PW

2016 Fight Booth WWE Mock Draft

Published

7 years ago

July 1, 2016

Dan Rose (RAW) and Dave Reno (Smackdown) sat down and decided to do their own roster split. It was contentious, it was heated and in the end, it was amazing. Sit back, relax and take in the 2016 Fight Booth WWE Mock Draft.

• Round 1

1st Overall (RAW): Seth Rollins – Nobody else could be the overall number one pick. Seth Rollins is the preeminent professional wrestler right now. Can be a heel or a face, he can certainly carry a company on his back. RAW was thrilled to have the first overall pick, and we nailed it with the best there is, Seth Rollins

2nd Overall (Smackdown): AJ Styles – When you look at this draft the idea is to pick the best man or woman to suit your needs for the next 365 days until the next one. We here at Smackdown feel that AJ Styles is the top athlete for the job. When he comes to winning titles all over the world this man is guilty as charged. It’s only a matter of time before WWE gold finds its way around his waist on Tuesday nights – live on USA.

• Round 2

3rd Overall (RAW): Kevin Owens – The only wrestler on the roster I would have considered outside of Rollins for #1. Kevin Owens is the future of professional wrestling, and he’s as good as anyone in the ring, on the mic, backstage and doing play by play. Simply put, he has it all. He’s a star and RAW could not imagine going forward without him.

4th Overall (Smackdown): Dean Ambrose – The current WWE champion is a steal at number 4. The color is pink and the current feeling in the office is tickled when it comes to having Ambrose at the very top of our roster.

• Round 3

5th Overall (RAW): John Cena – Let’s be honest, the fifteen time World Champion is the ICON in professional wrestling. He’s the biggest name, the biggest star, and a crossover mainstream household name. Whether you believe his best days are behind him, nobody brings the name value like John Cena. He is RAW….and by securing him with the third pick, he will remain so.

6th Overall (Smackdown): Roman Reigns – When Roman Reigns returns to work from his 30 day suspension at Battleground he has just as good as any fromer member of The Shield to leave the ring with WWE’s biggest prize over his shoulder. And even if he doesn’t become a 4-time world champion on that night – you can expect him to come for it like a man possessed. That’s the type of “guy” we want on our roster. Not a good guy, not a bad buy, but a guy who is going to pick fights with whomever is carrying the ultimate prize.

• Round 4

7th Overall (RAW): Sasha Banks – The first female drafted in the brand split, she’s among the most talented performers in the business, man or woman, and “The Boss” had to be the cornerstone of the RAW brand. RAW will build its Women’s division around her, and we’re thrilled to have her on the roster.

8th Overall (Smackdown): Finn Bálor – As the future top brand for WWE we feel obligated to dress our roster with the future stars in the world of sports and entertainment. There is no one I can think of whose star has shined brighter during their time with NXT than Finn Bálor. Now that he’s a part of the main roster he will simply be known as Bálor moving forward.

• Round 5

9th Overall (RAW): Brock Lesnar – Paul Heyman once stated, the thing he loved most about Taz in ECW, was that he brought the “Big Fight Atmosphere.” Well, fast forward to 2016 and NOBODY brings the big fight atmosphere like Brock Lesnar. Everytime he shows up, it is special. He isn’t on the roster week in and week out, but when he shows up, it’s must see TV. We had to have Lesnar. Had to.

10th Overall (Smackdown): Bray Wyatt – It’s time to give “The New Face of Fear” the opportunity for that major push everyone has been screaming for. I don’t see any scenario where we could possibly stop this man from headlining just about every show on Smackdown.

11th Overall (RAW): Shinsuke Nakamura – The King of Strong Style is a star. He’s been in NXT tearing it up since his amazing debut match with Sami Zayn and he is more than ready for a spot on the big roster. He will undoubtedly bring his unique combination of showmanship and stiff wrestling style to RAW and make an immediate impact. RAW really wanted him, so we made sure we got him, with the 6th pick in the draft.

12th Overall (Smackdown): Bayley – Again, it’s all about the future and Bayley is just that when it comes to women’s wrestling. She’s a future WWE women’s champion and we are delighted to have her on Smackdown along with Bálor from NXT.

• Round 7

13th Overall (RAW): Sami Zayn – Lucky # 7 …. Sami Zayn is exciting as anyone on the roster, and has unlimited upside. His feud with Kevin Owens has been legendary, but once he moves on from that, expect him to challenge for many titles in RAW. He’s talented, driven and the fans love him. Sami Zayn had to be on RAW, and with the seventh pick, we made sure he was.

14th Overall (Smackdown): Samoa Joe – As the current NXT champion, Joe has some unfinished business to take care of before we bring him up to the main roster. As soon as he loses that title, or decides to vacate it if no one can take it from him, he has a spot waiting for him in our locker room. This one was a no brainer. Joe versus Bálor has been the feud of the year so far in pro wrestling and it continues on WWE Smackdown.

• Round 8

15th Overall (RAW): Charlotte – The WWE Women’s Champion has been struggling to gain her own footing in RAW. First, she was handicapped by her relationship with Ric Flair, and now Dana Brooke is serving as the albatross around her neck. We feel that given room to stand on her own, she’s blossom. She has a ton of in ring ability, and at the end of the day, she’s the champion for a reason. We’re very happy to see what the future holds for Charlotte.

16th Overall (Smackdown): Cesaro – The strongest man P4P in wrestling is also the most exciting in-ring. The traveling uppercut party will be hosted by the “The Professional” every Tuesday night on the USA Network and the Cesaro Section is cordially invited.

• Round 9

17th Overall (RAW): Big E – We snagged the largest member of The New Day with the 9th pick in the draft, and we’re lucky to have him. He’s a top notch performer in and out of the ring, and to be honest, I feel like he’s capable of big things on his own. RAW would love to end up with The New Day on RAW, and we made our first bid at that happening with this pick.

18th Overall (Smackdown): Big Cass – It’s impossible to teach someone how to grow up and become a 7 foot professional wrestler but somehow, someway – this man seems to have done just that. Whether he comes equipped with his sidekick or not (we’re hoping he does), this is a man who has future champion written all over him.

• Round 10

19th Overall (RAW): Becky Lynch – Yes, we drafted our third woman in the top ten with this pick. Becky is a star, and has potentially as much upside as anyone in the sport. Also, it gives RAW three amazing female wrestlers to build around, and we’re thrilled to have Becky on board.

2oth Overall (Smackdown): Enzo Amore – You know it and I know it – it’s too earlier to separate Enzo & Cass. These two have more chemistry than any tag team on the current roster. They light up arena after arena night after night and they are the perfect combo to kick off the show week in and week out.

• Round 11

21st Overall (RAW): Paige – The dynamic talent can reach unbelievable heights if she can keep her life outside the ring on the tracks.

22nd Overall (Smackdown): Alberto Del Rio – He’s one of the greatest in-ring workers in the business to this day. An absolute steal this late in the draft.

• Round 12

23rd Overall (RAW): Asuka – NXT Women’s champion makes RAW the undisputed home for Women’s wrestling.

24th Overall (Smackdown): Nikki Bella – RAW is tearing us to shreds right now when it comes to the women’s side of things. We’re counting on a huge return for Nikki later this year. We’re also sending out our scouts to bring us more female talent to Tuesday night since RAW has selfishly stolen just about all of it.

• Round 13

25th Overall (RAW): Xavier Woods – We use lucky number 13 to pick up the 2nd member of The New Day and perhaps the most talented “performer” in the group.

26th Overall (Smackdown): Randy Orton – Did you hear that? Probably not. “The Viper” has a knack for sneaking up on you when you least expect it. Make sure to tune into USA at 8 p.m. ET every single Tuesday night. You never know what you might miss.

• Round 14

27th Overall (RAW): Kofi Kingston – New Day Rocks … New Day Rocks … New Day Rocks!

28th Overall (Smackdown): Jason Jordan – We’re taking tag team wrestling very seriously here at Smackdown…..

• Round 15

29th Overall (RAW): Chris Jericho – You’d have to be a STUPID IDIOT if you thought we’d let Y2J land at Smackdown!

30th Overall (Smackdown): Chad Gable – ….So serious that we just picked up the most pure tag talent in all of the land. Please put your hands together and welcome American Alpha to Smackdown.

• Round 16

31st Overall (RAW): Rusev

32nd Overall (Smackdown): The Miz

• Round 17

33rd Overall (RAW): Neville

34th Overall (Smackdown) – Triple H

• Round 18

35th Overall (RAW): Baron Corbin

36th Overall (Smackdown): Nia Jax

• Round 19

37th Overall (RAW): Apollo Crews

38th Overall (Smackdown): Karl Anderson