2016 Pro Wrestling Thread

That would definitely be a mistake, given his character and level of popularity. I'd say the same thing about Nakamura.

 

Agreed. Also with Bayley.

Those three should have a surprise entrance pop. Not just be listed as another name to be drafted.

 

Playing Devil's Advocate, but:

If he's a high draft choice—taken ahead of people such as Del Rio, Swagger, Cesaro, Jericho—that's a new way to get some over.

 

Might be better to announce them through a draft than risk having them surprise debut and no one recognize them.

I mean, WE know who Balor and Bayley and Joe and Nakamura are, but they're not exactly household names.

 

Debut them before a smart audience like in New York, Philly or Chicago. They'll get the pop.

Des Moines, Iowa, probably not as big.

 

Which is why I believe Bayley will be Sasha's partner Sunday...

 

Where did Gallows and Anderson debut? Wherever it was, you could hear crickets, IIRC.

 

Los Angeles. Usually a pretty loud crowd.

One issue, though, is that they came through the crowd. Having an actual entrance, like Styles did, might have given them a bigger pop.

 

Having Balor get drafted like 6 or 7 feels like a momentum killer. Having him debut as a surprise anytime in the last 2-3 months would've generated mroe momentum. They're risking having him go on the Cesaro/Neville track rather than the best case scenario, which is probably AJ Styles or KO. And Styles took 3-4 month to get off the ground.

 

I don't think they're going to see him as more than IC/US title fodder. They'll claim he's too small, and after a few months they'll be skipping most of his entrance. They've always had to be dragged kicking and screaming into accepting Indy darlings as main eventers.

 

If they really want to get Balor over, have Shane talk about how a new era needs a new direction, and a new face. And then he takes Balor with Smackdown's first pick.
Hell, being labeled as the future face of the company can't possibly go wrong, can it?

 

The one thing that I do hope they do with the draft is have those highlight packages with the draftees' heights and weights and accomplishments listed like they did with the first couple of drafts. They made it look like the NFL or NBA draft, and it was pretty amusing to see.