WWE Rewind: Analyzing the Impact of the WWE Draft One Year Later

It was exactly one year ago today that the most recent WWE Draft took place. With the RAW brand becoming a SuperShow and one man being the general manager for both brands, it is unlikely that we will ever see another WWE Draft. The draft over the years has been good for giving certain superstars a new environment and, hopefully, an improved purpose in the company.

In the past, there have been world champions to flip shows, as well as mid-carders who were drafted and became a big part of the company a year later. Not every draft pick pans out, just like in any other draft. Some superstars ultimately get moved and end up being released anyway.

There were hits and misses a year ago and certain opinions were formed in the moment when superstars were swapped from one brand to another. Here is a look back at what happened a year ago and just how much has happened since that day.

John Cena Switches Brands, Then Switches Back

This sounded like a big deal at the beginning of the night. It also seemed like a waste of time after the night was over. There were only eight draft picks televised on RAW. Two of them had John Cena being given to the other brand. When all was said and done, Cena was flipped to one show with the first pick and went back to his original brand with the final pick.

This move showed the reaction of the crowd to the top superstar in the company moving from the live show to a pre-taped show. It also gave fans the first experience of someone being drafted twice and ending back at their original home. Many assumed that being drafted once meant that was about it for you that night.

It is ultimately a move that is criticized by fans who feel that two picks that could have changed people's fortunes were wasted in proving a point. If anyone is making that impact, it is Cena. It had to be a big star to make it seem like a big deal both times. It also needed to be a star that wasn't afraid of the backlash from flipping there and back. Cena satisfies that all. It was just another reason to either love or hate John Cena, a theme for the last year.

Rey Mysterio Goes to RAW

Rey Mysterio moved brands yet again, this time making it back to RAW. Mysterio had kind of hit a rut, forcing himself into constant altercations with Cody Rhodes and Alberto Del Rio. One of those men would follow him to RAW, but Mysterio rarely encountered him again.

What Mysterio did do was experience two things he has done before in his career: experience winning a world title and injure himself. Mysterio, even for one night, could say that he was WWE Champion this past year. He also had yet another injury derail him. It's hard to foresee when Rey Mysterio will ever return to the ring. There are only so many times that he can get injured and return to a competitive state.

Smackdown Grabs Randy Orton

One of the main reasons for the draft occurring was because of Edge's sudden retirement. It made the World Heavyweight Championship a vacant title and Smackdown a brand without a big babyface. John Cena seemed to be that answer, but would ultimately be returning to RAW. Instead, Randy Orton went to Smackdown and stayed there. It has enabled Orton to truly stick out from the pack. Orton immediately inserted himself into the main event picture and became a world champion once again. Smackdown became Orton's brand.

Orton was the face of a brand for the first time in his career. Even now that he has been removed from the world title picture directly, it is still Orton's brand. Orton seems to be waiting for Wade Barrett, who many feel will be involved in world title matches this year, to return from an injury. A pointless feud with Kane will keep Orton occupied until then.

Mark Henry Revived on Smackdown

This is the story of last year's draft. This pick seemed absolutely useless at the time, but became a huge deal that night. Mark Henry was featured in the main event and turned heel. He also was interviewed backstage about moving brands and was literally emotional about the move. Henry touches on his weight loss in the interview, where he says that he has worked hard to go from roughly 450 pounds to just under 400 pounds. Henry actually sheds tears and promises to become a world champion over the next year.

Well, Mark Henry accomplished just that. The World's Strongest Man opened up his Hall of Pain and began entering superstars into it left and right. At Night of Champions, Henry finally would become the World Heavyweight Champion. He would be undefeated on pay-per-view as well, losing for the first time at Survivor Series by getting himself disqualified against Big Show and being pinned the following month at TLC. If there is a Comeback Player of the Year award in WWE, Henry certainly has it. In fact, arguments can be made for Henry to be a serious Superstar of the Year nominee.

Sin Cara Busts on Smackdown

Moving from the best story to come out from the draft, Sin Cara is the big loser from the draft. Sin Cara was drafted to Smackdown as a part of the first eight picks done on RAW. The move seemed to make sense, because it forced a luchador-style Sin Cara to move to Smackdown, a pre-taped show that gets edited, to help iron out the wrinkles in his game. Sin Cara's offense, while very unique, was also very prone to mistakes, which doesn't quite line up with WWE's style of sports entertainment.

In the first few weeks following his move to Smackdown, Sin Cara was under a lot of hot water. The finishes to many of his matches had to be re-recorded due to mistakes made. Reports even surfaced that Sin Cara was being sent home from tapings and that Hunico, who was portraying a fake Sin Cara, was going to be the Sin Cara character going forward.

Well, we were treated to a feud between Hunico and Sin Cara, which may have been won by Sin Cara. However, Hunico has enjoyed a better career since then. Sin Cara injured himself at Survivor Series and has not returned since. Hunico, while not a big deal in WWE, is in a comfortable spot in the midcard on Smackdown.

Big Show Drafted, but Moves Back Anyway

As years have gone on, drafted superstars have moved back and forth between brands, only to move in another way over the year. The creativity has disappeared from it and it is more about switching superstars for random reasons. Big Show is a perfect example of that, since he was drafted to RAW as one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Kane, only to make it back to Smackdown over the course of the year.

Big Show moved back to Smackdown and inserted himself into the World Heavyweight Championship hunt. He grew to have a pretty intense rivalry with Mark Henry. In December, Big Show finally became the World Heavyweight Champion at TLC, only to lose it seconds later to an opportune Money in the Bank cash-in by Daniel Bryan. It's Big Show's own fault for knocking Bryan's idea of using it at WrestleMania off the tracks.

Speaking of WrestleMania, it was there that Big Show won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time, becoming a Grand Slam Champion and winning every active championship in WWE.

Alberto Del Rio Gets the Spotlight of RAW

Alberto Del Rio was becoming a star on Smackdown and had Edge to thank for that. There was more in store for those two, but Edge was forced to retire. So how else can you build up a relative newcomer? Put him on RAW, of course.

Now on the red show, Del Rio was inserted into feuds with John Cena and CM Punk, but not before winning the Money in the Bank ladder match on the RAW side. At SummerSlam, Del Rio shocked us all by being the WWE Champion after his cash-in. Del Rio would hold the belt twice in the span of just a few months with neither reign being incredibly impressive.

Del Rio endured a groin injury and was off the WrestleMania card this year, but has recently resurfaced as a member of the SmackDown brand. He has already won a match over current World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus.

Daniel Bryan Sneaks onto Smackdown

As the Supplemental Draft began the following day, Daniel Bryan moved to SmackDown in a move that didn't seem very high-profile. Little did we all know the year that Bryan was in store for. He would win the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match and planned to go to WrestleMania with that cash-in. After one fake out, we knew that Bryan becoming a world champion in the coming months was a real thing.

After Big Show won the World Heavyweight Championship, it was made a reality. Bryan ended 2011 as a world champion in WWE and an emerging heel personality. Bryan is now self-centered, arrogant and about as over as any other superstar in the company.

Swagger, Kingston Strengthen RAW's Midcard

A pair of moves helped strengthen the midcard on the RAW brand. Both Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston moved in the Supplemental Draft, which led to both men being United States Champion over the calendar year. Along with such men as Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder and even Santino Marella, the midcard on RAW is about as diverse and wide open as it has been in quite some time.

Sheamus Caps off Draft with Shift to Smackdown

The final pick in the Supplemental Draft seems like it would be as meaningful as being the last man in the NFL Draft to be selected. Mr. Irrelevant was far from irrelevant in last year's WWE Draft. In fact, he is now the World Heavyweight Champion.

Sheamus needed a change of scenery badly. He had lost all credibility that a multi-time WWE Champion should carry with him. The Celtic Warrior began referring to himself as The Great White, became a fan favorite and shocked the world with a Royal Rumble victory in January, as well as a World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania. Now, Sheamus has revitalized his career and is ready for any and all challengers. He is exactly the reason why something like the WWE Draft takes place.

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