WWE Draft 2020 Results: Big E And The Winners, Losers Of Night 1 On SmackDown

The WWE Draft came and went with a newsworthy show, not the least of which saw the forced disbandment of The New Day after six years as a successful stable. The New Day’s long run ended on the same night they were reunited following injuries to both Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, and coincides with a serious singles push for Big E, who defeated Sheamus in an uneven Falls Count Anywhere Match.

Much of the awkwardly structured draft saw the entire roster able to be drafted, with both Raw and SmackDown spending the majority of its draft picks re-drafting Superstars who were already part of the brand. It was a textbook hokey presentation of a traditional sports concept.

WWE has set itself up for what should be an even more awkward Night 2 with many Raw Superstars drafted right back to the red brand and few to choose from this coming Monday. All signs point to Raw stars, who were already re-drafted, being drafted back to SmackDown as WWE’s Senile Era roars on.

Winner: Seth Rollins

SmackDown will absorb the Mysterio-Rollins storyline as all principles were drafted to the blue brand. With The Fiend rumored to be headed to Raw, Rollins will now be a top star on WWE’s No. 1 rated show with very little competition outside of Roman Reigns. With Rollins as a heel, he doesn’t necessarily have to worry about being fed to Roman Reigns anytime soon. In fact, WWE may not be able to help itself in reviving its once-ubiquitous Shield references as the two are destined to cross paths.

Loser: Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair will obviously be a player regardless of where she is drafted. WWE is clearly beginning to get behind the budding star as she’s been featured in entertaining vignettes on Raw for weeks. If there was a such thing as a can’t-miss star in The Senile Era of WWE, which there isn’t, she’d be one.

After being drafted to SmackDown, however, with Bayley and Sasha in the middle of a feud, Belair will have to wait her turn before being consistently featured on SmackDown. If WWE’s plan is to continue to slow-play her debut with more vignettes, that’s fine, but she could have easily walked into a championship opportunity on Raw. That will not be the case on Friday nights.

Winner: AJ Styles

AJ Styles had done just about everything he needed to do on SmackDown, and with a heel world champion projecting to be on top long-term, Styles was only going to go so far. Styles now gets to compete on Monday nights, meaning he can attend his son’s high school football games and also compete for the WWE Championship against top babyface Drew McIntyre.

Loser: Ricochet

Ricochet was going nowhere fast on Raw, where he was made to feud with The Hurt Business week after week. In desperate need of a fresh start with his career circling the drain countless times since losing a squash match to Brock Lesnar in Saudi Arabia, Ricochet stayed put. The Hurt Business is primed to finally move on to bigger and better things with a feud against RETRIBUTION, while the otherwise talented Ricochet’s prospects continue to be devoid of hope.

Winner: Big E

The news of the popular New Day stable splitting up is certainly upsetting, but it sets Big E up for his continued singles push, which has been going as well as one can hope given WWE’s struggles with babyfaces. Big E defeated Sheamus in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, and will only continue to rise up the ranks as he is officially flying solo on Friday nights.