Choke's Summerslam Season Draft Board / Who to draft and when to draft them
Posted by: choke May 15, 2014 | 2149 views | 8 comments
And we're back! I know you missed us. I almost feel bad for everyone who had to sit and watch the last few weeks of Raw, Smackdown, and Extreme Rules without any points being given out during those events. Thankfully for all of us we get to pretty much relive Extreme Rules in 2 weeks during Payback since it will probably be identical (minus Bryan :( )
Okay I have a lot to cover, so let's get to the big draft board. And if you haven't drafted yet, just think how different things would have been a week ago before the Bryan announcement....
Cream of the Crop
1. Roman Reigns - Yes this would have been Bryan minus the injury. I actually debated between Reigns and Sheamus surprisingly enough, but went with Reigns because he's clearly a lot more over with the fans which could mean more matches overall, plus since the Shield is still intact for now, more potential for 3 vs 3 stip matches on a weekly basis. Then there's the potential for a title, though I think it's a little early for WWE to go there yet with him. Bryan's injury could speed that up if it turns out worse than projected.
2. Sheamus - That title on him changes everything. Consider last season: do you remember Sheamus being a points monster? Do you distinctly remember any of his major feuds, crazy stip points, anything? He certainly didn't win any titles. Well check the top scoring list from last season, he was still 10th with 333 points! Now add on title retention points to that number and it'd balloon. Plus he's a workhorse and seems to be on every single show, especially lately. The only downside is if the WWE plans to have him lose the title as suddenly as he seemed to win it. But even then you'll still be happy to have him on your team overall.
3/4. Ambrose/Rollins - As long as the Shield remain a unit as as long as people are chanting that awful "Hounds of Justice" chant at events, they will all collect monstrous points. Even if they split up, they're young and the WWE will run them into the ground by having them compete 2-3 times a week on air and the points should continue to pile up. Slight edge to Ambrose because I feel he's so much more developed on the mic that he could get more shine, plus Rollins is going to kill himself one of these days with the sick bumps he seems to take every match
5. Cesaro - has proven that he can work as a heel or face, and with Heyman behind him the sky's the limit. Looks like they're working him in a program with Sheamus so the US Title is a possibility, though again, with Heyman maybe his ceiling is even higher. Probably not this season though. Still hard to foresee him losing many matches.
6. Bray Wyatt - I'd feel a little more confident with Bray for the season if he wasn't still working with John Cena. I actually figured that he might move onto a World Title feud with Bryan after, but now that's all up in the air. No matter, he should pick up plenty of victories and maybe some 6-man tag stip wins as well.
7/8. Jimmy/Jey Uso - still the tag champs for now, and without any serious contenders storyline wise to speak of. If they were starting to mix it up with Harper/Rowan right now, I'd probably be worried. Even if they lost the tags at Payback or MITB, they still get used OFTEN and are pretty over with the crowd so it wouldn't be a disastrous loss.
9. Alexander Rusev - WWE just his him on that path where he'll come out and dominate each and every wrestler they throw his way. I could see it ultimately leading up to a US title match with Sheamus months from now. My only concern is the crowd doesn't seem 100% bought in yet, but you figure a minimum of 20 points a week for at least the next 7-8 weeks, with potential 2-on-1 handicap wins mixed in and a slight chance at a title? Love the potential
10/11 Harper/Rowan - Going into last season I was certain they'd win the tag belts by Mania. They got stuck in "accompanying to the ring" hell with Bray/Cena and never really broke out as much as I thought they would. Could this be the season?
12. John Cena - Feels crazy putting Cena this low, but he simply doesn't wrestle as much he used to, and he seems to be content not challenging for the WWE Title for the time being.
13, Daniel Bryan - No clue where to put him. Let's assume he'd have scored 500 points if healthy through the whole season, which could be a bit conservative considering the title, but is still a high amount for ANYONE during a season, and now he's going to miss anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the season? 200-250 points seems reasonable enough of a guess. We'll probably know more after his surgery today.
14. Wade Barrett - I'll admit I might be a little biased in having him this low as I'm not a huge fan of him in the ring. That being said, he does have a title and has seemingly 15% of the crowd behind him when he comes out so that should be good enough for a few wins and title defences.
15. Paige - I didn't see much of Paige in NXT, and she's obviously an attractive girl, but from what little she's been in the WWE I'm not crazily impressed yet. Though that could definitely be a result of her opponents as of yet. That being said, at the moment with AJ gone I don't see much of a chance of her losing the title anytime soon, so she should get some good points
16/17 Batista/Orton - These two could really go either way, but it's hard to picture either of them losing much from now til Summerslam. Sure they'll occasionally drop a match to the Shield, but either of them at any point is a threat for some title matches/opportunities be it single or tag, and will more than likely be featured in every PPV.
Mid-Round Value
18. Alberto Del Rio - Seemingly on a downward trend as far as appearing on the show/winning matches, but as the past has shown, things seem to turn on a dime in Del Rio's favor. They never seem to keep him down for long
19. Bo Dallas - On the one hand the hype seems fairly strong for his return, yet on the other hand they're debuting him on a Smackdown? So much depends on crowd reaction, but I think he'll be over and he has the in-ring talent to thrive
20. RVD - He gets his wins when he appears, but the nagging question with him as always is how long before he disappears again in a puff of smoke?
21/22. Cody Rhodes/Goldust - Definitely seems like they're headed towards the break-up of this duo. Edge to Cody if so as Goldust could potentially be thinking retirement sooner than later
23. Adam Rose - I absolutely hate this gimmick thus far and the crowd doesn't seem to be into it much either. He should definitely get some wins early on though (if he ever actually wrestles)
24. Big E Langston - Crowd never seemed to fully buy in, which IMO is a shame because his agility and speed for his size were always impressive. Looks like fodder for Rusev, but could still get some decent wins here and there
25. Kane - Not sure what they'll do with him now that Bryan is out, but you'd think they'd need to keep him heavily involved until DB returns.
26. Jack Swagger - I dont see much for Swags, but the crowd still loves chanting "We the People" so maybe the WWE will give him some wins to keep that and Zeb going strong.
27. Emma - Crowd seems into her, though I truly believe the WWE was hoping her dance/music combo would catch on like Fandango's did. That didnt happen, much like Fandango's never should have.
28/29. Nikki/Brie Bella - Lean to Nikki due to her recent feud with Natalya, plus Brie looks to be more involved in the DB storyline with Stephanie, so that might keep her from in-ring action for the time being
30. Triple H - Once the Evolution/Shield feud ends he won't be worth holding, but in the meantime there's a decent chance for points
31. Natalya - Okay so I just threw HHH in there to split up a run of divas on the list. Natalya seems poised to turn heel soon, so maybe they'll give her a Divas title shot soon?
32. Dolph Ziggler - WWE seems to be using him more, but if that will translate to anything of real substance remains to be seen.
33/34. Rybaxel - Even with their new color coordinated hats, I dont see this really going anywhere as far as points.
35. Alicia Fox - Alicia has had some heelish antics lately, but they've come as a result of her losing. I have a feeling that will change sooner than later.
36. Big Show - I did this mainly to have Alicia Fox above Big Show
37. CM Punk - If you know something I don't, obviously he'd be higher. If he comes back at Payback in Chicago I hope I'm in last place at the end of the following week.
38. AJ Lee - This is the lovebirds section! She could be gone all season, or she could be back in a week. If she comes back we'll all be scrambling to trade for her though.
Jobber Status
39. Fandango - Did you hear the crowd during that last segment with Layla he had? Neither did I.
40. Santino - Emma is carrying him right now
41. Damien Sandow - it pains me putting him here
42. Summer Rae - As I type this I'm thinking I have her too low. She'd make a good foil for Paige, and maybe that's why they split her from Fandango.
43. Christian - ONE. MORE. CONCUSSION
44. Brock Lesnar - Doubt we see him before Summerslam, so could be worth a pickup end of June/early July before anyone else on your team realizes it
45. Mark Henry - What happened?! How do you take one of the most dominant forces in the WWE and turn him into a joke?
46/47. Cameron/Naomi - Probably should be higher, but that entire Divas division just seems like a waste sometimes, and I dont know where they fit in at the moment
48/49/50. Los Matadores/Torito - Sadly, I'd probably take Torito over the others. Even the Mexican fans who they ponder to don't seem to care about their existence.
51/52. Heyman/Colter - They'll probably get more points than 20 others above them, but I find it hard to recommend people who won't get in many/any matches.
53. Titus O'Neil - Has had some good matches, and I think they could make him a monster heel, but for now he's just fodder for their superstars.
54. Kofi Kingston - At any moment I feel Kofi could be thrust right back into the spotlight, but until that happens, he's just a low rung on the ladder to success for others to climb
55/56. R-Truth/Xavier Woods - Is this over? Please tell me its over.
57. Brodus Clay - What I wrote for Henry applies here.
58. Steve Gatorwolf
59. Alex Riley - Still hasnt learned how to delete a tweet
60. Ginger Mahal - Hornswaggle is carrying him