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OK, we all know what tonight is and what it's all about. A half hour before the show I figure I will make a few predictions.
*Since she hates Dean Ambrose and the WWE Title match went to a draw last night, Steph will take Seth Rollins first. For the record, I like that pick.
*Shane will then take the actual champion with his first pick.
*This probably doesn't pertain to the draft, but Sasha Banks will pick Bayley as her partner.
I loved that Steph and Mick came out before the show and Shane and Bryan got the big pop from their crowd. Steph let Mick do the cheap pop gimmick. By the way, your announcers are your usual announcers, plus Michael Cole.
Steph told Mick to make the first pick She cut him off and made the pick for him, Seth Rollins. Mick told her good choice. They are building to heat with them.
So of course Bryan and Shane took Dean Ambrose.
Steph apologized for glomming Mick's heat and she let him take Charlotte. They mocked Shane for sweating and he slammed them.
AJ Styles is going to Smackdown.
With the last pick of the first batch, Finn F'n Balor is going to Raw.
Excellent first five pick set by WWE.
John Cena came out for his match with Luke Gallows. No matter what happens tonight the matches for Sunday are in tact. After AJ came out with The Club, Enzo and Cass came out for Cena.
They put a split screen as they went to commercial When they came back, Gallows was dominating and that changed right away.
They ran a crawler about the first five picks whil the announcers said Cena is not full time anymore. AJ and Anderson got on the apron, so Enzo and Cass did too. That gave Cena an opening to win and build to Sunday's match.
They sold that this is the last time for Dean and Seth due to the draft.
Secondary Title Holders take on their Battleground challengers in a tag match next.
Time for the next set of picks. Jerry Lawler didn't know who went first. Steph made it clear Raw did.
Mick picked Roman Reigns. Lots of boos.
Shane picked John Cena at 7. Sweet.
Mick had Steph pick next. They agreed. The Failed UFC Incarnate, Brock Lesnar is going to Raw. There were some boos.
Daniel countered with Randy Orton. Orton got a big pop.
Steph made The Entire New Day the pick at 10.
Time for Darren Young/Zack Ryder vs. Rusev/Miz.
Early Thoughts: Cena and AJ continue to feud on Smackdown. I like that. Smackdown also has the champ, at least for now. And they have Orton. Yes Raw is getting more picks but they got fresh off the suspension Roman and possibly soon to be suspended, part time Brock. They also got Seth Rollins who I agree should be the top pick.
As for the match, Bob Backlund told Darren Young to slap on the Crossface Chicken Wing, which he did and his team got the win.
Sasha Banks will take on Dana and Charlotte later.
Xavier Woods vs. Bray Wyatt is next. Wow, X went from a coward to a man in a hurry.
I went to WWE Network and John Cena was talking about how happy he was to go to Smackdown. That is pretty cool. They are using him properly. He came across really well putting over WWE on his interview.
They sold that Xavier was still a little scared and listened to Bray's talk, then he got laid out when Bray took control.
X came back, bit then ate Sister Abigail and lost. The matches seem secondary tonight, and that is OK.
Even though they said that the Wyatts are all singles guys in the draft, they all posed with Bray after the match.
On another note, WWE needs to make a decision on what to do with Brock Lesnar. A second failed test means if it's something they test for, they should suspend him tomorrow if they want him at SummerSlam.
Kane vs. Kevin Owens is next. But the execs are at the podium so KO ragged on Mick on the way by. Sami Zayn came out and attcked KO. They fought as the crowd pretty much didn't react. KO gave Sami to Kane. Then Kane grabbed KO and he chokeslammed them both. Guess why they didn't react for Sami and KO? Because of what happened after.
Steph then chose "the underdog from the underground" Sami Zayn. Lawler reasonably asked why!
Shane chose Bray Wyatt next. That made sense.
Steph messed up and said she was glad they took the Wyatt family. Mick said there are women and said from now on Raw is Boss, Sasha Banks. So her and Charlotte continue their feud.
Bryan mocked Mick for his fascination with women and then said they would take the best woman, Becky Lynch.
Mick wanted a proven commodity, and Steph agreed. He picked Chris Jericho.
So far, I am liking what Smackown is doing. I hope that they keep the WWE Title on Ambrose and Smackdown could be a hell of a lot of fun.
Time for Dana and Charlotte vs. Sasha in a handicap match. This is a great time for Bayley to debut to set up Sunday's match.
Charlotte and Sasha have on Raw shirts. Sasha is working her ass off and the crowd loved it. Lawler tried to be relevant and said that Moolah won't be Sasha's partner. Wow, really? Anyway, the heels win after Sasha hit the Bank Statement on Dana but Charlotte had tagged in.
Time for our next draft picks.
Mick took Rusev, with Lana, at 16.
Bryan hated to do it, but they need the IC Title so they took Miz and Maryse.
Raw gets Kevin Owens. DAMN. But Sami is there too.
Baron Corbin goes to Smackdown. Hmm, he will have a chance there. I like it.
With the 20th pick, Mick took Enzo and Cass. Shane was not happy. Either am I. Oh well.
It is time for Cesaro vs. Jericho. Jericho mocked Cesaro for not being drafted. Good match that went back and forth. Jericho won with a Codebreaker as Cesaro came off the ropes.
Natalya was supposed to have a match but Becky attacked her. By the way, Mauro Ranallo is so good.
Pick time. With 21, Steph took The Club, so they are away from AJ.
Bryan then picked the best tag team in NXT, American Alpha. The fans popped before they even mentioned their names. The fans at TV watch NXT. And I love it.
Mick put over their good choice. He picked a mainstay of WWE for 20 years, The Big Show. Smackdown has me intrigued.
Shane mocked The Big Show a bit. Then he picked Dolph Ziggler and it got a good pop. They talked about how Dolph wanted a new start and he will get it. And he could.
And at pick 25 from NXT, Nia Jax. Damn, that is a cool pick into the women's division of Raw.
Before the Dean-Rollins match, we did the last five picks. 30 more on the Network to follow.
At 26, Steph picked Neville. My guess is he will work with the Cruisers.
At 27, Bryan picked Natalya so she can feud with Becky.
Mick put over that the finest moment of his career took place in Worcester, MA so he is going to pick Cesaro. Wow, he lasted a while. Mauro Ranallo even said about time.
At 29, Alberto Del Rio goes to Smackdown.
And at 30, Steph and Mick took Sheamus.
So, everyone else left gets to get picked on The Network. Time for the main event, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title.
Rollins attacked Ambrose before the bell, laying him out on the floor. He held the Title belt in his ring as we went to commercial.
When we came back, Rollins was in control, working the champ over.
Ambrose came back and took it to the floor but missed Rollins when he tried to attack him off of the announce tables. Rollins his a springboard knee to the face and got a two. Off to commercial.
When we come back they are going at it tooth and nail. Dean got some near falls. They traded pin attempts. Mauro perfectly called Dean's La Magistal cradle attempt. Jerry Lawler, well not so much.
Rollins went for the Pedigree but got backdropped to the floor. Dean hit a tope suicida. Dean went up and did an elbow to the face from the top to Seth on the floor.
Dean got suplexed off of the top, but then turned it into a Dirty Deeds to win the match and keep the Title. Shane and Daniel ran down to cheer for their champion. The announcers acted like the WWE Title will stay on Smackdown, with the implication being that there won't be a second title. I can hope at least. Good match to end the show!
That is it for Smackdown. Now on to the Network for the next 30 picks.
Click to Page 2 for the next 30 picks!
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