Hey there!
This is the night that will change the foundation of WWE with this year’s draft. Alliances may be divided, new groups will be formed, lines between RAW and SmackDown will be crossed and some might be pleased or disappointed with the results. We shall see how this goes. This will be a two-night event, so enjoy.
If anyone remembers, not me of course, Triple H was part of 2004 Draft where he was meant to be on SmackDown only to not show up, which concluded in him being part of RAW instead. Cole mentions that to be the most memorable moment of a Draft season.
Before we get started since Triple H is a stickler for rules, he goes over them. 50 per cent of the roster will be drafted tonight while the rest will be next Monday. People from NXT also have the opportunity to be here too. The possibility of a wrestler ending up in another brand is imminent, so get your tissue boxes ready because there will be tears. Immediate action will take place after Backlash on May 8th.
Overall, here’s who was drafted tonight before I go over all the individual picks.
Round One: The Bloodline counted as one unit, Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa stay with SmackDown. The Heavyweight Champion will be exclusive on RAW.
Next we have Cody Rhodes. He’s been drafted to RAW.
Yess!! Yesss! I was soo happy to see that Bianca Belair has been drafted to SmackDown. Yes, girl. Come on over. She even sends us a video from Belfast, Northern Ireland being glad she can represent SmackDown again.
Following this, Becky Lynch gets to stay on RAW. Wade Barrett was hoping to get Lynch over here, but I’m fine with this choice.
This concludes our fist round at the draft as Triple H mentions that tonight’s main event is the WrestleMania rematch between the Usos and current champs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
Roman is being so Godforsaken petty for not texting the Usos back since their lost weeks back. But the twins still think they have to do this for him, to make Reigns happy. Part of their own person has vanished the moment Jey and Jimmy started doing things that benefit Roman and condemn them.
As if I’m getting whiplashed, KO and Sami suddenly arrive a second after they were called “the twos” by the twins. Even with the gold on their shoulders, the Usos still categorizes them as secondary. Despite all that, Zayn thinks, just like everyone else, that it’s strange that the twins are dedicating their rematch to Roman even though he hasn’t contacted them and the draft was done without the mere mention of the twins. Ask yourselves why.
The Usos remind Sami that Kevin will abandon him like he did before, yet it’s quickly cut off by Owens’ outburst guaranteeing he and Zayn will be leaving as champs.
Butch vs. LA Knight
This match didn’t come out of nowhere given the confrontation last week where LA Knight said that if The Brawling Brutes broke up, who would feed Butch. Yikes… Ha!
The bell rings, and Butch thought he had the element of surprise when he approached Knight only to be kicked in the midsection and placed into a headlock.
Butch retaliates with his usual, but painfully joint manipulation of Knight’s fingers as he stomps on his arm soon after. Oof, you can hear the sound of cracks in motion. He also pays homage to Sheamus with the Ten Beats of the Bodhran done rabidly.
LA Knight manages to leave Butch ricocheting against the middle rope then plants him spine first against the apron.
Butch climbs back in this match after his stomps on Knight’s hand then whacks him with a harsh kick to the side of his head for a failed cover.
LA Knight leaps to the top rope then delivers a huge superplex to Butch given he has “animal magnetism” according to Barrett. Ha!
Knight was about to perform the BFT that looks a bit like the KOD by Bianca Belair, Butch dodges, yet he meets with a boot instead. He also collides with the post.
Because of that, Butch is completely winded. Knight takes advantage of that by standing his opponent on the top of his head causing blunt force trauma, awarding him the victory.
Winner: LA Knight
Backstage with the Usos, Heyman and Sikoa, Jimmy reinsures his brother that they’ll win tonight. Paul, however, says that the world is distracted by the notion that the Usos might be drafted to RAW. So, he adds that when they win, the twins will be drafted to the Island of Relevancy… as if they weren’t there already. Weird.
As Heyman says with such firmness that tonight is the night, he’s looking at Sikoa knowing what Roman meant by those words. Solo was wrapping his thumb up, getting ready to potentially Samoan Spike the twins if failure came to be. How nicely fake.
Here to do the second part of the draft are Hall of Famers Rob Van Dam and Michael Hayes.
Round Two: The Street Profits are coming to SmackDown everyone. Whoo!
Next up, RAW selects Imperium, the whole lot. I’m strangely conflicted about their departure, but at the same time, I’m not. Enjoy these men.
Following that, SmackDown selects the Rated R Superstar, Edge! Yay! He helped put the blue brand on the map 20 years ago, and he’ll keep doing just that. “Friday nights are now R rated!”
RAW selects Matt Riddle to stay with the red brand.
Prior to an upcoming Triple Threat match, The Street Profits reintroduce themselves to the blue brand’s crowd. “We want the smoke!”
The Street Profits vs. Ricochet & Braun Strowman vs. Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde of LWO – Triple Threat match
Michael Cole finds it surprising that Ricochet is still talking to Strowman after that miscalculation last week when Braun threw Rico thinking he was going to land on one the Viking Raiders, only for them to move, resulting in Rico crashing onto the mat. Ha! It was an accident, Cole.
Strowman, Montez and Joaquin start this match off as both men go after the big man, attempting to take him out early. Braun effortlessly pushes them off.
Everyone else finds themselves on the main floor. Braun tries to throw Ricochet again, yet he hesitates because of last time. Strowman insures him that he’ll be okay, and he was. He hit the mark this time.
Montez bops his head in sync to Ricochet punching Angelo in the abdomen before getting shoved away. Del Toro tries his hand at taking on Dawkins.
Del Toro missile drop kicks Angelo backwards on his ass then his backside. Ha! Ha! It was funny seeing him roll away like a human tumbleweed.
Ricochet collides with the top turnbuckle after Cruz avoids crashing into the corner. Wilde gets tagged, and he chooses to take out the Profits on the outside.
Del Toro, for some idiotic reason, punches Braun then focuses his attention on Rico. That angers Strowman to jump in the ring to break a near win for the LWO. Ford runs into a right hand by Strowman because he got too overconfident.
After Braun performs an impressive Strowman Express, Angelo deflates his celebration by flying. Ricochet flies too.
Rico looks to end this with a Shooting Star, he misses, Angelo tags Ford while Ricochet doesn’t notice as he delivers a knee to Dawkins’ face before he recovers with a spine buster just in time for a winning frog splash by Montez.
Winners: The Street Profits
As we continue with draft night, here to present the third part we have Hall of Famers JBL and Teddy Long.
Round Three: Ooh!! SmackDown selects The All Mighty Bobby Lashley.
Next up, RAW selects Drew McIntyre for the red brand. Sad to see you go elsewhere.
On the other hand, the blue brand selects The O.C., AJ Styles, Michin, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
Well, can’t say I’m that upset to see The Miz remain on RAW. He fits the red brand.
Zelina Vega vs. Sonya Deville
I’ve never been in this much awe in a while until Zelina walked out looking like a sparkly phoenix. My God. He hair is too gorgeous.
The match just started and already Vega meets the mat first face.
Zelina comes back momentarily by twisting Sonya’s arm around as the referee counts to four, and she lets go. Chelsea Green, who’s at ringside, starts mouthing off at Vega, which distracts her from Deville’s incoming boot.
During the majority of this fight, Deville is manhandling Zelina to the point where it seems like Vega is losing. Sonya is also pissed that Zelina has an opportunity at the SmackDown Women’s Championship, yet she already had too many chances. It’s Vega’s turn.
Barrett says that underdogs, like Vega, only win in anime like Demon Slayer. Ha! While Rey Mysterio is a needle in a hay stack, a one-off that tramples expectations that may not happen again.
Deville muscles Zelina up for an attempt at a vertical suplex, yet Vega manages to avoid it with a shocking roll up victory. We aren’t the only ones who saw that. Rhea Ripley delivers an abrupt kick to the back of Zelina’s head.
Sonya goes after Ripley and receives a headbutt. Ha! Why would you even try? She even scares Green away too before continuing her onslaught. Ripley looks for Riptide, Vega turns it around and performs a DDT on the temple of Rhea’s head. Payback!
Winner: Zelina Vega
Santos Escobar and Rey Mysterio are backstage congratulating Vega on her win over Deville. Rey gives her words of encouragement by telling her as long as she believes with her heart and her head that she can do it, no matter her height, she’ll lead Puerto Rico to a new age.
Meanwhile, the latest members of the blue brand, The O.C. are here. Just as AJ Styles was about to speak, The Viking Raiders descend on the scene.
Since The O.C. are four while the Raiders are three. Styles generously removes himself from the incoming brawl, so Mia Yim can confront Valhalla, Erik tackles Karl Anderson and Ivar takes on Luke Gallows. Once two out of three Raiders were dealt with, Anderson and Gallows team up to perform the Magic Killer move on Erik. Sending a clear message to the entire locker room.
But it wasn’t over yet. AJ leaps from the air with a Phenomenal Forearm against Ivar for good measure. Ha!
As we head to the ending of the night, here to present the final part of the draft, Hall of Famers and D-Generation members “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels and “Road Dogg” Jesse James. The way Dogg danced himself to the podium was hilarious. I love it.
Round Four: SmackDown selects, Damage Control, Iyo Sky, Bayley and Dakota Kai. While Cole says “Oh, no,”, Barrett laughs. My eyes rolled. Damn it. Sort of…
RAW selects Shinsuke Nakamura. I was like, noo! You take Shinsuke while we’re left with Damage Control? Argg.. BUT, he deserves greatness.
The blue brand finally selects NXT wrestlers such as Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, the NXT Women’s Champions. That brought tears to Shawn Michaels’ eyes. But we’re going to do it again when RAW selects…
NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell! She’s been very great as of late.
Although, Dawn and Fyre are ecstatic to be part of SmackDown, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance aren’t going to let them leave with those titles. So they challenge a Championship match this upcoming Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Shinsuke Nakamura is also excited to be heading to RAW, even though, SmackDown has been his home for a while. He was in the middle of talking when suddenly, Karrion Kross attacks him. Really?… Anyway, he’s had his eye on Nakamura for a couple of days now, so this didn’t surprise me.
Kross growling on top of Shinsuke’s collapsed body did. Just… why?
On the other side, the Usos prepare for their rematch against Sami and Kevin. Jey wanted Sikoa to come along, but Heyman says that Roman wants the spotlight on them because ‘Tonight is the night.” like he ominously said earlier. Would Sikoa plough through the twins just as easily like they’re nothing because Reigns said so? A question he needs to answer.
By the way, Triple H announced that the new Heavyweight Champion will be crowned at Night of Champions where wrestlers from both RAW and SmackDown will battle it out for the prize.
Wrestlers who were also eligible for the draft who haven’t heard their names tonight will continue tomorrow morning on SmackDown Lowdown on Peacock. Then on Monday, it’ll be night two of the draft event.
After the nonsense from earlier, Shinsuke Nakamura faces Karrion Kross on Friday. The O.C. will also have a brawl against The Viking Raiders next Friday. Plus, Bad Bunny will be here on SmackDown as well.
The Usos vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens (c) – WrestleMania Undisputed Tag Team Championship rematch
It feels off-putting hearing the Usos be the challengers because it’s been a while since they’ve been in that position. I grew used to them being champs, but that doesn’t mean I foolishly thought they would never lose at some point, just… not now.
The match hadn’t started and you can see the impatience in Kevin’s pacing. The same applies to the twins when they jumped the current champions when the bell hardly rang.
Roman Reigns is basically saying that if the Usos don’t win the championships back, he’ll kick their asses out. If they truly were family, he wouldn’t discard them because of a simple loss. Family support each other especially during those times. Why do think people have so many issues?
Michael Cole has a theory that the Usos didn’t get drafted with the rest of The Bloodline due to Reigns’ skills of manipulation to get Solo and Heyman glued to him while leaving the Usos for scrap as they attempt to regain his trust. Bullcrap! It’s selfishness, pure and simple. There’s no strategy to it.
Jimmy whams Sami into the post then helps his brother dismantle Owens.
Jey attempts a Super Kick, gets caught with a kick to the midsection that almost turned into a Stunner. Thankfully, Jey Jey reverses into a Super Kick.
Given that Sikoa battered Owens’ knee a couple of weeks ago, the twins know it to not be at hundred per cent, so they utilize it.
While Jimmy basked in the glory of gaining the upper hand, Owens manages to drive him into the post using his feet. He was desperate for a tag and makes it, to the defeat of Jey Jey who tried to catch him in time due to his foot getting caught on the middle rope.
Zayn comes in and ploughs Jey Jey down.
Sami sunset flips Jey from the top, yet he doesn’t get the retaining victory he wanted since his opponent kicks out.
Ha! Ha! Ha! I can’t stop laughing. If one of the cameramen filmed from a different angle, I would have seen Jey’s ass when Sami pulled him back by his pants. Ha! Ha! Ha! Thank God…
While Sami was at the top, getting ready to splash Jey I reckon, Jey Jey quickly realizes the situation, runs up to Zayn and delivers a Super Kick.
Owens Cannonballs Jimmy in the corner. And a Fishermen’s Buster too.
Elsewhere, Paul Heyman gets a call from Roman confirming that Solo move in with the side plan they placed in motion. Sikoa will incinerate the twins at the behest of The Tribal Chief.
Due to Jey Jey’s interference at pausing the game from losing in their favor, Sami slides back in and starts punching him in the head. Jey returns fire with a powerful Super Kick to the jaw of Zayn as he leaps from within the ring.
Jimmy shocks the fans and commentary when he kicks out of Owens’ Stunner. What brilliance!
The moment you hear the audience’s tone shift, you notice it’s due to Solo’s appearance at the entryway. As he marches his way to ringside, Matt Riddle doesn’t let him continue. He impedes him in time, sending him to the back.
Inside the ring, Jimmy and Jey team up to delivers harsh double Super Kicks to Kevin, who’s on his knees. There was barely anything left in Owens, but he still kicked out. Barely. I do think it’s because of the slight hesitation from the official that left a bit of space to breath.
The Usos are once again dismembering the current champs with their double Super Kicks. Yet Owens is still in this.
The twins were going for the OneD, but Sami drags Jey out and pushes him into the stairs while Owens delivers a Stunner and Sami sends a Helluva Kick to Jimmy for a retaining win.
I reckon that the Usos lost because they dedicated their match to a sour man, now, unfortunately, they think they’ll have to deal with the consequences. Consequences that aren’t right, nor deserved. Yet Roman mistakenly makes the Usos think that.
Solo finally managed to shake Riddle off as he watches the twins in contained disgust.
Winners: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
TOP PHOTO: Triple H hosting the draft. Courtesy of WWE
