Re-Drafting the WWE Raw, SmackDown and NXT Rosters NFL-Style

Would WWE Raw's Finn Balor or SmackDown's John Cena be the better wrestler to build around? Would Bayley or Asuka be the better centerpiece of an upstart promotion?

The 2017 Bleacher Report WWE and NXT fantasy draft dealt with those very questions.

A trio of B/R WWE writers weighed the value of potential and star power, charisma and in-ring prowess as they each constructed their own fantasy promotion. Chris Mueller (@BR_Doctor), Erik Beaston (@ErikBeaston) and myself (@ryandilbert) partook. 

The imagined scenario is that WWE goes under and three enterprising investors scoop up all the company's talent, including its NXT prospects. A draft was held to decide who gets which stars. 

We first selected the wrestlers who would comprise our women's division in a six-round draft. The tag teams went second, with each writer nabbing five squads. The solo men were scooped up in a staggered four-round draft where we selected one Superstar in Round 1, two in Round 2 and so on.

And for good measure, we tossed in a mini-wild-card draft to incorporate all non-wrestlers, from announcers to managers.

A number of surprise picks popped up. Titus O'Neil didn't get any love. And each writer had a vastly different vision. 

Mueller threw a curveball with his very first pitch, drafting Becky Lynch ahead of the likes of Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. 

Women's Division 

Round	Chris Mueller	Erik Beaston	Ryan Dilbert
1	Becky Lynch	Bayley	Charlotte Flair
2	Sasha Banks	Alexa Bliss	Asuka
3	Mickie James	Naomi	Paige
4	Ruby Riot	Ember Moon	Nia Jax
5	Nikki Cross	Carmella	Nikki Bella
6	Natalya	Peyton Royce	Summer Rae

Mueller: When it came to drafting the women's division, I had a clear goal in mind. I wanted to have two current top stars, two up-and-coming rookies and two veterans. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks are the cornerstones of the division, Natalya and Mickie James are the wily vets, and Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot are the future.

I was less worried about heels and babyfaces because those things can be changed later.

Credit: WWE.com.

Beaston: The SmackDown Live women's division was as successful as it was in its original form because of the plethora of characters that existed within. Using that blueprint, I set out to craft a division that put style first, without completely ignoring substance.

Bayley is the face of the division, its champion. Naomi and Ember Moon are two supporting babyfaces who can ascend to the top of the division, while the heel's side of things is led by Alexa Bliss, supported by the promising Peyton Royce and anchored the misused Carmella.

Dilbert: My goal for the top of the draft was to get the badasses of the division—women who are convincing brawlers and warriors. Jax, Asuka and Paige all fit that bill. My promotion would deliver hard-hitting women's wrestling with plenty of showmanship.

Flair would be the centerpiece, the heel queen everyone chases. Feuds against Paige and Asuka would be key to many a PPV.

Tag Team Division

Round	Erik Beaston	Ryan Dilbert	Chris Mueller
1	Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows	American Alpha	The Revival
2	Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa	The New Day	The Hardy Boyz
3	Enzo Amore and Big Cass	Cesaro and Sheamus	Sanity
4	The Usos	The Authors of Pain	The Colons
5	Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins	Breezango	Heath Slather and Rhyno

Beaston: Building the tag team division was a bit trickier. With the No. 1 pick, I selected The Club for reasons that will become clear momentarily. They will be tag team champions, while #DIY as well as Enzo Amore and Big Cass will present the greatest challenge.

The Usos will be the cornerstones of the division, as they are in WWE. The tandem of Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, though they have yet to debut on television, will bring the energy and raw ability to my show that has been on display at NXT live events across the country.

Dilbert: I looked for youth and potential when building the tag team division.

American Alpha has only scratched the surface of what it can do. The Authors of Pain are raw but could develop into a great powerhouse team. Plus, Breezango, the most underutilized duo on any of the brands, could become a unique, entertaining act if given the proper spotlight.

The New Day's antics will add fun to the mix.

Breezango vs. The New Day promises to be nutty. The Authors of Pain battling Cesaro and Sheamus would result in a ton of slobberknockers.

Mueller: For the tag team division, I drafted more by who I liked the most than anything else, but having The Revival was a must. After also grabbing up The Hardy Boyz and Sanity, the pickings became a little slimmer.

The Colons are more talented than people give them credit for, and there is still hope when it comes to Heath Slater and Rhyno.

Men's Singles 

Round	Ryan Dilbert	Erik Beaston	Chris Mueller
1	Roman Reigns	Finn Balor	AJ Styles
2	John Cena	Braun Strowman	Kevin Owens
2	Shinsuke Nakamura	Seth Rollins	Sami Zayn
3	Brock Lesnar	Dean Ambrose	Samoa Joe
3	Bray Wyatt	Chris Jericho	Bobby Roode
3	The Miz	Drew McIntyre	Randy Orton
4	Rusev	Neville	Tye Dillinger
4	Baron Corbin	Jinder Mahal	Austin Aries
4	Luke Harper	Cedric Alexander	Hideo Itami
4	Aleister Black	James Ellsworth	Jack Gallagher

Dilbert: I drafted as many marquee names as I could in the early rounds, trying to field a roster with the right balance of star power and big-match ability. Nakamura, Cena, Reigns and Lesnar could all be headliners who bring down the house in the main event.

In the later rounds, I focused on potential, nabbing Harper, Rusev and Black. All three could be world champs in the right situation.

I would have Corbin reign as the midcard champ, pit Cena in high-profile stories outside the title picture and let a smarmy, relentless, terse heel Reigns lead the way as the top titleholder. The Big Dog generate massive reactions, and I would like to harness that as much as possible.

Beaston: From the moment this concept was developed, I knew I wanted Finn Balor, Gallows and Anderson on the same roster. Together, they will comprise The Balor Club and reign over the roster with a ruthlessness not seen since the heyday of the New World Order.

Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins will begin as rivals, waging war with each other on a weekly basis, before both are viciously attacked by the faction and forced to put their differences aside to fend off Balor Club. Strength in numbers, even if the Superstars do not trust each other.

This does not mean Strowman will be turned babyface. Both him and Rollins will hunt for a WWE Championship held by Balor.

Jinder Mahal will be the master manipulator, Neville the vile King of the Ring, Drew McIntyre will be the returning and conquering hero poised to win his first world title, Chris Jericho will fill the role of arrogant veteran heel, and Cedric Alexander will seek to make a name for himself by working with Y2J for an extended period.

Mueller: For the male singles wrestlers, the goal was to get a healthy mix of star power and potential.

Randy Orton, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens are all proven commodities. And Sami Zayn, Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe are all future world champions. Tye Dillinger, Austin Aries, Jack Gallagher and Hideo Itami helped round out the roster to give it some variety.

Wild-Card Round

Round	Chris Mueller	Erik Beaston	Ryan Dilbert
1	Jim Ross	Stephanie McMahon	Paul Heyman
2	Kurt Angle	Corey Graves	Mauro Ranallo

Mueller: The non-wrestlers picks were the easiest part. Jim Ross is my favorite commentator of all time, and Kurt Angle is entertainment gold. 

Beaston: Stephanie McMahon is the best on-screen authority figure WWE has, and the potential for a storyline involving Bayley is too great to pass up on having her on my show.

Corey Graves is an announcer who can tell the story, call the action and get the Superstars over in a way today's generation of fans can both understand and appreciate, making him a valued part of the roster.

Dilbert: Heyman's mic skills are second to none, so he would be an invaluable asset.

Pairing the advocate with Lesnar is a no-brainer. I'd also have Heyman manage Asuka, warning her foes of the destruction she'll bring.

Ranallo is a top-notch announcer. He brings a great passion to the action.

Final Thoughts

Mueller's roster looks to have the edge in terms of in-ring performers. 

Having Styles—arguably the best one in the world today—is a big part of that. His roster also boasts Lynch, Banks, The Revival, Owens and Zayn to provide a robust wrestling base.

WWE hasn't always made one's in-ring work the highest priority, but today's fans have high expectations in that department. The New Era has seen a flood of excellent matches thus far. 

For Beaston, his fantasy promotion's strength is character and personality.

The endearing Bayley leads his women's division. Amore and Big Cass can anchor his tag team division from a charisma perspective. And Beaston can trot out the rock star in wrestling boots (Balor), the unhinged Ambrose and wisecracking Jericho on his shows each week.

My own roster has a strong balance of established names (Cena and Lesnar) and promising grapplers (Black and Rusev). 

The tag team division would need some work. Hello, Young Bucks? But the women's division has a number of potential cornerstones to build around. 

The fact that there were so many talented women for all three of us to fight over during the draft is a statement of just how far women's wrestling has come in WWE recently. 

Overall, the draft revealed how deep WWE's roster has become. We went through all those rounds without having to dip into the Darren Youngs or The Ascensions of the world. 

Each of our promotions could be successful. To think WWE has all that talent to itself is hard to process. The key moving forward, to making The New Era as highly thought of as the Attitude Era, is to make the most of it all.