SmackDown Wins 2023 WWE Draft, Stop Protecting Solo Sikoa, More Raw Takes

The WWE draft has now concluded, and both Raw and SmackDown have finalized their rosters following the May 1 edition of the red brand.

It was a wild episode with highs and lows that will define the next year of WWE. Some big names moved to Raw, including Rhea Ripley and Seth Rollins, to join Cody Rhodes and Becky Lynch who were drafted on Friday.

Many big names were drafted from NXT as well, such as Indi Hartwell, JD McDonagh, Zoey Stark, Pretty Deadly, Cameron Grimes and Grayson Waller.

In perhaps his last night on the red brand for a long time, Solo Sikoa main-evented against Rollins. Unfortunately, it was an unspectacular end with another disqualification finish.

Dominik Mysterio continues to garner major heat as a part of Raw, but that can pass. So, WWE must find a way to capitalize on it.

Raw will never look like this again as the roster changes will solidify after Backlash on Saturday. Monday was an important show to begin setting a new foundation.

Final Results of the WWE Draft

Raw, Night 2

Round 1: Raw - SmackDown women's champion Rhea Ripley; SmackDown - United States champion Austin Theory; Raw - Seth Rollins; SmackDown - Charlotte Flair.

Round 2: Raw - Undisputed WWE tag team champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens; SmackDown - The Usos; Raw - Finn Bálor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio (The Judgment Day); SmackDown - Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde and Zelina Vega (LWO).

Round 3: Raw - WWE women's tag team champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez; SmackDown - Asuka; Raw - Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston (The New Day); SmackDown - Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland (The Brawling Brutes).

Round 4: Raw - Trish Stratus; SmackDown - Karrion Kross and Scarlett; Raw - Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler; SmackDown - LA Knight.

Round 5: Raw - Braun Strowman and Ricochet; SmackDown - Shotzi; Raw - Bronson Reed; SmackDown - Pretty Deadly.

Round 6: Raw - Otis and Chad Gable (Alpha Academy); SmackDown - Rick Boogs; Raw - Katana Chance and Kayden Carter; SmackDown - Cameron Grimes.

Raw Talk

Raw - Dana Brooke; Nikki Cross; Johnny Gargano; Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza (Los Lotharios); Akira Tozawa; Piper Niven; Xia Li; Tegan Nox; Emma; Riddick Moss; Jinder Mahal, Sanga, Veer (Indus Sher); Odyssey Jones; SmackDown - Tamina; SmackDown - Grayson Waller.

Free Agents: Baron Corbin, Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, Elias and Xyon Quinn.

SmackDown, Night 1

Round 1: SmackDown - Undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman (The Bloodline); Raw - Cody Rhodes; SmackDown - Raw women's champion Bianca Belair; Raw - Becky Lynch.

Round 2: SmackDown - Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins (The Street Profits); Raw - intercontinental champion Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci (Imperium); SmackDown - Edge; Raw - Matt Riddle.

Round 3: SmackDown - Bobby Lashley; Raw - Drew McIntyre; SmackDown - AJ Styles, Michin, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (The O.C.); Raw - The Miz.

Round 4: SmackDown - Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky (Damage CTRL); Raw - Shinsuke Nakamura; SmackDown - NXT women's tag team champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn; Raw - NXT women's champion Indi Hartwell.

SmackDown LowDown

Raw - Erik, Ivar, Valhalla (Viking Raiders); Dexter Lumis; Candice LeRae; ma.çé, mån.sôör and Maxxine Dupri (Maximum Male Models); Zoey Stark; JD McDonagh; Apollo Crews; Natalya; Sonya Deville, Chelsea Green; SmackDown - Top Dolla, Ashante "Thee" Adonis & B-Fab (Hit Row); Lacey Evans.

Free Agents - Omos, Mustafa Ali, Dolph Ziggler, Von Wagner.

*Rosters take effect after Backlash on Saturday.

SmackDown Wins the 2023 WWE Draft

At the end of the day, both brands have a ton of talent because WWE has so many great wrestlers. However, while Raw drafted more talent to fill three hours, SmackDown has the stronger roster.

Roman Reigns may not be a constant presence on the blue brand, but the rest of The Bloodline will be. SmackDown has also added Bobby Lashley, Edge, AJ Styles and the underused but popular LWO.

On the women's side, the blue brand will highlight the dominant Bianca Belair alongside two all-time greats, Charlotte Flair and Asuka. Damage CTRL may break up, but Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky will all be players on Friday nights.

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are the faces of Raw, but they have not been treated as top guys for a while. Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are all potential big stars but have come off as secondary to The Bloodline on SmackDown.

Rhea Ripley will guide The Judgment Day and dominate the Raw women's division, and she will need to work to build her rivals up. Outside of Becky Lynch, her biggest rivals are not clear title contenders any time soon.

The Monday night roster needs to escape the shadow of the big names that are headed to SmackDown. The talent is good enough to rise, but it will require stronger booking across the board.

Most Important Moves of Draft Were NXT Call-Ups

While the main roster is talented, the WWE draft needed to add fresh elements. That came from NXT.

For too long, WWE seemed reluctant to bringing up names from its developmental brand. Finally, though, several young stars will now challenge top Superstars and hope to build a new legacy.

Indi Hartwell and Zoey Stark bring fresh faces to Raw who could be in title contention soon. With Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, the two female tag teams in NXT were called up to hopefully revitalize the main roster's tag division.

Pretty Deadly will contend with the best tag teams right away. Grayson Waller and JD McDonagh may have been drafted off the air but could be huge players in WWE's future.

Look out for wrestlers such as Xyon Quinn, Odyssey Jones and Von Wagner. They did not have great NXT runs but could be revitalized with a fresh creative team behind them.

It was a surprising draft because of how many NXT wrestlers were selected, even while top teams were left behind. Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade will remain key players in NXT, allowing the longer-tenured veterans a chance to shine.

Dom Mysterio Has Become WWE's Biggest Heel

Nothing defines a heel in wrestling better than the reaction they receive from the fans. While Roman Reigns is the biggest star in WWE, no one is more universally hated than Dominik Mysterio.

The WWE Universe may have some begrudging respect for how much The Ex-Con has grown, but that does not stop them from booing him at all times due to his hilarious arrogance.

After the draft, he and Rey Mysterio will be on separate brands again, so there is a chance the 26-year-old could lose some of that heat over time.

The best option is to capitalize on his heat right now. On Raw, he is unlikely to beat Gunther for the intercontinental title, but he could be a sneaky World Heavyweight Championship contender.

He should also continue to help protect Rhea Ripley as women's champion. That way, he is constantly in an important position on Raw.

Stop Protecting Solo Sikoa in Big Matches

Solo Sikoa has been a breakout star over the past year, but there is a key problem with his booking: WWE is too focused on protecting him while putting him in big matches.

Every time he fights a top name, such as Seth Rollins this week, it is highly likely the contest will end in a disqualification.

This week's main event should have been a big bout. Instead, it was rushed to a predictable finish.

Sikoa is a dominant force who can genuinely threaten Roman Reigns in time. However, he does not need to be invincible to remain dominant. He lost to Cody Rhodes and could have lost to Rollins.

It would be interesting to see how he handles adversity. If it is not a foregone conclusion that he will win, his victories will mean more and may push The One Problem to open up.

As a result, Sikoa can show his personality while adding new depth to The Bloodline story.