Undisputed WWE Championship Contract Signing, The 2024 WWE Draft Begins
Paul Heyman announced at the start of the show that Roman Reigns had withdrawn from the 2024 WWE Draft before Corey Graves hosted a Contract Signing between Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles for the upcoming Undisputed WWE Championship match at Backlash. AJ talked about the advice he received from “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes before Cody said that even though he respects The Phenomenal One, he will beat him at Backlash. This was okay, but it did feel a little bit uneventful. After this, Triple H arrived to announce (alongside Cody) the First Round Picks of the 2024 WWE Draft. SmackDown selected Bianca Belair and Carmelo Hayes at 1 and 3 whilst Raw selected Jey Uso and Seth “Freakin” Rollins at 2 and 4. Melo then arrived and called his shot, challenging The American Nightmare to a match in the show’s Main Event. Whilst the start of this show was missable, Melo getting Drafted 3rd Overall is so, so exciting!
Grade: C for the Contract Signing, B+ for Draft Round 1
The LWO VS Legado Del Fantasma, Bron Breakker VS Cedric Alexander, The Bloodline Arrive, Naomi VS Tiffany Stratton: WWE Women’s Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match, The Draft Continues
The first match of the night was a Tag Team match as The LWO took on Legado Del Fantasma. This was a bit of a mess, to be honest, it went far too short, there was an advert break, and it just ended very quickly after Dragon Lee delivered Operation Dragon. After the match, Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez revealed footage showing Carlito attacking Lee before WrestleMania before Carlito dropped his former teammates and ran off. I don’t know about you, but I’m very fed up by this feud!
Grade: C-
Bron Breakker was then out next as he had a singles match with Cedric Alexander. This honestly went about 15 seconds and ended with Bron winning from an awesome-looking Spear! I don’t know what else to say about this, not sure it does much for either guy.
Grade: C
Nick Aldis and Bayley told Tiffany Stratton that she would take on Naomi in a Number 1 Contender’s Match before we got Round 2 of the 2024 WWE Draft. SmackDown selected Randy Orton and Nia Jax whilst Raw picked up Bron Breakker and Liv Morgan. The Bloodline then arrived and they were very annoyed when Paul Heyman told them that they hadn’t been drafted yet before Kevin Owens arrived to start a brawl. Bianca Belair then talked about her delight of being the First Overall Draft Pick before The Kabuki Warriors and Jade Cargill arrived to create a stare-down! Kevin Owens and Tama Tonga then brawled through the middle of the four women before Solo Sikoa joined in “the fun”! Randy Orton then arrived to make the save, and honestly, this was all very chaotic!
Grade: C+
In Round 3 of the 2024 WWE Draft, LA Knight and The Bloodline were Drafted to SmackDown whilst Raw picked up Ricochet and Sheamus. We then went into a Number 1 Contenders Match as Naomi went one-on-one with Tiffany Stratton. I thought this was a decent match, Tiffany is always a lot of fun to watch, and Bayley was also good fun on commentary. In the end, though, Nia Jax arrived to cause the DQ finish before Stratton delivered the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to stand tall yet again! Cool!
Grade: C+
In the Fourth (and Final on SmackDown) Round of the 2024 WWE Draft saw SmackDown select AJ Styles and Andrade whilst Raw retained the Alpha Academy and signed NXT’s Kiana James. We then got an interview from Kiana James, and I’m honestly really happy for her as Kiana’s massively improved since she first debuted in NXT 2.0! Nick Aldis then reacted to the First Night of the Draft before the SmackDown General Manager announced that at Backlash, Bayley will put her WWE Women’s Championship on the line against both Naomi and Tiffany Stratton whilst The Bloodline will take on the team of Kevin Owens and Randy Orton. Also, The Final Testament just beat up the New Catch Republic because why not?!
Grade: B for Kiana James
Cody Rhodes VS Carmelo Hayes
And in the Main Event, Carmelo Hayes stepped up to the plate to take on the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. I talk a lot about wanting WWE to make new stars, especially guys that come up from NXT, and if this is anything to go by, WWE views Carmelo Hayes as a Superstar! Melo looked great here, hitting all his best moves that made him an all-time NXT great, and even though Cody did eventually pick up the win via a Cross Rhodes, this did way more for Hayes than Rhodes. After the match, AJ Styles snuck in from behind before Styles and Rhodes stared down to close the show!
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