The WWE Draft Used to be SPECIAL!

WrestleMania season is over and in just a few days the WWE is about to shake things up with the annual draft the two night event where wrestlers are sent from one show to another new story lines and feuds are made possible and I got to say as a kid who grew up in the 2000s watching wrestling I used to love the draft WWE draft night used to be a special night and it All Began all the way back in March of 2002 with the first ever draft this was a night where the brand split that so many of us grew up with officially began in 2002 for the first time ever the WWE decided to split their Rock ERS across two shows Raw and SmackDown with Ric Flair as the KF owner of raw and Vince as the owner of SmackDown the first draft took place 22 years ago and it is a trip to look back at first off it is so clear watching this back and even doing a tiny bit of research that the company had absolutely zero idea on what the hell they were doing for two hours on an episode of Raw they had Flair and Vince take turns making selections for their show drafting a roster from scratch and this draft is hilarious because other than the top stars like rock and taker who were the first two picks 95% the roster had no idea where the hell they were going the talent was finding out their future the same time the fans were live on television so on this episode of Raw the entire roster is just sitting there being filmed filled with anxiety not knowing where the hell they're going to be wrestling next week where their traveling buddies and friends are going to go and in some cases where the significant others are going to be so during the show when The Dudley get split up across the two shows their reaction on TV was their genuine reaction on finding out that they're finally going their separate ways but despite that this draft was memorable for many reasons The Rock going first overall to SmackDown of course he had to go to SmackDown and just roasting Vince Undertaker being pissed off for being drafted by the guy who he just beat up at WrestleMania a week before this and most importantly for them having Ric Flair draft the stupidest raw roster you you could have possibly imagined smackdown's roster cleared the raw roster by so much it didn't make any sense Smackdown was out here getting wrestlers like the rock angle Beno Hogan and Edge meanwhile raw was getting heel Undertaker washed up NW going second overall without Hogan and Kane which it's fine but like really thank God they got RVD but yo imagine RVD on the O2 Smackdown roster but yeah know the draft was super unbalanced and just all over the place and the company knew it because by the end of o2 the whole rosters got flipped upside down anyway and just to make everything seem even more of a mess Austin who was so fed up was booking at this point didn't even bother to show up to be drafted on Raw so they had to make this whole story line up of how he was somehow a free agent but nobody else was meanwhile poor Chris Jericho who was the world champion 8 days prior to the draft he he didn't even get drafted on TV he had to wait for a selection to be published on wwe.com after the show to find out where the hell he was going and mind you this was 2002 there was no internet at Starbucks the O2 draft was a mess in every way and did not reflect what Raw and SmackDown ended up becoming in anyway but when I think of the O2 draft I get nothing but warm and fuzzy feelings because personally I think a SmackDown shut Your Mouth on the PS2 because that game season mode actually starts at the draft and you're able to replay and recreate the entire draft however you want it to be and and it is crazy to this day how well they replicated it but yeah despite this being a mess and despite them having absolutely zero planning it is definitely without a doubt an iconic episode of Raw I wish it was a little bit older so I could have watched this live because I can imagine how exciting this was at the time but hey this draft and brand split this is what started it all we move on to the 2004 draft and this night was Infamous what was so special about this night was since 2002 for the most part once the rosters got drafted R and SmackDown rarely ever interacted it was like the Bloods and Crips side here the brands were so clearly divided with no interaction whatsoever just the idea of a Smackdown guy pulling up to ra feel like a huge deal so to have all the smackdown guys pull up to ra for one night it was like wo and in terms of the actual drafts none of the selections really changed the game instead poor SmackDown just kind of got pillaged yeah we're going to take Shelton Benjamin and Edge and here you can have Mark gindra I don't even think Mark jindra's mom wanted him back in 2004 but this night is Infamous for one pick in the middle of the show it was time for Smackdown to make a selection and John Cena comes out and does a rrap and basically calls both bishof and Heyman who are the general managers jackasses Cena selects a draft pick for Smackdown and leaves he gives it to hon and Heyman starts complaining like hey this pick isn't legit I'm not I'm not using this and Bishop demands he takes it Haymon complains but he slowly opens it up and reads it he slowly stops speaking and says are you sure you want me to take this draft pick Eric Bishop says yes and he announces to the world the pick is Triple H Triple H gets drafted a Smackdown after 2 years of rainning down Terror I mean terrorist attacks on the raw roster the game was Smackdown bound and it was like what the hell cuz there was no one especially back in 04 there was no one who was more of a raw wrestler in 2004 than Triple H but now it didn't matter get ready to learn UPN buddy he's going to SmackDown and this episode of Raw ends in one of the coolest Main Events I've ever seen live Eddie Guerrero versus Triple H for the WWE title and for some reason this is a match that I think growing up I probably watched over a 100 times on YouTube in shitty 240p quality now trust me back in the day this match definitely went platinum in the hood on YouTube and it's honestly it's just because of how much a trip this match was Triple H in a Smackdown shirt taking on Eddie Guerrero for the first and last time a week after WrestleMania 20 and the match ends in a giant brawl and everyone's just tweaking Raw and SmackDown blue shirts everywhere red shirts everywhere Austin pulling up in his ATV a great match a great spectacle an awesome ending for an awesome show and like yeah this had seven-year-old me on YouTube in a choke C sadly Triple H didn't want to work Tuesday so we never went to SmackDown and got traded back but nonetheless a classic draft episode moving on to the 2005 draft this is probably my favorite and the one that is most ingrained in my brain because I vividly remember as a kid watching every single episode and seeing every single selection live over a month yeah this was a draft that didn't take place on one night and actually took place over the course of a month and as a result it just made everything so fire I will never forget watching Raw I'm like 7 years old and SmackDown was definitely my favorite show at the time because my boy Cena was on it and the first draft selection ends up Being John Cena who comes out to open up Monday Night Raw and when I tell you I was jumping for joy and screaming and going crazy just because Cena was on my TV on a Monday I I'm not joking probably the most fond wrestling memory I have because of how young I was and how much the surprise caught me off guard and every episode after that Raw SmackDown didn't matter it was like wa who's going to get drafted and what made it so crazy was it wasn't idiots like Spike Dudley getting drafted or something n you tune to Raw Cena comes out and he's beefing Jericho next week on Rock Curt angle was in the cut meanwhile on Smackdown Randy Orton is interfering the main event it was top tier Talent making the switch but the coolest moment for sure other than Cena being drafted to Raw was definitely when the World Heavyweight Champion went over to SmackDown see since Cena left to Raw solded the championship with them and as a result Smackdown was left without a world title so as the draft was going on they actually had the storyline where a new Smackdown Championship was going to be created and they had a fiveman match that went 44 minutes and at the end JBL won the match and was going to be crowned until we found out that the last pick of the draft was Batista who comes out with the world title officially join Smackdown and as much as I love one night draft nights especially the ones that came after this this month-long draft was just so special it was big stars jumping shows every week felt massive and yeah it set up the next two years perfectly truly a special time 06 didn't really have a draft instead because ECW was becoming the third brand they had Paul Heyman stand in the ring and just gave him two selections and he was able to select any two two wrestlers he wanted and he chose Kurt Angle which was a great pick and then he chose the Big Show yeah cuz if I could choose any wrestler in the roster I'm I'm choosing this I hate the Big Show anyway 07 was a return to form and it was back to being a special one night event and this was an episode that I remember being really hyped for back in the day it was a special three-hour episode of Raw and wrestlers from all three brands were going to appear and this time draft picks were actually up for grabs through matches so when Edge defeated Cena that meant Smackdown got one draft pick for first of all I almost threw up in my mouth saying that second how could you not be hyped as a 9-year-old tuning into raw and not only are draft picks and wrestlers changing Brands we out here getting Cena versus Edge on free television we also got probably the most random Triple Threat you could imagine Batista versus Jeff Hardy versus Elijah Bri my mind can't compute that it doesn't make sense the whole idea of the night was perfect it was really hyped up and really well done the whole format change and everything was perfect the only issue was uh nobody of note got drafted yo do you know how Ling it was as someone who always prefers Smackdown over Ross sitting through matches like The Miz versus Snitsky just to see Smackdown get a pick and being excited and the pick ends up being Chris Masters in 2007 like yo what are we doing here I mean Chris benoa drafted ECW and nothing was ever the same again good planning good ideas just not good draft picks if anything the most memorable moment of the night was Vince McMahon getting drafted to hell but it's all good because the company took the 07 approach and came back with it again in 2008 and this time let's just say they heard all the chatter about nothing important happening and they went nuts in a way the 2008 draft is one of the most memorable nights of Television I've ever seen live this was an awesome night this was also such a fun watch for me back in the day because it also happened to be the first day of summer vacation so all my friends came over and we all watched it together and it seemed like every single pick had us going insane For Better or For Worse see by 2008 we had like six years of the brand split and there were so many wrestlers who in our brains were ingrained as Smackdown guys or as raw guys just the thought of them switching shows made us feel uncomfortable so when the OA draft happened and it started and Rey Mysterio got drafted from R of SmackDown to say my skin was crawling would be an understatement once the graphic showed up on the screen a part of me died that night Rain Mysterio on Raw just felt wrong it felt disgusting it felt illegal it was like seeing Dwayne Wade on the Cavaliers in 2017 and the worst part was this was just the beginning the night was just filled with surprises and surprises because right after this finle won a match and got Jeff Hardy drafted a Smackdown which as you know the rest was history but even in that moment Jeff on Smackdown it just felt like a match made in heaven CM Punk finally glowed up from ECW Batista got sent back to raw and on any other night this would have had us tripping but yeah once Ray was gone at this point we were numb or so we thought nothing could have prepared us for when Michael Cole and Jim Ross had to switch places that that moment is so insane because Jr and Cole didn't know they were moving shows so when you're watching this you see them get drafted for one another poor Jr it looked like he wanted to end it all on live TV because when this happened he basically got demoted on live TV Jim Ross not being the raw commentator and at that time Michael Cole not being the smackdown commentator just it felt disgusting from the first time I ever watched wrestling back in 0203 all I knew was Jim Ross called raw Cole caught Smackdown and now it was mumbo jumbo it's like what are we going to do poor King he doesn't have Jr anymore how is he going to be everything I knew was gone and just everything just everything I knew everything that made me feel warm and cozy as a wrestling fan at that point for my whole childhood everything got messed up on this night Rey Mysterio is now on Raw Batista is going back to Raw Jim Ross is on Smackdown what is this and to cap it all off edge eliminated Cena to win a Battle Royal in the main event for a draft pick and he ended up getting Triple H drafted to SmackDown it talk about wrong talk about feeling uncomfortable the same man who just a few minutes ago in the same video I talked about how he embodied raw like no one else back in 04 now in 08 he was actually going to SmackDown for real this time this draft changed everything the Ros and smackdowns we knew for so many years that we grew up on that I grew up on it was done this was a new era and it's so funny how these Brands and wrest was being on a certain show just meant so much to us back in the day as kids it's like I I there's no way in hell that kids these days care that much if Cody R is on raw or he's on Smackdown but it was still real to us damn it a super memorable night a night that I'll never forget a really fun night the night that really changed everything oh and I forgot to mention uh Vince McMahon died again yo what is wrong with this guy trying to die or fake his death every draft night the next year in 2009 they ran the draft back the same way and what's funny is they lowkey kind of reversed everything they did the year prior yeah triple on Smackdown is not it anymore let's let's get him back to Raw Rey Mysterio please go back to SmackDown fans are throwing up every time you come out please go back to SmackDown and like it's pretty funny when you think about it cuz it's like yeah Triple H got drafted to Raw in April level9 bro this guy's been on Raw since January he got beat up on Raw he's been beating up people on Raw he saw his wife got clapped on Raw he's out here doing home invasions on Raw he he's been a part of the raw roster guys but other than Triple H this one definitely had some pretty important transfers CM Punk went to SmackDown and so did Jericho and I remember during the show though that this was the year where it really hit me and I really began to pray and hope that somehow some way John Cena would end up going to SmackDown so this was during the time where Cena's character was really changing and he was really entering a super cringe era and as someone who grew up with him as a rapper as a cool tough guy like hust a l to respect Chain Gang era and my 11-year-old head I was like hey maybe if he gets drafted a Smackdown he might become cool again he might become a rapper again so this was a year where I watched the entire draft and every time a pick was selected I was hoping I was praying I'm like please might be seen at a Smackdown it might be seen at a Smackdown uh sadly it end up being the Big Show it's always Big Show ruins everything it ruins everything every single it's fine whatever scen of SmackDown didn't happen but man I used to pray for it the 2010 draft was a draft that for some reason I genuinely had zero memories of and once I went back and watched it it makes sense why because nothing of value really happened here Edge got drafted from Smackdown Terra which I had zero elction of and I think it's fair because like 5 months later he's world champion on Smackdown it was all right just nothing to really write home about even the matches were kind of kind of like what are we doing here the last match for the draft pick on this night was horn swaggle beating Dolph Ziggler how do you even think of booking that match but the next year the 2011 Draft the last draft for 5 years now this is one I remember sadly the 2011 Draft was a night where when I was watching this and I was witnessing it I really thought my life was going to change forever after years of begging and begging and hoping that maybe one day maybe one day John Cena would return home to SmackDown and be cool again it actually happened the 2011 Draft open with the Big Show yes the Big Show the most useless wrestler of all time winning a 20-man battle royale with Kofi Kingston and earning Smackdown a draft pick and just like every other year when the wrestlers were being shown on the screen and randomized a tiny part of me was like please please be Cena and it actually happened it ended up being John Cena drafted a Smackdown I had never in my life been more thankful for the Big Show if I could have I would have bought him 30 big Maxs no problem it was exactly what I was hoping for for years at this point and it was so shocking it was so hype it was so exciting Cena got drafted Smackdown in a huge surprise the crowd was going crazy and this was something that really felt like could change the company in my mind all these thoughts were racing like wow there's so many feuds for Cena now how will he be on Smackdown who are they going to push on Raw as a result of this and it was legit gamechanging in every way and most importantly as someone who was in my Peak pre-teen I hate Cena now because the internet told me to phase I thought this was going to make Cena cool again and not be Barney yeah this draft was awesome at the time even though R myio got sent back to Raw by this point the damage had already been done it it it didn't matter matter even Randy got drafted a Smackdown and the main event was a six-man tag match between The Miz Punk and Del Rio versus Cena chrisan and Mark Henry and I knew raw was going to win this because Smackdown had just been clearing the draft picks and they had to end off the Night by having a star from Smackdown G raw and I was just hoping and praying like you know please be Kane or something they have the match and raw wins as predicted and as the randomizer goes off the most annoying thing that could have possibly happen happens Cena gets drafted back to Raw now I'm sorry I I'm sorry this was so stupid but I I was so mad I was legit mad at this point after years of me secretly hoping for the switch they had the audacity to do it and then troll us you know not even troll us troll me they had the audacity for me to get flashbacks of Cen on Smackdown get all excited get all nostalgic wrestling was going to feel right once again Cena was going to be cool again they even had Cena put on the damn Smackdown shirt just to take it all away and what really pissed me off with the icing on the cake was when he did get drafted back to Raw he was all smiling and happy Oh look what we have here I guess I'm staying on Raw no bro we wanted you on Smackdown stop smiling I don't know if it was like this for anyone else I doubt anyone else really cared if Cena was on Smackdown or Raw especially in 2010 or 2011 but for some reason I did and this is what they did to me but Jokes Aside it's a pretty funny moment it it's just it is kind of stupid but hey I'll allow it it was actually Vince playing a prank on the USA Network by wanting to troll them and make it seem like he had drafted their biggest draw to another channel for a few hours so in that case it's pretty funny but yo it it definitely broke my heart I just wanted it to be 2004 again my bad but that ended up being the last draft for a while because after this in mid 2011 the brand split was basically over after almost 10 years the brand split was done and every week it was a free-for-all raw became a Super Show and SmackDown became even more of it be show that less and less people started watching and the weekly product especially SmackDown just became less and less watchable as time went on but then it was 2016 and it was time to run it back apparently it was 2002 all over again and it was time to split the brands one more time from scratch it was time for a new generation of fans who experienced a brand split and Forge bonds with certain wrestlers be certain brands it was time for a new era kind of sadly this brand split didn't really last that long compared to the first one but it doesn't matter because at the end of the day the 2016 draft was a very special night just like the ones I just talked about back in 2016 I had just graduated high school and I was a really Jed wrestling fan at this point but they they got me they got me hooked they got me amped once they announced a draft and they announced a brand split again I I was back into it with Shane and Brian heading up Tuesdays Foley and Steph on Mondays The rosters were drafted and on this night both rosters were absolutely stacked just by splitting their rosters again I I was back I'm like hey I'm actually going to watch this next week and 2016 was probably the last time where a draft really moved me where I was genuinely excited after after this you know we had some shakeups we had some redrafts we had a bunch of restarts but nothing captured the magic like this one did either way the point is When We Were Young when we were naive little kids watching wrestling when SmackDown and Raw truly felt different there there were very few nights on the year as fun and as exciting as this night it it was such a blast to be a kid and watch traft night you've seen all the moments you've seen all the pics it just felt so special back then and it's so fun to revisit these nights because once you're older you know you kind of forget about the raw episodes the smackdown episodes you only remember the big moments right the pay-per-views and Manas but back in the day when we were kids and we couldn't get every pay-per-view nights like draft night they felt like pay-per-views to us it was a big deal for a wrestler to switch show it was a big deal for wrestlers to all be on one show for one night it was a big deal to get matches like Edge versus Cena on TV draft nights were just fun nights but yeah in the comments down below let me know what is your favorite draft memory what is your favorite draft night for me in terms of draft night itself I'll say 2008 in terms of overall draft I I got to say 2005 but yeah let me know maybe there's some stickles out there that love the 2011 Draft because you wanted Cena to stay on Raw I I hate you but yeah you never know hope you guys enjoyed the video kind of a random video but hey I thought it was pretty fun let me know what you think down below it's your boy p AKA wrestling gifts and I'll see you guys with the next one very soon till then later guys I'm out

Channel: WrestlinGifs

Views: 199,365

Keywords: WWE, WWE Draft, WWE Draft Results, Wrestlinggifs

Id: Ad_nau02lb0

Length: 19min 31sec (1171 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2024