We told you to expect shenanigans…
The WWE Universe got flipped upside down with the first live Smackdown show. WWE’s new Tuesday 19 show saw brand new General Managers for Raw and Smackdown (Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan respectively), a WWE Heavyweight Title match, and the small matter of the WWE Draft to decide which superstars were ending up on which show going forward.
There was a lot to take in.
You can check the complete WWE Draft results here, over to the official WWE website here.
But for now, enjoy our look at all the good stuff.
Seth Rollins is the new face of WWE
Crossfit Jesus himself,  Seth Rollins was drafted as first pick in the WWE Draft, heading over to Monday RAW. It’s another feather in the cap for one of the most athletic and charismatic wrestlers today. Now headlining RAW, expect Rollins to be one of the biggest names in WWE going forward.
While Big Match John will be the man over on Smackdown
Seth Rollins may be the new face of WWE, but John Cena is still the franchise. Big Match John was drafted in as a second round pick to Smackdown, making a return to the show where he made his debut many moons ago.
The move will most likely see Cena continue to feud with AJ Styles, who also got called over to Smackdown. Â That is something we are entirely here for.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn really might “Fight Forever”
Many WWE fans were expecting long time friends-turned-enemies Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to be drafted to separate shows this week. The build for their matchup at Battleground on Sunday teased that this might be the very last time we saw the former indie wrestlers do battle for a long time.
But it appears the powers that be thought “stuff all that, this beef is too good to put on ice”. Both Owens and Zayn got drafted to RAW – the two may just end up taking all that fan advice and fight forever. Here’s hoping that one day it’ll be for the WWE Heavyweight Title.
Hey, did #RAW and #SmackDownLIVE forget about @HeathSlaterOMRB? #WWEDraft pic.twitter.com/hqokX8UeF7
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 20, 2016
Poor Heath Slater
Despite being everyone’s favourite jobber and a future World Champion, Heath Slater did not get drafted from either RAW or Smackdown. The good man is taking it in stride though, calling himself the “hottest free agent” and “wildcard” in wrestling today. That’s the spirit mate, keep thinking big.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIEaDmvBtCG/?taken-by=tripleh
Finn Balor is coming… but Bayley is not
It’s been teased for months but finally Finn Balor is coming to the main WWE roster. The Irish wrestler is considered to be one of the greatest athletes around today, so it was a smart move from Stephanie McMahon and RAW to draft him.
Also among the six NXT call ups were three women wrestlers – Nia Jax to Raw, while Alexa Bliss and Carmella go to Smackdown. Mojo Rawley and American Alpha fill out the recruits that leaves women’s wrestling favourite Bayley still in NXT. She’ll be fine though, Izzy will hug her and it’ll all be fine
Photo via Elsa/Getty Images
The Cruiserweight Division is back
Announced late on Monday Night RAW this week, the Cruiserweight Division will be making a return to WWE, heading exclusively to RAW. The current Cruiserweight Classic tournament on the WWE Network is one of the hidden gems in wrestling today, so if the WWE can tap up any of those stars to wrestle week to week, we’ll be in for some impressive high flying matches.
Commentary is getting a shake up too
It’s all change in WWE at the moment as commentators get a change up too. NXT colour commentator, Corey Graves will now join Michael Cole & Bryon Saxton, while former World Champion JBL moves over to Tuesday nights to join the Smackdown team of David Otunga and Mauro Ranallo.
Here’s hoping the new teams can narrate stories on par with Jim Ross from back in the day.
RAW has loads of heavy hitters… but Smackdown has the WWE Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, The New Day, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. RAW managed to nab a number of impressive names in the WWE Draft.
One thing they don’t have (beside lovely John Cena)? The WWE Heavyweight title, as Smackdown’s Dean Ambrose managed to retain the belt in the main event against Smackdown. The Tuesday night show still has the (men’s) gold. For now at least.
Expect even more shenanigans at Battleground this weekend
On a frustrating note, we were still given no new information as to how title defences will work in the post-Draft era. RAW currently has the Tag Team, US and Women’s Champions, while Smackdown has the Heavyweight and Intercontinental belts.
That is all subject to change at this weekend Battleground pay-per-view as a number of belts will be up for grabs. Once again, expect the unexpected, and maybe a Vince McMahon appearance as we all try to make sense of what happens in the world of WWE next.
Images via WWE.com
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