whole process, if you want to, I mean, I don't know, you already listen to it, but if you want to see me say it, I'm posting a video. It's like 40 minutes long of the entire draft process over at YouTube.com/ not Sam wrestling, so you could check out that segment in video form. Don't forget, subscribe to it. YouTube.com slash not Sam wrestling while you're doing things that are free on the internet, go over to iTunes. Leave a five star rating and a review for this podcast. I very much appreciate it and make sure that if you're interested in more content, if you're interested in video, if you're interested in jumping on Zoom calls before pay per views, watching recordings live from the not same studio become a not SAM show and do it over at Patrick Incom Slash, not Sam wrestling. We'll see you next week. Have a good one ! Thanks for listening. Follow at Not Sam on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, read review and subscribe. 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