C.S.

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.

Ibushi vs. Maluta was amazing. I'll even go as far as to say I enjoyed 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. Anyway, did I ever think Ibushi was going to lose? No. But a couple of near-falls at the end had me doubting just a wee bit. I also thought Daivari's brother was the best of the bunch at the heel/sports entertainment/playing to the crowd stuff, which will make him instantly more attractive to Vince than a lot of these other guys IMO. I wonder why Daivari's brother got the nod instead of Daivari himself though? I thought Mauro and Bryan were a phenomenal announce team. The people criticizing Bryan in this thread are nuts. Does he have room to improve? Sure. But in his very first outing, he was better than the majority of commentators the WWE has thrown at us over the last 30 years. BTW, is this thread safe from spoilers or should I avoid if I'm watching week to week and want to be surprised?

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in it either - I just think it will be solid from an in-ring perspective. But I don't care about it, at all.

The obvious one that never should've happened was Nash beating Goldberg's streak and then losing it via finger poke to Hogan. Even at the time, I failed to understand why Nash was getting the coveted Starrcade World Title shot and main event spot. He was was somewhat over and got decent pops, I guess, but he wasn't nearly over enough to headline WCW's big year-end show, much less win it. After Goldberg beat Hogan for the strap, facing Nash seemed like and was a step down. What a disaster! I don't remember the roster well enough to suggest alternatives (which I guess kinda side-steps your question), but Goldberg vs. Nash did not excite me at all - and I don't mean that in a "smarky workrate fan" kind of way. It was just a shitty, unappealing match-up with about as much heat as a Slurpee. Edit: If anyone can point me in the direction of a WCW roster for this period, I'd be happy to suggest other people worthy of a title run. The obvious and logical answer, though, would be to keep it on Goldberg.

I read all three of these, and they were surprisingly good. I don't know if I necessarily learned anything new, or at least not much, but it was still a great reminder and travel down memory lane.

I feel the exact opposite. Him losing to Hunt would've left WWE scrambling after he beat the Streak and hasn't "made" anyone since. What would the WWE's next move have been after a Hunt loss? We'll never know, but that's a hell of a lot more interesting to consider IMO. Either way, we'll get a match and victory over Randy Orton. Talk about a pedestrian pair-up that very few people asked for or wanted, but at least it will be solid in the ring.

Yeah, I definitely responded before I saw your edit. But whoa whoa whoa, I never said I liked Meat, Terri's miscarriage, etc. LOL. I just said I thought the Beaver vignettes were entertaining, but the character died the minute he stepped onto a ramp and headed to the ring. The rest of that crap I definitely didn't like. Hacksaw's heel turn was the worst of the worst, because at least with Meat, etc. you could laugh at and/or ignore how bad it was. With Duggan's turn, his 20+ year persona as an all-American patriot was effectively ruined in the most nonsensical and illogical manner possible. Even when Sgt. Slaughter turned his back on his country, which was a stretch in itself, there was at least some semblance of a reason there, however flimsy. With Duggan, it was done only for shock value and nothing else, and the worst part was, no one cared. About the only interesting aspect of that was seeing Duggan with a haircut and shave, but that novelty got old after the first five seconds. You make a great point about DeMott. He really made chicken salad out of chicken shit with "General" Rection, and I think it proves how underutilized he was all along. He may be an abusive asshole as a trainer, but he wasn't a bad talent. Still, the one thing Russo does deserve credit for is putting DeMott in that spot to get the U.S. Title. That didn't happen by itself.

I'm arguing that those characters fit into Vince McMahon's "shades of grey" speech. Five years earlier, Austin would not have been a babyface with that character. I wasn't arguing this at all, but I agree with you that Bret Hart's anti-U.S., pro-World character was incredible at the time and will likely never be replicated. Yes, I'm agreeing with you about Koko. I'm happy to see Golden Truth, Social Outcasts, etc. get more to do, but it's still very inconsistent and you know it. I'm not secretly angry about Curtis Axel. Good wrestler but either miscast or needs a personality transplant - not really sure. Never said it was "Russo's magic formula" either, just that I'll defend him for trying to do something with everyone. Agreed about Meat, PMS, Religious Dustin Runnels (WTF was that?), etc. I will say, though, that Beaver Cleaver's vignettes did work for me, but it died an instant death once he actually had to walk down the ramp and wrestle as that character - similar to Sean O'Haire in the WWE a few years later. It may have been entertaining from a television standpoint, but not everything can translate to wrestling. I liked The Brady Bunch as a kid, but I wouldn't want to see characters like that in a wrestling ring. That's sort of the effect Beaver Cleavage, "Devil's Advocate" O'Haire, etc. had. The thing is, I prefer horrible gimmicks that are at least memorable to guys having no character, no spot, and nothing to do. Meat, etc. sucked, but at least we remember it - unlike, say, K.C. James, who no one remembers. (Recently watched No Mercy 2006 randomly, which is how I came up with that particular example. His partner was Idol Stevens, who later became Damien Sandow.) I'll also defend MIA, even though I wouldn't call it great or anything. Still, Bill DeMott never meant more than he did in that stupid gimmick (he even won his first and only singles title, and it felt like a good moment when he did). Overall, it was still better than what they were doing with those guys before, which was nothing. A weird example on your part, because there were so many worse gimmicks you could have brought up - like "Fat Chick Thriller" and "That 70's Guy" (poor Mike Awesome).