B/R WWE and NXT Fantasy Draft

B/R's WWE NXT fantasy draft was a reminder of just how much beauty (and a pro wrestler's potential) is in the eye of the beholder.

When five of Bleacher Report's WWE writers converged to craft their own fantasy rosters of high-flyers and mat technicians, surprises sprang up as they each saw things differently when it comes to selecting franchise cornerstones. Finn Balor went off the board before John Cena. Bo Dallas was drafted higher than Tyson Kidd. 

"It" factor, charisma, connection with the crowd—one can't find those things in the box sheet. Those subjective traits are as key to success in pro wrestling as any measurable physical attribute.

So when Erik Beaston, Brad Jones, Alfred "Big Nasty" Konuwa, Donald Wood and myself each drafted a seven-man roster, there was no consensus on which members of the WWE and NXT roster were the most valuable.

The imagined scenario was that WWE is going under. The aforementioned writers were to each start their own wrestling promotion and could pluck talent from Vince McMahon's company via a fantasy football-like draft.

Announcers, managers, authority figures and NXT prospects were all available.

Credit: WWE.com

What collection of talents one came out of the draft with was to be the foundation for this promotion. These are the men and women each writer would build around. The rest of the roster would have to be filled with free agents, indy stars and homegrown talents.

A random draft order tool spat out the order in which everyone would pick. The draft was held under snake draft rules, meaning that the last one to choose in any given round also got to pick first in the next round.

The result was five vastly different fantasy promotions all promising to deliver completely different in-ring products.

Draft Order

• No. 1—Erik Beaston
• No. 2—Brad Jones
• No. 3—Alfred Konuwa
• No. 4—Donald Wood
• No. 5—Ryan Dilbert

Notable Undrafted Wrestlers

The Miz, Ryback, The Usos, Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow, Tyler Breeze, Erick Rowan, Kane, Big Show, Mark Henry, Curtis Axel, Jack Swagger, Natalya, Bull Dempsey, Bayley.

Erik Beaston's Roster

• Round 1—Roman Reigns
• Round 2—John Cena
• Round 3—Dean Ambrose
• Round 4—Paige
• Round 5—Sasha Banks
• Round 6—Tyson Kidd
• Round 7—Solomon Crowe

Biggest Surprise Pick: Solomon Crowe

With his last pick, Erik chose to take a chance on a former Combat Zone Wrestling star who is most certainly not of the typical WWE mold.

Crowe is just 5'10'' and not as athletic as many smaller wrestlers. His unconventional look may have WWE officials unsure of how much to showcase him. Erik, however, sees him as a valuable asset, selecting him with names like Damien Sandow and Ryback still up for grabs.

Average Age of Roster: 29

Erik's Take: When drafting my roster, I was primarily concerned with Superstars who could both represent numerous characters and personas as well as draw fans to arenas and convince them to purchase pay-per-view events.

In John Cena, I have the most recognizable star in sports entertainment, and in Roman Reigns, I have the guy who could one day supplant him, if not necessitate the heel turn fans have so longed for over the last decade. Cena is a modern-day superhero, Reigns is the unstoppable force and Dean Ambrose represents the antihero in the same vein as Steve Austin.

In Sasha Banks and Paige, I have the laid the groundwork for the renaissance of women's wrestling, while Tyson Kidd is a traditional mat worker capable of stealing the show with any of the three headliners. Solomon Crowe can capture the current generation of technologically advanced 18-35-year-olds with his hacker gimmick.

Overall, the roster features the eclectic mix I was hoping to represent as well as the legitimate draws necessary to achieve and maintain a profitable business.

The foundation of Erik's women's division certainly looks strong. With both Paige and Banks on the roster, Erik has two top-flight Divas to work with. 

WWE has failed to properly showcase its women and has not tapped into their value as stars. Erik clearly wants to make them a priority. 

Early in the draft, he nabbed an impressive trio. Cena has long proved he can be a marquee star. Ambrose and Reigns are both potential headliners themselves. 

And even with Cena on his board, Erik ended up with the youngest average roster.

Brad Jones' Roster

• Round 1—Finn Balor
• Round 2—Luke Harper
• Round 3—Cody Rhodes
• Round 4—Sheamus
• Round 5—Kalisto
• Round 6—William Regal
• Round 7—Sara Del Rey

Biggest Surprise Pick: William Regal

Brad grabbed a versatile talent in Regal. The Englishman has done well as a commentator, is thriving as NXT's authority figure and could be a manager as well.

Still, it's a bit shocking that Regal went before Triple H. The Game is a bigger star and can still step into the ring from time to time to deliver marquee matches.

Average Age of Roster (Not counting Del Rey or Regal): 32

Brad's Take: I wanted to put together a roster of athletes who could put on fresh matches that in-ring connoisseurs would be eager to see.

Talent like Finn Balor, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus would be in constant competition to deliver the match of the night—and all with William Regal watching over them as an authority figure. Meanwhile, the incomparable Sara Del Rey would spearhead a women's division just as engaging and exciting as their male counterparts.

A draft filled with bold, surprising picks leaves Brad with a varied, intriguing roster. He boasts two big bruisers in Harper and Sheamus. They offer a sharp contrast to his more speedy, athletic wrestlers in Kalisto and Balor.

Selecting Balor with the No. 2 overall pick speaks to how highly Brad views the NXT star. Many fans may project a better career for Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn. Balor, though, is generating plenty of buzz, with the phrase "the future" often tossed around when discussing him. 

And while WWE has pushed Harper and Rhodes to the bottom of the card, Brad clearly believes them to be key building blocks.

Alfred "Big Nasty" Konuwa's Roster

• Round 1—Seth Rollins
• Round 2—Cesaro
• Round 3—Rusev
• Round 4—Big E
• Round 5—Bo Dallas
• Round 6—Jason Jordan
• Round 7—Chris Jericho

Biggest Surprise Pick: Bo Dallas

Nasty and WWE don't see eye to eye on Dallas' potential. WWE has kept him well off center stage after his second move up from NXT. Curtis Axel is getting more airtime than him at the moment.

Nasty, though, scooped him up relatively early. Hideo Itami, Bad News Barrett and Tyson Kidd were among those still available when Dallas came off the board.

Credit: WWE.com

Average Age of Roster: 30

Nasty's Take: I'm looking to craft an entertaining promotion with crossover appeal and one that can be created to meet my vision. I went with predominately young talent with a combination of strong wrestling and engaging personalities.

Chris Jericho serves as the A-List veteran who can add credibility to the young talent. Cesaro is another veteran whose versatile in-ring skill set can establish blue-chippers as main eventers. 

With the core talent in my draft, my theory was to buy low and buy young.   

The top of Nasty's draft features little surprise. Rusev is a big, explosive athlete on the rise. Cesaro may not be getting much love from WWE officials, but many fans believe him to be a top star. Going with the current WWE champ with the third overall pick was a no-brainer.

It's when the fourth round arrived that things got interesting.

Big E has been relegated to midcard filler in the tag division. Dallas can barely get onscreen. Jordan is a good-looking athlete, but he isn't often talked about as one of NXT's top prospects.

When Nasty looks ahead at these men's futures, though, he clearly sees big things.

The buzz for Big E has faded. Bull Dempsey and Tyler Breeze are more prominent than Jordan at NXT right now. However, with Nasty's promotion, Jordan and Big E are promised major opportunities. 

Donald Wood

• Round 1—Brock Lesnar
• Round 2—Kevin Owens
• Round 3—Sami Zayn
• Round 4—Neville
• Round 5—Hideo Itami
• Round 6—Charlotte
• Round 7—Triple H

Biggest Surprise Pick: Neville

Choosing Neville isn't surprising. He did go earlier than some would have thought, though. Donald drafted Neville before Sheamus, Barrett and Itami were gone.

It's not yet clear how much WWE values The Man Who Gravity Forgot. The fact that he has opened his run on the main roster with clashes against Dolph Ziggler and Rollins is definitely a good sign. The prevailing thought, however, is that Neville will hit his head on the glass ceiling at some point.

Smaller men often experience that collision.

Donald made sure to grab Neville, signaling that he's high on the English dynamo.

Average Age of Roster (Not counting Triple H): 31

Donald's Take: The whole purpose of this draft was to build a company from scratch using seven current WWE and NXT Superstars. With that said, it will be key to my company's success that I have a strong future and an even stronger veteran presence.

The future of my company is in great hands. NXT standouts Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Neville, Hideo Itami and Charlotte have all shown they're the future of the WWE, and the same goes for my brand.

As for veterans, Brock Lesnar is a bona fide pay-per-view draw who is one of the most dominant champions in history, and Triple H is versatile as the authority figure and a part-time performer willing to put people over.

The possibilities for feuds are endless with this core of talents.

It's almost doesn't seem fair that Donald has both Owens and Lesnar on the same roster. His quota for predatory bruisers is certainly met.

Even though he has the mighty Lesnar at the top of his roster, what is most notable is how many smaller, sleeker former indy stars he grabbed up.

The future for Zayn, Neville and Itami at WWE is uncertain. If the company sticks with its preference of muscle-bound powerhouses as main eventers, that trio is going to struggle to climb to the top of the company ladder.

It's not hard, however, to find fans who believe those three men are the future of the industry. With as many great matches as they produce and as impressive as they are as athletes, Donald is assured some thrilling bouts on his shows.

Ryan Dilbert's Roster

• Round 1—Bray Wyatt
• Round 2—Daniel Bryan
• Round 3—Randy Orton
• Round 4—Dolph Ziggler
• Round 5—Bad News Barrett
• Round 6—Paul Heyman
• Round 7—Baron Corbin

Biggest Surprise Pick: Randy Orton

The words "overexposed" and "boring" often get thrown Orton's way. Reaching the WWE mountaintop at such a young age has left some fans tired of seeing him in the spotlight.

That, and him being one of the older Superstars drafted here makes it surprising to see him go before younger talent on the rise such as Itami and Neville.

Average Age of Roster (Not counting Heyman): 32

 
Ryan's Take: The wrestlers I had most highly rated on my board were consistent in-ring performers who can deliver long, engaging matches. I was certainly glad to be able to draft top mic workers in Wyatt, Barrett and Heyman, but my vision is to have wrestling-heavy shows featuring fast-paced, hard-hitting action.

Orton, Bryan and Ziggler work really well against a variety of opponents. Barrett and Wyatt are exceptional brawlers.

The chances for classics when all these men meet are high.

The oldest average roster features two headliners and three men many believe should be in that spot.

Bryan has a tremendous connection with the crowd and is arguably the best overall in-ring performer in WWE today. Lingering health issues, a surgically repaired neck and a lot of miles on his wheels have to leave a promoter worried.

His future is uncertain for those reasons.

WWE refuses to push Ziggler and Barrett past the upper midcard. They are popular, engaging performers with good mic skills but haven't been treated like top stars yet. If given the power to change that, I would elevate Ziggler to a No. 1 babyface and have Barrett be a top heel, especially if he's leading a villainous stable. 

Final Thoughts

Scouting in sports is an inexact, difficult science. At least those folks get to look at statistics as a starting point.

Judging who is set for the bigger pro wrestling career is even more of a trust-your-gut enterprise. That has led to WWE making mistakes on numerous occasions. Nathan Jones never turned out to be the next big thing as advertised, for one.

And the company let Derrick Bateman go, believing him to be missing something. He has since shown himself to be a valuable star for TNA as Ethan Carter III.

The fantasy draft saw writers hitch their rides to a varying group of talents, some seeing upside that WWE has yet to, some looking to give low-tier wrestlers a shot on center stage.