WWE brand split fantasy draft: Raw vs. SmackDown

With WWE reintroducing the brand split and a draft expected to occur at some point or another, we decided to hold a fantasy draft to get in on the fun. My right hand man, Sean Rueter, got control of Monday Night Raw and the first pick while I got control of SmackDown and the second pick. We alternated from there, choosing only from the current roster as it is listed on WWE.com with two NXT call ups thrown in.

We did the first 50 picks on Cageside Live (watch it here), and the rest offline.

The results:

Sean (Raw)

1. Kevin Owens
2. John Cena
3. Bayley
4. Dean Ambrose
5. AJ Styles
6. Bray Wyatt
7. Sami Zayn
8. Cesaro
9. The Miz
10. Charlotte
11. Sasha Banks
12. Big E
13. Nikki Bella
14. Kofi Kingston
15. Xavier Woods
16. Shane McMahon
17. Shinsuke Nakamura
18. Luke Harper
19. Maryse
20. Natalya
21. Neville
22. Alberto Del Rio
23. Bubba Ray Dudley
24. Dana Brooke
25. Tyler Breeze

26. Apollo Crews
27. Karl Anderson
28. Luke Gallows
29. Alicia Fox
30. Goldust
31. Fandango
32. R-Truth
33. Aiden English
34. Simon Gotch
35. Zack Ryder
36. Epico
37. Primo
38. Tyson Kidd
39. Erick Rowan
40. Viktor
41. Konnor
42. D-Von Dudley
43. David Otunga

Sean: This is Shane's "new era" without any BS. Owens gives us a guy we can build around who can do face or heel, and we've got waves of talent to throw at him for fantastic matches and must see promo battles. Plus, we've got a proven draw in Cena to keep eyes on the product while fans get hooked on KO, Sami, Swagsuke, rebuilt Bray & Dean and Cesaro as main eventers. Not having the WWE title is no problem... even if we don't get a WHC, Raw will do for the WWE's Intercontinental title what Nakamura did for New Japan's.

In addition to that, we've got the best women's wrestling in the world and a unique attraction in Bayley at the center. Our tag scene isn't shabby either, as the most popular team in WWE can battle the former IWGP Heavyweight and NXT champs.

Monday nights are gonna be so good, you won't even notice the third hour!

Geno (SmackDown)

1. Roman Reigns
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Seth Rollins
4. Rusev
5. Triple H
6. Stephanie McMahon
7. Eva Marie
8. Randy Orton
9. Becky Lynch
10. Big Cass
11. Enzo Amore
12. The Rock
13. Mr. McMahon
14. Lana
15. Kalisto
16. Paul Heyman
17. Finn Balor
18. Braun Strowman
19. Paige
20. Undertaker
21. Sheamus
22. Emma
23. Chris Jericho
24. Big Show
25. Kane

26. Chad Gable
27. Baron Corbin
28. Summer Rae
29. Naomi
30. Dolph Ziggler
31. Bo Dallas
32. Jimmy Uso
33. Jey Uso
34. Ryback
35. Heath Slater
36. Sin Cara
37. Titus O'Neil
38. Curtis Axel
39. Jack Swagger
40. Mark Henry
41. Brie Bella
42. Darren Young
43. Tamina

Geno: I see money all over the board here, with a nice mix of top stars -- including THE GUY -- who can carry the brand, with legends who can come back for special attractions mixed with solid talent underneath who can be elevated at any time. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins gets the ball rolling but it's not unrealistic to think that Finn Balor vs. Rusev could be a WWE world heavyweight title program down the line.

Yes, there's some image rehabilitation that will be needed for stars like Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Sin Cara, and Kalisto, but there are a few miles left in the tank for each of them. Even if they never reach the top level, someone needs to be doing the jobs that will elevate the likes of Baron Corbin.

Evaluate us!