thesurpriserollup

[thesurpriserollup]

Re-Drafting the 2020 WWE Draft

Note: I will only be putting the superstars who should’ve switched brands or stayed in their respective brands and why. If you don’t see your favorite superstar here it means I agree with the booking decision that was done to switch them to another brand or the decision to let them stay on the brand they were already on. I will be throwing in NXT into the mix just for fun. But it’s Raw & Smackdown superstars going to NXT via free agency.

Billie Kay

Drafted to: RAW/NXT

Okay, I’m already cheating a little bit but hear me out. Imagine Billie in “The Robert Stone Brand” that would just be the perfect match. That team with Billie and Stone, and as long as they recruit more credible talent, would be a fun angle. And if not NXT, I wanted her to stay on Raw. For two reasons. First, I just want “The IIconics” to reunite. Like it was beyond weird to see them split up for no good reason. The second one is, If we don’t get a reunion I want a heated Gentlewoman’s Match between them. Her and Peyton don’t have to have an issue. They could meet in a # 1 contender’s match or a tournament final. I just want them to face off if they’re not gonna reunite soon.

Andrade

Drafted to: NXT (Via Free Agency)

This has been speculated on social media since the draft happened. He’ll probably comeback to NXT and do a Moose-like angle reminiscent of what Impact is doing. Have him comeback with the NXT Title and claim he’s world champion out of the blue. Let me add a little something, I hope he comes back with the original NXT title design with the big “X”. that would be so cool. This booking could thrust him into the main event scene right off the bat while Finn Balor recovers for 6 weeks, at the time of writing, and Kyle O’Reilly as well.

Sasha Banks

Drafted to: RAW

I just want her and Bayley to be apart until the Rumble or ‘Mania. I’m not a big fan of this storyline, I honestly think it should’ve happened years ago so it doesn’t personally appeal to me as much. But, if we’re gonna do it right. Let Sasha win the Women’s Rumble and challenger for the Smackdown Women’s Championship and win it. It’s easy to book. But WWE decided to put her on the Blue brand. Hopefully this storyline doesn’t run out of steam at least until ‘Mania time.

Heavy Machinery

Drafted to: RAW/Smackdown

I’m gonna keep this short and sweet, that’s why I bundled Otis & Tucker together. No offense to both men, but they’re only good as a Tag Team. Otis’s win at MITB was different but realistically he’s not gonna beat whoever’s champion whether it’s McIntyre, Reigns, Orton, Etc. They should’ve stayed together on whatever brand. And Otis should cash in on a Tag Team and let them win the tag titles TOGETHER. Apart both men are gonna flounder in the lower singles card.

Big E

Drafted to: RAW

“The New Day” shouldn’t have split up it’s as easy that. And I know they wanna push Big E to the top but read my “Wave of the Future - Fantasy booking WWE” post here on Tumblr and you’ll know it could’ve been possible still without breaking them up.

Ricochet

Drafted to: NXT (Via Free Agency)

It’s time “The One and Only” comes back home. Imagine bouts with the likes of Damian Priest for the North American Title or better yet a showdown with Santos Escobar for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. I hate how they book him on the main roster. Just let him come back to where he belongs.

Matt Riddle

Drafted to: Smackdown

I just want his real life animosity with Seth Rollins to become a storyline. As we’ve seen with the Edge/Hardy feud. Real tension makes a good storyline. No other reason than that. I want a hard-hitting but professional contest between these two. They’re professionals after all, I’m sure like with Matt and Edge. They could’ve acted civil enough with each other to put on high-quality matches. And a little side note, Goldberg seems to be on Smackdown so the door is wide open for them still fight each other at a big showcase.

Rey Mysterio

Drafted to: NXT (Via Free Agency)

I just want to see Mysterio Vs. Escobar at a Takeover in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the Title. Is that too much to ask? Santos is running out of opponents, well, credible opponents. Why not inject the Cruiserweight division with probably the Greatest Cruiserweight of all-time in Rey.

Dominik Mysterio

Drafted to: Smackdown

As you might have noticed I split up the Mysterio Father-Son duo. know, I know. He was drafted to Smackdown. But with his Father. I want him to go there alone, on his own. Let him do his own thing, since Smackdown is known as the brand for work horses. Let him have spectacular matches with the likes of Sami Zayn, Shorty G, Daniel Bryan, Etc. This kid needs to pave his own way.

Keith Lee

Drafted to: Smackdown

For the full story, read my Fantasy booking piece. But TL;DR. He could have amazing matches with Sami Zayn and capture the IC title. Defend it until he’s ready to conquer Reigns at the Showcase of the Immortals. I don’t know how they’re screwing him up on Raw but it’s so easy to book “The Limitless One”.

King Corbin - 

Drafted to: RAW

Corbin has done everything he can on Smackdown. Let him be a nuisance on Monday Night Raw. A change of scenery. Fresh matches and just a brand new stomping ground could remedy his already stale character.

Mickie James

Drafted to: NXT

As much as I want her to have a legacy run with either of the Blue or Red brand’s title. It’s not gonna happen. So let’s just put her in NXT. Like Rey, she could elevate young talent like Shotzi Blackhart or Dakota Kai for example. Have amazing matches for the rest of her career maybe even win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles with an up and comer from the yellow brand. Just let Mickie do her thing and end her career in a good way.

Bo Dallas 

Drafted to: NXT (Via Free Agency)

I wanted to “Bo-lieve” that he was the insurgent. I really did. I loved him as NXT Champion. Well, as we know now “The Insurgent” is Ember Moon. But we can still have come back to NXT. Be a mentor to the younger guys. Maybe even be a top contender for the North American Title. Or if Andrade doesn’t want to come back as a sham delusional champion. Why not let Bo Dallas do that, with the original big “X” NXT title design of course, that would be amazing. Just let us #Bolieve again.

Carmella 

Drafted to: RAW

Like Corbin, Carmella needs a change of scenery. She’s doing nothing at the moment. She’s about repackaged as like an “Emmalina” type of character. I think it’s going to work better on Raw since the Red brand is known for having outlandish characters anyway. Maybe a “Fabulous Truth” reunion is in the works too.

Humberto Carrillo

Drafted to: NXT (Via Free Agency)

Humberto had a decent start on the main roster when he first got there but I think he needs to go to NXT. He’s floating around Raw doing random matches. He was part of the Mysterio-Rollins angle but he was nothing more than a footnote. I feel he could be a major player in the Cruiserweight division in NXT. I like the kid he’s so talented. They just have to let him do what he does best and that’s wrestle actually meaningful matches.

Charlotte Flair

Drafted to : NXT (Via Free Agency)

It’s far-fetched in real life or storyline for either main roster brands to not draft Charlotte. But she’s on the shelf right now and it’s quite cool to think that she’d want to sign with NXT because she has unfinished business there. Her NXT Women’s title run was too short for my taste, although in hindsight it resulted in Io Shirai winning the title so that’s good. But I would’ve loved to see her had an extended run in NXT with the crop of talent they have there. She would put on great bouts with Storm, Kai, Lerae and of course Rhea Ripley as well as a one on one rematch with Io Shirai would most likely be in the cards. And hey, Andrade most likely will sign with NXT anyway and they’re a couple and WWE is more open to keeping couples together so that might be a huge factor as well.

Braun Strowman

Drafted to: Smackdown

Reigns needs a credible enough threat after this Jey Uso feud is over. At least until the Royal Rumble. Strowman is the main man to do that. He’s a former Universal champion who didn’t get his due diligence in terms of having the opportunity to earn a rematch to reclaim his title. It’s enough of a reason for him to stay on the blue brand. And besides I don’t want to see him face off against “The Fiend” again over on Raw. It ran it’s course far too long ago.

[thesurpriserollup]

Wave of the Future - Fantasy Booking WWE!

Peyton Royce

Ideal Booking Scenario: A very long road to the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

I can realistically see Peyton Royce as a top contender in the Women’s division. They broke up “The IIconics” for the sole purpose of doing so. She’s got the look, the attitude and she can get it done in the ring albeit her wrestling is still a bit clunky that could be fixed her husband is Shawn Spears after all. My dream scenario for her would be a painfully slow descent. I know, it’s not ideal and her break up with Billie Kay would seem like it was done for absolutely no pay off. But, hear me out. She could be built up as a struggling babyface who claws and fights day in and day out. She shakes off the comedic side of her and become this sympathetic Eric Young-type like his run in TNA. You could have her beat lower card wrestlers eventually climbing her way up the ladder. And ultimately the pay off would be at Summerslam 2022 where she beats somebody , supposedly, so out of her league it’s shocking and a feel good moment all in one. Maybe a heel Rhea Ripley or Alexa Bliss if by then she has cut her ties with “The Fiend”.

Toni Storm

Ideal Booking Scenario: Be the second coming of Sami Zayn in NXT.

At the time of writing, Toni has just returned to WWE NXT after a long extended break from the brand because of the Global health crisis. Io Shirai is the current NXT Women’s Champion with challengers lined up. From the likes of Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackhart and the aforementioned Toni Storm. I can’t see her winning the title from Io or Ember and Rhea for that matter. I want Io to play the Adrian Neville role. And Rhea Ripley to be the Kevin Owens in this scenario. I want Toni to put on show after show one after the other but never ends up winning the big one no matter how hard she tries. She sees everybody passing her by Ember Moon becoming champion then her fellow Aussie Rhea Ripley recapturing it for the 2nd time. I want her eventual title win to be an emotional one. Like how Sami won his. A hard path to glory. I want her to end up beating all 4 women mentioned above in one night. And main event a big-time PPV like the Takeover in Brooklyn or Wrestlemania Weekend.

Keith Lee

Ideal Booking Scenario: Eventual “Tribal Chief” conqueror

So, I’ve been thinking hard lately who could eventually dethrone Roman Reigns from his perch. One person comes to mind and it’s “The Limitless One”. This is by far the easiest to book to be honest. I can realistically see Keith Lee by Mid-2021 getting drafted to Smackdown in the annual WWE Draft. Bonus booking: Roman Reigns holds the title for a year maybe even until TLC 2021. So the draft happens and Lee goes to Smackdown. That is around after “Clash of Champions”. Reigns has bulldozed through the entire roster and nobody can stop him. They hold a 16-man tournament across all three brands leading up to TLC 2021 which Keith wins. That sets up a showdown between him and Reigns at WWE TLC 2021 in, of course, a TLC Matchup which the Limitless one conquers Roman Reigns once and for all. That could setup a Main Event rematch for Wrestlemania in California between him and Reigns. After Roman wins a squash match inside Elimination Chamber coming in first and eventually pinning all five other men.

Big E

Ideal Booking Scenario: Wins Royal Rumble 2020 , challenges for and wins WWE Championship

Let’s face it, although it was unnecessary, they broke up “The New Day” so they could push Big E into the stratosphere of the main event scene. People are pegging him to win the Rumble. Which I agree with but I don’t want him to challenge for the Universal Title. I want him to go after gold. The projected main event for ‘Mania next year is Edge Vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. But as much as I love Edge, I think it’s Big E’s time. The scenario is Big E wins the Rumble and chooses to compete for the WWE Title. You may ask why? Why not the Universal title instead? Because of one simple thing. THE NEW DAY SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN BROKEN UP. So we got them all on one brand. I can see “The Hurt Business” (Alexander/Benjamin) taking the tag titles from Kofi & Xavier before ‘Mania. All three members have a renewed focused because all of them are chasing after titles. We see a bit more serious side of The New Day more focused and determined but still babyfaces. Big E picks the WWE Title which Drew Mcintyre is still the champion up to that point. But as Randy Orton does, like he did with Rey and Kurt Angle, he weasels his way in to make it a Triple Threat. ‘Mania time three-way dance. Orton, Mcintyre (C), Big E. They have a stellar match as expected. Orton’s about to win by hitting Mcintyre with a foreign object but before he could pin him he gets speared by a returning Edge! So we incorporated Edge and his return and ultimately setup the continuation of their feud. Big E gets back in the ring and hits the “Big Ending” on Orton. Mcintyre stays protected. Orton eats the pin but sets up the feud between him and Edge. Big E FINALLY wins the big one. And earlier, in the night. Kofi and Xavier win back the tag titles from “The Hurt Business” in a three-way elimination style Tag team match. New Day Vs. Alexander/Benjamin Vs. MVP/Lashley. I basically booked everyone of the New Day. They all celebrate as champions as opposed to last year where Woods and Big E were bridesmaids to Kofi they bask in their triumph as “The New Day” stand tall. Each one of them champions.

Brock Lesnar

Ideal Booking Scenario: Tweener ass-kicker

I really wanna see a Brock Lesnar run with him just kicking ass and taking names. No heel or face motives. Nothing. Chris Candido’s gimmick which is basically no gimmick but amped up to like 20. I wanna see him beat Lars Sullivan senseless. Throw in Strowman in there. Lashley, Etc. The list goes on and on. I remember his promo back in the day how he wasn’t a “superstar”, he was an ass-kicker. Be the bully that bullies the bullies. I want him to go an absolute tear and I want him to have brutal encounters with “The Fiend”. Of course Lesnar wins one but Bray ultimately topples him. But he doesn’t care he’s on to the next victim. Maybe a Goldberg match is in the books again but him eventually retiring him fo good. Wouldn’t a Roman Reigns Vs. Brock Lesnar feud at let’s say Wrestlemania 38 sound so good? A “No Holds Barred” Match in which Heyman accompanies Reigns but is conflicted. Booking Lesnar is storylines that need time to develop was and is never ideal. You need him to just absolutely brutalize and obliterate everyone whether he wins or loses. That’s how you make money and that’s how you book Lesnar. Keep him away from the Title as much as humanly possible. Let him be the monster he was always meant to be since he came back in 2012.