WWE Mock Draft 2016: Top 30 Picks of Stars Ahead of Raw-SmackDown Brand Split

The WWE draft is almost here.

After weeks of rumors and speculation, the commissioners and general managers of Raw and SmackDown will choose who will represent their respective shows during the inaugural live episode of SmackDown on Tuesday, July 19.

So who will Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon select? It's time to offer up the latest 15-round mock draft just days ahead of the big event. It's a tall order, especially since WWE has kept any stipulations or rules close to the vest. 

So let's lay those ground rules down right here. 

• Anyone can be drafted. Champions, valets, part-timers, announcers—everyone's fair game. So if Stephanie wants to draft Mauro Ranallo to Raw, so be it. 
• There will be a new WWE Championship for one show. WWE hasn't openly discussed whether it will be adding titles to either show, though there is plenty of speculation, as noted by B/R's Ryan Dilbert. For this exercise, we're going with the idea that there will be two heavyweight titles. All other belts, however, will remain bound to the show for which they're drafted. 
• Tag teams will remain together. Until we hear otherwise, official tag teams are considered one entity. Sorry, Wyatt Family; you guys can be drafted separately.
• There is a maximum of two NXT selections per brand. There are plenty of WWE Superstars who should be showcased. This also limits stripping NXT of all its talent so quickly. 
• This will be a traditional "snake" draft, with Raw getting to pick first. It is WWE's flagship program and deserves the recognition as such.
• Storylines matter. This is WWE. There needs to be some continuity moving forward after the draft for the sake of both the fans and WWE Creative.

 With that, it's time to mock draft.

Raw	Round	SmackDown
Seth Rollins	1	Dean Ambrose*
Roman Reigns	2	John Cena
Rusev*	3	AJ Styles
The New Day*	4	The Miz*
Charlotte*	5	Sasha Banks

Observations

It should come as no surprise that the former members of The Shield are three of the top four picks. They've dominated WWE programming and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. 

Remember our final rule? Placing John Cena and AJ Styles together just makes sense. Plus, both are main event Superstars who will challenge for the SmackDown brand's top belt—whatever that ends up being. 

All five current WWE champions should be chosen in the top 10. Doing so lends importance to those secondary titles. With Raw needing to fill an extra hour, it makes sense to provide that show with an extra championship. 

The tag team and women's divisions will be interesting to watch moving forward. Will there be a crossover of some sort? Will WWE decide to keep each division contained within one brand? Will there be more titles added? There are lots of questions, but for this draft, we have to follow the first rule: Anyone can be drafted.

Raw	Round	SmackDown
Bray Wyatt	6	Enzo Amore and Big Cass
Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman)	7	Randy Orton
Cesaro	8	Kevin Owens
Bayley*	9	Sami Zayn
Baron Corbin	10	Finn Balor*

Observations

It will be interesting to see how WWE treats Brock Lesnar's reported anti-doping violation, especially considering the head-on approach it took with Roman Reigns. It could allow WWE to drop him lower in the draft, using both this potential violation and his part-time status as justification. If that happens, don't be surprised if he's the final pick in the draft to create excitement at the end of the first live SmackDown. 

Separating Lesnar and Randy Orton makes sense. More than likely, their fight at SummerSlam is a one-off match, after which both will go their separate ways.

The first two NXT selections should come as no surprise. Bayley heading to SmackDown, especially with Sasha Banks already drafted, makes sense, too; however, Charlotte needs a new babyface to battle, and no one fits that bill better than Bayley. 

Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles will be the main event of a SmackDown-only pay-per-view before the end of 2016. Book it.

Yes, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are destined to fight forever.

Raw	Round	SmackDown
Chris Jericho	11	Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
Becky Lynch	12	Paige
American Alpha*	13	Alberto Del Rio
Dolph Ziggler	14	Neville
Apollo Crews	15	Samoa Joe*

Observations

With all the members of the former Bullet Club on SmackDown, WWE has a treasure trove of possible angles with which to explore. It could be the dominant story in the second half of 2016. 

American Alpha is ready and should bolt to the top of the tag team division immediately. 

Wrestling Inc.'s Raj Giri reported Chris Jericho and Neville are scheduled to dual during the company's New Zealand tour, which would also put them in line to feud on WWE programming. Remember that it was during a match with Y2J that Neville injured himself. Storylines matter. 

WWE will want to end the draft on a high note, which means a big name will drop in the final draft slot. Who better than current NXT champion Samoa Joe? NXT's next wave of main event stars—Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries, a returning Hideo Itami, Tye Dillinger and the recently signed Bobby Roode—are ready to take over (pun intended).