WWE Draft 2011 Results: Will SmackDown Benefit or Suffer from the WWE Draft?

Hey Bleachers! In case you missed it, Raw ended up on top last night as per usual, with them eventually regaining John Cena—much to the IWC’s dismay. But with SmackDown gaining three superstars, where does this leave them in terms of potential storylines?

Will SmackDown suffer from not gaining John Cena? Or will it benefit by only gaining one main event superstar in Randy Orton? Only time will tell, of course, but I am here to give my two pennies worth on the whole situation.

Randy Orton, in my opinion, is the perfect compromise. In my article preceding the draft, I discussed how an influx of main event talent would destroy the up-and-coming stars of the show (you can read said article by clicking here)

By gaining Randy Orton, SmackDown has got what it wanted—a superstar that can draw (a crowd, not a picture). This is a move that is likely to garner an increase in viewers of the Friday night show, without being detrimental to the other superstars on the roster.

It is not likely that Orton will get a lot of time on the microphone, as he didn’t really get much on Raw. What he will be doing on SmackDown is wrestling longer matches, with superstars he wouldn’t have worked with otherwise—an obvious but essential point.  With Randy Orton being a huge Superstar already, he has the tools to mold another Superstar into what the main event requires.

I would personally like to see him feud with Wade Barrett. I know this wouldn’t be for the World Heavyweight Championship, which is what—let’s face it—Randy Orton has been drafted for, but I think these two could put on a great match. I’d rather watch that than Randy Orton versus Christian.

The other draft pick I also believe could be beneficial to SmackDown. The Mexican sensation Sin Cara pretty much replaced a flagging Mysterio—who was drafted to Raw. This is another winner for SmackDown in my opinion.

I believe that this mysterious superstar, who still has the WWE Universe and the IWC wondering what he will do next, is a great asset to SmackDown and will also help the ratings of the show. Granted, he isn’t a huge draw yet in the USA, but Mexican fans are mad for him. He was one of the biggest superstars in Mexico before joining the WWE.

This gives Sin Cara a brilliant opportunity to work on his in-ring skills (by this I mean become accustomed to the WWE style. I am aware that Sin Cara knows exactly how to work a match, etc.) and get over with the crowd. There are many mid-carders on the SmackDown roster with whom he could feud and they wouldn’t necessarily have to be squash matches for him to become popular.

This may also give him some PPV experience—especially if he decides to go for the Intercontinental title, or is shoved in a tag team and feuds with Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel. Either way, I believe SmackDown is a great platform for Sin Cara to start his career in the WWE.

Mark Henry was the final Superstar to be drafted to SmackDown and it looks like he may be vying for a little more airtime, after his heel turn on Raw. I’ll be interested to see where they take Mark Henry’s storyline and who he will feud with but there’s no doubt about it—he looked angry.

Mark Henry has been a victim of the creative writing staff for a long time and has never really had any direction in the WWE. Hopefully now, late in his career, he will finally get a chance to possibly main-event some pay-per-views—or if not, then at least get a lot more airtime than he did on Raw.

The stars that SmackDown lost is not really something it should be worried about. People weren’t into Del Rio, and the Big Show only got a minor pop as a face. I’m glad Rey Mysterio is gone, because I am more than sick of his underdog act, as you will definitely know if you have read my reviews.

So after a going into the draft with a cynical outlook on what it might do to my favorite WWE program, I have come out the other end with a refreshed opinion on the matter—and SmackDown has come out the other end with a refreshed roster.

I am really happy with the results of this draft and I see SmackDown only going up from here.

Please let me know if you agree with my views in the comments section. I do my best to reply to all comments.

Thanks for reading.

I will be back later with my weekly Raw review.

If you have a spare moment please see my other article regarding The Un-dashing One, Cody Rhodes. Click here to view the article.