If you go back to the start of the WWE in 1963 the company was very simple back then with Bruno Sammartino leading the charge as the "Franchise of WWE." Through the years WWE has had a number of stars that would be able to punch their tickets to the mount rushmore of wrestling for one reason or another. But like a lot of things it seems like the "Franchise" has been lost to the passage of time. In the days of Hogan, Austin, Cena, Rock, and others they were the difference makers and helped bring business forward or elevate a weak period of time. 

In modern WWE that doesn't seem like something anyone can do it's like the drawing power that the top guys once had is gone. I know a lot of reasons could be thought of as the culprit, but I think the business has changed and because it changed the booking changed and Vince or others forgot the way they use to make a franchise player look like the best guy in the company. Think about it compare Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins to Steve Austin and The Rock there is no comparison though they might seem semi equal if Austin & Rock were limited like Rollins & Reigns are they wouldn't have become as big. 

Overall in my opinion, a problem in WWE is they forgot that sometimes simple works and that they ignore the emotion that only the person behind the character can tap into. All I am saying is that Austin, Rock, Hogan, Cena, and other franchises had the ability to have some form of freedom to create and integrate a bit of themselves into their on screen characters. Today it's more the writers write and the wrestlers repeat what the writers say and there is little creativity or the same feeling that existed back in the day. We don't need a superhero anymore, but I think someone like Austin or Rock is what the company needs to help them figure things out. In periods of weakness finding what worked in the past normally helps. 

Following the WWE draft it seems like Raw will be branded as the up comer show and Smackdown will have the established stars like Roman & Brock. However, I think another why Raw might've lacked some star power following the draft is that Raw's executive director Paul Heyman has his eyes on making new talent stars. Recently it has been passed around that names such as Andrade, Drew McIntyre, Cedric Alexander, Ricochet, Murphy and others have been talked about as future stars. 

I know a lot fans have been wondering why Raw was left so weak after the draft and it seems like Paul Heyman wants to bring up new stars and fresh talent. Fans have been hungry for months and in some cases years for new stars on top and with Paul Heyman build for the future Raw is in good hands, but fans need to be patient. 

Overall if matches like what we saw last Monday between Humberto & Rollins is an indication of what were going to see in the future on Raw then I am excited for a Paul Heyman ran Raw brand, because WWE's future could be a lot brighter.  

The most anticipated month in modern wrestling with the debut of All Elite Wrestling, debut of Smackdown on Fox, and the WWE draft. For the first time the draft was presented in a way similar to sports drafts. The picks were announced by Stephanie & Triple H, but didn't really do much to boost more interest to the way they had presented the draft in the past. I feel like they could've brought back the old way of drafting similarly to the way they use to draw entrants in the Rumble and how they did the draft in 2004 with Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff. I know it was there first time and mistakes were bound to happen, but hopefully it's a learning experience. 

Looking at the rosters they need to reset the meaning of brand exclusivity and keep the brands apart for the time being. It is clear that they are trying to change the images of both brands with the Smackdown roster having a lot more entertainers and less skilled in ring wrestlers and Raw being the opposite. With Fox wanting the brand to be presented in a certain way that explains the moves, but how WWE books it will determine if it fits together. 

It is questionable why Raw has such a small tag team division with only three teams included in the title picture. Looking at it the opposite way though Raw has a deeper Women's division excluding the Kabuki Warriors who should still be able to appear on both brands as Women's Tag champions. Some of the un-drafted talent also leaves hope that previously underutilized talent can get a little bit more of the spotlight. As far as the unlisted draft picks I didn't even know that The Colons were still members of WWE shows how long they've been gone. 

WWE pulled out all the stops on Friday for the first episode of Smackdown on Fox with a shocking debut of Cain Velasquez confronting Brock Lesnar. ​I was dumbfounded at the sight of Cain appearing on stage with Mysterio to close Smackdown last week. I applaud WWE for playing up the history between Brock and Velasquez as that isn't something they normally like doing if it didn't happen within the walls of WWE. Also want to point out that it does seem pretty clear that Cain has signed with WWE, but the details of his contract are unclear. The only thing that is known about Cain is that he will be fighting Brock Lesnar on October 31, at Crown Jewel. 

According to reports the match is rumored to be for the WWE Championship which is alarming to me for a variety of reasons. First off Brock Lesnar just defeated Kofi Kingston and yet they aren't giving Kofi a rematch and a chance to undo the random match they had on Smackdown this past week. Letting Kofi have a rematch against Brock at Crown Jewel would've given their match on Fox a bit more weight, because it would've been looked at as "oh that's why the match on Smackdown was short." 

Another reason that the company holding the match so soon is alarming to me is, because Cain Velasquez has never competed in a match in WWE and will be fighting for the title in his first match. I know Cain has competed in a few matches in Mexico since retiring from UFC and MMA, but has a very limited history in wrestling only debuting a few months ago. I understand from a business perspective that Cain Velasquez vs Brock Lesnar is a marquee match and one of the few left, but it doesn't make sense to rush into the match. According to Meltzer, the main reason it seems that the match will be taking place at Crown Jewel instead of down the road is due to the fact that Cain's contract could be short term only for this feud/match which would be disappointing, but understandable. 

In my opinion, I really don't like the idea of a wrestler using name value to get a World Title shot even though they have limited experience in the ring. I understand that Cain Velasquez may only be here for a short time, but if the price was right I am sure he'd stay with WWE. Overall if we can hold off a marquee match for the future and give it more build then the excitement for the match should rise to. If I had a part in bringing Velasquez in I would have a few wrestlers set up to fight Cain holding off the next confrontation with Brock Lesnar until Survivor Series. In December then Cain would fight for #1 contender honors to challenge Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble giving the Rumble a massive match for the event.