WWE brand split draft 2016

WWE is still one company, but it’s a company with multiple, competing brands. With no WCW around to push WWE as an equal like in the 1990s, the way to shake things up and motivate the rosters and creative is to pit them against each other. That’s how we ended up with a brand split and Tuesday night’s draft, where RAW and SmackDown became rival shows, airing live on Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively, with their own rosters, creative teams, and stories.

What we ended up with is two very different looking rosters that appear to be reaching for different goals -- that’s good, in that it will help build a preference for one show or the other and foster some of that sought-after competition between brands. There are also a few questions raised by the shapes of these rosters, though, that make you wonder if these are anywhere near complete, or if this was just the first of many steps towards building a true brand split with two shows that can successfully thrive on their own.

Here is all you need to know about Kalisto, who is now officially a member of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Kalisto is a luchador in the Rey Mysterio mold, capable of spins and flips and jumps and kicks that wow fans no matter how often they’ve seen them. He also hasn’t even shown off half of what he’s capable of in the ring yet, to the point that it feels like WWE has been holding him back knowing that once everyone sees just how dope he is, there will be no pushing him back to the mid-card.

Here is all you need to know about Alberto Del Rio, who is now officially a member of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Alberto Del Rio may not drive ultra-expensive cars to the ring anymore. He may not have a personal ring announcer giving him ever-longer introductions in Spanish anymore. He may not be forever hovering around the title scene. But he’s still a nasty, brutal man and a force to be reckoned with in the ring.

Here is everything you need to know about Cesaro, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Antonio Cesaro is the complete package. He’s ludicrously strong, dynamic in the ring, great on the microphone when he’s doing that whole “I’m European, so I’m better than you” thing and criminally underused.

Here is all you need to know about Nia Jax, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

That header is a quote from her theme. It’s the angle WWE wants to play up as Nia Jax ascends through the ranks and becomes an unstoppable force in the women’s division. Whereas Bayley’s story was discovering over time that she had the ability to overcome the obstacles set before her and that she was the equal -- or better -- of the wrestlers she looked up to, Nia’s story has been figuring out that simply being bigger than her opponents wasn’t enough. She also had to be smart with more than a hint of ruthlessness if she wanted to leverage that power and size against the best NXT had to offer.

Here is all you need to know about American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan), who are now officially members of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Chad Gable is an honest-to-God Olympian

Here is all you need to know about Enzo Amore and Big Cass, who are now officially members of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

BADA BOOM. REALEST GUYS IN THE ROOM! HOW YOU DOIN’?

Here is all you need to know about Baron Corbin, who is now officially a member of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Before he was Baron Corbin, he was Tom Pestock, an offensive lineman who played college ball at Division II school Northwest Missouri State. His impressive size led to the Indianapolis Colts signing him as an undrafted free agent in 2009, although he was released shortly after training camp. He had a stint on the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad, but was released in September 2011 without ever appearing in a regular season game. With his football options dwindling, Pestock decided to take up pro wrestling and signed with NXT in 2012.

Here is all you need to know about Kevin Owens, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Whether he’s pummeling his opponents in the ring, whimpering like a child over not getting his way or doing commentary, Canada’s Kevin Owens is the ideal sports entertainer. Some superstars are great wrestlers but have trouble on the mic or vice versa. Owens has no real weaknesses. He can make you hate him, but you’ll laugh from time to time.

Here is all you need to know about The Miz and his wife Maryse, who are now officially members of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

When Miz first showed up in WWE, he was an extremely raw and extremely annoying character straight out of the reality shows that put him on the map. After spending time in the tag team division and in the singles midcard, he was thrust into the main title scene, eventually winning the WWE title and successfully defending it against John Cena at WrestleMania 27.

Here is all you need to know about Rusev and Lana, who are now officially members of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Back in the older days of professional wrestling when the line between good guys and bad guys was so finely established, it was easy to make fans hate a wrestler. Promoters would make wrestlers foreign, creating the fear that they were out to get the American fans. While this idea does seem archaic and racist to a certain degree, it nevertheless worked.

Here is all you need to know about Chris Jericho, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

When Chris Jericho returned to WWE to kick off his latest run, he was a good guy. An annoying Cool Dad try-hard who many felt was damaging an already Hall of Fame-worthy career, but a good guy nonetheless. Eventually, that changed, with Jericho returning to the character work that made him a legend and fan favorite in the first place: he’s now doing some of the greatest heeling of his long career, to the point where even his tame and oft-used insult of “you stupid idiot” is hilarious because of how he deploys it.

Here is all you need to know about Becky Lynch, who is now officially a member of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Becky has an aggressive, high-energy style in the ring, full of hard kicks and vicious suplexes. There’s no one with her drive and ferocity in the women’s division, and the pure passion shown during her matches is hard to match anywhere in the company, not just among the women. That passion can get the better of her sometimes, but it’s also fueled her to some inspiring performances.

Here is all you need to know about Sasha Banks, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Since debuting on the main roster, Sasha Banks hasn’t done anything truly significant -- especially compared to Charlotte, who has held the women’s championship for a year -- yet she is still one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster. Her persona as a larger-than-life character is apparent, so much that whenever her music hits it’s as though she is making her grand return from a long absence. She isn’t, but that’s how grand her gravitas is. It’s almost as though she is bigger than wrestling.

Here is all you need to know about Bray Wyatt, who is now officially a member of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Few wrestlers in the industry right now have the ability to command attention and make the most innocuous moments in a show fascinating like Bray Wyatt does. His charisma and magnetism are astounding, and he makes anything feel bigger and more important just by walking out, with or without the fireflies accompanying him.

Here is all you need to know about Sami Zayn, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

People love an underdog, but no one loves it more than professional wrestling. Whether it’s Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat fighting that rich playboy Ric Flair, Stone Cold trying to beat the daylights out of his megalomaniacal boss, or Daniel Bryan trying to beat Triple H and his stable of genetically perfect supermen, it is wrestling’s most tried and true story.

Here is all you need to know about the New Day, who are now officially members of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Sometimes something beautiful can sprout from unkempt ground. That’s the lesson New Day taught us. Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were all wonderful performers in their own right, but haplessly lost on WWE’s mid-card without a clear purpose or direction — until they were put together. At first their stable was a pseudo Gospel gimmick that had no traction, but over time the three were given the freedom to get weirder, and weirder, and weirder.

Here is all you need to know about Randy Orton, who is now officially a member of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

At just age 24, Orton won the big gold belt, the World Heavyweight Championship. He was the youngest ever to do so, and it’s going to play into his upcoming match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Lesnar is the youngest WWE Champion, winning the title for the first time at age 25 — Orton is the sixth-youngest, claiming his first at 27. So, you’ve got the youngest World Heavyweight Champ and the youngest WWE Champ going at it during a time where WWE is once again splitting the brands and likely introducing — or reintroducing — a second world title. You know their historic achievements are going to come into play.

Here is all you need to know about Brock Lesnar, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Brock Lesnar has been considered one of the more legitimate and terrifying wrestlers in WWE for more than a decade in large part because of his background. He entered the WWE out of college, where he had an incredible career as an amateur wrestler. Lesnar then left wrestling and inevitably pursued an MMA career, where he became UFC Heavyweight Champion and then later united the two UFC heavyweight belts with another victory.

Here is all you need to know about John Cena, who is now officially a member of the SmackDown roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Perhaps your friends have shown you a gif or video of wrestlers doing insane flips at an indie wrestling show in California or reversing finishers in Japan and you’re wondering who the best wrestler in the world is.

Here is all you need to know about Finn Balor, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Two years ago, Finn Balor arrived in NXT and almost immediately took over WWE’s developmental brand. He didn’t win the title until a year ago, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was the most impactful, must-watch talent that was working out of the WWE Performance Center.

Here is all you need to know about Charlotte, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Did you know she’s the daughter of Ric Flair?

Here is all you need to know about Seth Rollins, who is now officially a member of the RAW roster thanks to Tuesday’s WWE brand split draft.

Seth Rollins is one of the most animated superstars on the roster