C.S.

Did JBL just say tonight was a "one-time opportunity for Bayley to be in the WWE tonight"? Or did I hear incorrectly? Please tell me I misheard.

Bold prediction on Sasha's partner (if it isn't Bayley): Sara Del Ray.

Uso Ice Cold. They're not over at all. Glad Breezango won. Usos need a heel turn and character makeover.

I can't see how NXT could possibly be harming WWE's bottom line. What it has done is create a hot new revenue stream that didn't exist before. I'd bet that NXT house shows are doing a hell of a lot more business than random Smackdown house shows used to do during the last brand split, not to mention NXT merchandise, etc.

I think the rumor about them pushing Roman as a babyface is either bullshit/misdirection or plans have changed. Booker T flat out said on the Network Draft Center special that the fans hate Roman and he questioned the Usos about the fans hating them too because of their association with Roman.

Joe vs. Rhyno was a lumbering bore. Can't wait until Shinsuke Nakamura is the champion. The last two champs (Joe and Balor) have done nothing for me, and as well-worked as their feud was, I wasn't into it at all. I was disappointed that Patrick Clark (vs. Austin Aries) didn't get to debut his pro-Trump gimmick. Authors of Pain vs. American Alpha was fun. Bayley vs. Nia was surprisingly solid, and probably Nia's best match to date.

Was I the only one hoping Kenneth Johnson was the son of Slick? (Slick's name is also Kenneth Johnson.) I liked the first week a lot more, but Lince vs. Mustafa was probably the best of the bunch this time. TJ Perkins didn't wow me, to be honest, but I ended up liking him anyway.

Speaking of "bad behavior," here is a transcript of Cesaro's frustrated "shoot" interview (courtesy of Cageside Seats): JoJo: Cesaro, you were drafted in the 6th round to Raw. How are you feeling about all of this? Cesaro: First of all I’m not too happy to be drafted 17th in the 6th round. I had a feeling I should be drafted a little bit higher, I was hoping to be at least top ten. Just looking at the rosters and what the GMs talked about yesterday how SmackDown is going to be the wrestling show and all about in-ring product and all about the Superstars and not necessarily about the GMs and that whole drama, I feel like I probably would have been a better fit for SmackDown. But just like in my career so far here, there’s always a little stumble block or whatever that I have to overcome, so, um... I’m looking forward to being on the flagship product... trying to see the positive, being on the flagship product, WWE Raw, that’s where Cesaro belongs. JoJo: Speaking of GMs, how do you think that Mick Foley being the General Manager and Stephanie McMahon being the Commissioner - how do you think they’ll co-exist? Cesaro: Honestly, that’s part of the problem, that you just asked me that question because I don’t really care. I think Raw going forward needs to be about the Superstars, it needs to be about the performers in the ring and not about how Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley co-exist. They need to be there to mediate and make the best show, but that does not need to be the focus. So, the focus should be on the Superstar who got drafted. We have Seth Rollins, we have New Day, we have Finn Bálor coming up from NXT - those are the people we should be here talking about. But we’re talking about Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley which is annoying to me. A lot of people talk, it’s always a lot of talking and you haven’t heard me talk that much. This is actually great. I can be even able to talk and people can see I can actually speak, you know? My brain can form thoughts that come out through my mouth. The problem is sometimes I stumble the words because I speak five different languages, we know all that, so the thing is I like to speak the language that everybody speaks all around the world, that the WWE Universe loves... that’s the language of wrestling that I do in the ring. That’s what I do best. That’s why I always deliver. Cesaro on Raw. http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/7/20/12233518/cesaro-shoots-on-the-draft-mcmahon-centric-stories-in-his-post-show-promo UPDATE: Now on YouTube!

A transcript of Cesaro's frustrated "shoot" interview (courtesy of Cageside Seats): JoJo: Cesaro, you were drafted in the 6th round to Raw. How are you feeling about all of this? Cesaro: First of all I’m not too happy to be drafted 17th in the 6th round. I had a feeling I should be drafted a little bit higher, I was hoping to be at least top ten. Just looking at the rosters and what the GMs talked about yesterday how SmackDown is going to be the wrestling show and all about in-ring product and all about the Superstars and not necessarily about the GMs and that whole drama, I feel like I probably would have been a better fit for SmackDown. But just like in my career so far here, there’s always a little stumble block or whatever that I have to overcome, so, um... I’m looking forward to being on the flagship product... trying to see the positive, being on the flagship product, WWE Raw, that’s where Cesaro belongs. JoJo: Speaking of GMs, how do you think that Mick Foley being the General Manager and Stephanie McMahon being the Commissioner - how do you think they’ll co-exist? Cesaro: Honestly, that’s part of the problem, that you just asked me that question because I don’t really care. I think Raw going forward needs to be about the Superstars, it needs to be about the performers in the ring and not about how Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley co-exist. They need to be there to mediate and make the best show, but that does not need to be the focus. So, the focus should be on the Superstar who got drafted. We have Seth Rollins, we have New Day, we have Finn Bálor coming up from NXT - those are the people we should be here talking about. But we’re talking about Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley which is annoying to me. A lot of people talk, it’s always a lot of talking and you haven’t heard me talk that much. This is actually great. I can be even able to talk and people can see I can actually speak, you know? My brain can form thoughts that come out through my mouth. The problem is sometimes I stumble the words because I speak five different languages, we know all that, so the thing is I like to speak the language that everybody speaks all around the world, that the WWE Universe loves... that’s the language of wrestling that I do in the ring. That’s what I do best. That’s why I always deliver. Cesaro on Raw. http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/7/20/12233518/cesaro-shoots-on-the-draft-mcmahon-centric-stories-in-his-post-show-promo UPDATE: Now on YouTube!

They can sell it to him or lease it to him. They've done that in the past, I'm pretty sure, with both Rock and Undertaker.

I added this to the original post: UPDATED: FULL DRAFT RESULTS From WWE.com: Round No. 1 1. Seth Rollins - Raw 2. WWE Champion Dean Ambrose - SmackDown Live 3. WWE Women's Champion Charlotte - Raw 4. AJ Styles - SmackDown Live 5. Finn Bálor - Raw from NXT Round No. 2 6. Roman Reigns - Raw 7. John Cena - SmackDown Live 8. Brock Lesnar - Raw 9. Randy Orton - SmackDown Live 10. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day - Raw Round No. 3 11. Sami Zayn - Raw 12. Bray Wyatt - SmackDown Live 13. Sasha Banks - Raw 14. Becky Lynch - SmackDown Live 15. Chris Jericho - Raw Round No. 4 16. United States Champion Rusev (with Lana) - Raw 17. Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with Maryse) - SmackDown Live 18. Kevin Owens - Raw 19. Baron Corbin - SmackDown Live 20. Enzo & Cass - Raw Round No. 5 21. Gallows and Anderson - Raw 22. American Alpha - SmakDown Live from NXT 23. Big Show - Raw 24. Dolph Ziggler - SmackDown Live 25. Nia Jax - Raw from NXT Round No. 6 26. Neville - Raw 27. Natalya - SmackDown Live 28. Cesaro - Raw 29. Alberto Del Rio - SmackDown Live 30. Sheamus - Raw Round No. 7 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 31. Golden Truth - Raw 32. The Usos - SmackDown Live 33. Titus O'Neil - Raw 34. Demon Kane - SmackDown Live 35. Paige - Raw Round No. 8 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 36. Darren Young (with Bob Backlund) - Raw 37. Kalisto - SmackDown Live 38. Sin Cara - Raw 39. Naomi - SmackDown Live 40. Jack Swagger - Raw 41. The Ascension - SmackDown Live Round No. 9 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 42. The Dudley Boyz - Raw 43. Zack Ryder - SmackDown Live 44. Summer Rae - Raw 45. Apollo Crews - SmackDown Live 46. Mark Henry - Raw 47. Alexa Bliss (from NXT) Round No. 10 Picks (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 48. Braun Strowman - Raw 49. Breezango - SmackDown Live 50. Bo Dallas - Raw 51. Eva Marie - SmackDown Live 52. Shining Stars - Raw 53. The Vaudevillains - SmackDown Live Round No. 11 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 54. Alicia Fox - Raw 55. Erick Rowan - SmackDown Live 56. Dana Brooke - Raw 57. Mojo Rawley - SmackDown Live from NXT 58. Curtis Axel - Raw 59. Carmella - SmackDown Live from NXT Undrafted Heath Slater http://www.wwe.com/2016-wwe-draft-results

I hope Dillinger gets drafted. He is the most underrated guy in NXT and deserves a real chance to shine.

Shocked that Cena hasn't been drafted yet...

Any possibility of a twist, such as Bryan being drafted to Raw and Mick to Smackdown? Bryan being on "the Cruiserweight show" would make a ton more sense IMO. Then again, they're probably depending on his star-power to prop up SD.

I agree with pretty much all of this, but there's one point I want to address: Wasn't Ziggler's big "pipe bomb" some WWE.com/YouTube exclusive backstage interview? For one thing, no one saw that. But even if it was followed up on TV and I'm blanking out, there's one other important element you're not taking into consideration: When Punk unleashed his "Pipe Bomb," WWE followed it up with a massive push and World Title reign. When Ziggler did it, WWE followed it up with crickets. Nothing happened. It was never presented as something that mattered. I think the fans believed Ziggler, but what they didn't believe was that his words would actually make a difference - and it didn't.

WWE Network will be airing this live during Smackdown: WWE Draft Center Live - new 7/19/16 Get inside the WWE Draft like never before with this revolutionary telecast, exclusively on WWE Network! TV-PG http://network.wwe.com/video/v31382911 Does that mean we can just watch that and not SD, or is it more of a "second screen experience"?

I hope they don't split up New Day, but I could see a GM wanting one of the three. All of them could conceivably be singles stars. I hope it doesn't happen though (yet anyway).

Thanks. Corrected my original post. Where is this from? BTW, Lucha Dragons aren't even listed as a team in the WWE.com article, which is strange. But yeah, your guesses sound logical. Neither split would set the world on fire, but I'd rather stale predictability than, say, Enzo and Cass getting broken up for the sake of a shocker. Aries would be such a waste of a pick IMO. He reeks of "indy" and would be lost in the shuffle on the main roster within seconds. A guy like that is perfect for NXT and should stay there forever.

UPDATED: FULL DRAFT RESULTS From WWE.com: Round No. 1 1. Seth Rollins - Raw 2. WWE Champion Dean Ambrose - SmackDown Live 3. WWE Women's Champion Charlotte - Raw 4. AJ Styles - SmackDown Live 5. Finn Bálor - Raw from NXT Round No. 2 6. Roman Reigns - Raw 7. John Cena - SmackDown Live 8. Brock Lesnar - Raw 9. Randy Orton - SmackDown Live 10. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day - Raw Round No. 3 11. Sami Zayn - Raw 12. Bray Wyatt - SmackDown Live 13. Sasha Banks - Raw 14. Becky Lynch - SmackDown Live 15. Chris Jericho - Raw Round No. 4 16. United States Champion Rusev (with Lana) - Raw 17. Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with Maryse) - SmackDown Live 18. Kevin Owens - Raw 19. Baron Corbin - SmackDown Live 20. Enzo & Cass - Raw Round No. 5 21. Gallows and Anderson - Raw 22. American Alpha - SmakDown Live from NXT 23. Big Show - Raw 24. Dolph Ziggler - SmackDown Live 25. Nia Jax - Raw from NXT Round No. 6 26. Neville - Raw 27. Natalya - SmackDown Live 28. Cesaro - Raw 29. Alberto Del Rio - SmackDown Live 30. Sheamus - Raw Round No. 7 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 31. Golden Truth - Raw 32. The Usos - SmackDown Live 33. Titus O'Neil - Raw 34. Demon Kane - SmackDown Live 35. Paige - Raw Round No. 8 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 36. Darren Young (with Bob Backlund) - Raw 37. Kalisto - SmackDown Live 38. Sin Cara - Raw 39. Naomi - SmackDown Live 40. Jack Swagger - Raw 41. The Ascension - SmackDown Live Round No. 9 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 42. The Dudley Boyz - Raw 43. Zack Ryder - SmackDown Live 44. Summer Rae - Raw 45. Apollo Crews - SmackDown Live 46. Mark Henry - Raw 47. Alexa Bliss (from NXT) Round No. 10 Picks (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 48. Braun Strowman - Raw 49. Breezango - SmackDown Live 50. Bo Dallas - Raw 51. Eva Marie - SmackDown Live 52. Shining Stars - Raw 53. The Vaudevillains - SmackDown Live Round No. 11 (announced during WWE Draft Center Live on WWE Network) 54. Alicia Fox - Raw 55. Erick Rowan - SmackDown Live 56. Dana Brooke - Raw 57. Mojo Rawley - SmackDown Live from NXT 58. Curtis Axel - Raw 59. Carmella - SmackDown Live from NXT Undrafted Heath Slater http://www.wwe.com/2016-wwe-draft-results ____________________________________ With the Draft coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to create a separate thread to discuss the rules, eligible wrestlers, draft picks on this week's Smackdown, and the ramifications beyond that. From WWE.com: Draft rules revealed: Everything you need to know about the WWE Draft With this Tuesday's WWE Draft on the premiere of SmackDown Live on USA Network fast approaching, WWE.com answers the biggest questions of the WWE Universe with a breakdown of the official rules, regulations and procedures for one of the biggest nights in WWE history — including a major update that will change the face of NXT as well. The rules for the WWE Draft are as follows: Raw has the first overall pick Since SmackDown Live is a two-hour show and Raw is three hours, for every two picks SmackDown Live receives, Raw will receive three picks Tag teams count as one pick unless a Commissioner/General Manager specifically only wants one member of the team​ Six draft picks will be made off the NXT roster​ The list of current WWE Superstars eligible for the WWE Draft will be as follows: Male Superstars AJ Styles Alberto Del Rio Apollo Crews Baron Corbin Big Show Braun Strowman Bray Wyatt Brock Lesnar Cesaro Chris Jericho Darren Young (w/ Bob Backlund) Dean Ambrose – WWE Champion Demon Kane Dolph Ziggler Erick Rowan Jack Swagger John Cena Kalisto Kevin Owens Mark Henry Neville Randy Orton Roman Reigns Rusev (w/ Lana) – United States Champion Sami Zayn Seth Rollins Sheamus Sin Cara The Miz (w/ Maryse) – Intercontinental Champion Titus O’Neil Zack Ryder Tag Teams Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) Enzo and Cass (Enzo Amore and Big Cass) Gallows and Anderson (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth) Shining Stars (Epico and Primo) Social Outcasts (Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and Heath Slater) The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) – Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) Female Superstars Alicia Fox Becky Lynch Charlotte – WWE Women’s Champion Dana Brooke Eva Marie Naomi Natalya Paige Sasha Banks Summer Rae http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-draft-rules-2016 Some quick thoughts: Raw getting 3 picks for every 2 on Smackdown [corrected] kinda makes sense with the time difference, but I don't know if I like it, because it screams that Raw is still the "A-Show." Eva Marie is on the main roster? (Sasha's partner?) Will any tag teams get split up? I hope not. Doesn't sound like it anyway, even though there's a provision in the rules for it. I wonder what the "major update that will change the face of NXT" will be, unless that is referencing the six NXT draft picks mentioned below that? Guesses on the "NXT Six"? My predictions (in no particular order): 1. Finn Balor. 2. American Alpha. 3. Bayley. 4. Nia Jax (I think this is rumored somewhere). 5. Samoa Joe (not too sure on this one). 6. Hideo Itami (another wild guess).

No. At least according to Cody himself: Edit: On second thought, Cody didn't deny it. Kinda ambiguous. Could be read that he's raring to fight for his name. https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/754038879993401344 What a scumbag move by WWE if true, especially when Dusty worked for them until the day he died and Dustin still works there now.

Is Almas another Sin Cara, amazing in his own country but can't connect the dots here? Everything about his NXT character and work is terrible.

So, how is Gran Metalik pronounced? Both Mauro and Bryan pronounced it different ways - Gran META-leek (Bryan) and Gran Muh-tah-leek (Mauro) - and Mauro stubbornly stuck to his pronunciation, except in one case where he pronounced it the way Bryan did. Reminded me of the Nitro days where Schiavone and Tenay would pronounce Ultimo Dragon differently. Or Lord Alfred Hayes calling Kato "Kah-toe" while Mooney and everyone else said "Kay-toe." In a way, I kinda like it. Makes the broadcast feel more real and less homogenized.

They overdid that talking point, but it was nice to actually hear the commentators treating it as a sport, as real life, by bringing up things that could affect a normal person. Okay, no one likely went straight from the airport to the ring, but jet lag can still plausibly affect someone's ability to win.

This only makes sense if Shane picks Bryan, Steph picks a heel (Triple H?), and then both GMs get switched in the Draft. Otherwise, why would they logically pick people who would go against their interests? I don't like your Vince scenario. No one is going to give the other person someone as beloved as Daniel Bryan.

I enjoyed honestly enjoyed Ibushi vs. Maluta (CWC) more than Finn vs. Nak, which didn't really get going until the final five minutes and had the bullshit WWE "let's kick out of finishers" crap that's so trite now. Nak is amazing - an elite wrestler and character - but Finn still leaves me feeling cold.