When WWE announced its 2024 Draft, it was only natural for longtime fans to think back noteworthy Drafts from the past. A number of these events have felt forced—a contrived way to move a talent, a faction, or even a rivalry from one show to another—or, even worse, an uneventful Draft in which nothing meaningful changed at all.
When it comes to momentous drafts, none can compare to the one WWE conducted in 2005. Indeed, this Draft had a major impact on three signature stars from the famous OVW developmental class of 2002. These men would go on to main event WrestleManias for years to come. That’s not to mention the Draft positioning one other intended main eventer for a huge run that didn’t quite materialize.
John Cena Becomes The Face Of WWE
When did John Cena become the face of WWE? There are a number of points in history fans could point to. The groundwork was there when he turned babyface in late 2003 and got an overwhelmingly positive response from fans. The road grew even clearer when he beat The Big Show for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 20. Cena realized a lot of his potential at WrestleMania 21, when he won his first world title, besting JBL.
Each of these preceding turns in Cena’s story pushed him toward the top. However, in late 2003 to early 2004, Brock Lesnar still appeared to be the top dog among the new generation of WWE Superstars, with Randy Orton and Batista on par with, if not higher in the pecking order than Cena. Talents like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, and Eddie Guerrero were all clearly a step ahead of The Dr. of Thuganomics too. From there, even at WrestleMania 21, Batista also won his first world title and got the main event nod in the process, with his match against Triple H headlining over Cena vs. JBL.
Indeed, there’s a real case to be made that it wasn’t until WWE drafted Cena to the Raw brand that he definitively stepped into the spotlight, becoming not only a world champion, but the world champion of the A-Show. In the months to follow it was undeniable WWE had positioned him as “the guy,” and accordingly he’d main event the next two WrestleManias.
Batista Finds The Right Fit
After John Cena moved to Raw, it was only fitting that Batista moved to SmackDown, becoming the top babyface of the number two brand. Particularly in hindsight, it’s clear Cena was the more complete performer—better on the mic, ultimately a better big match performer, better at connecting with fans, and it didn’t hurt that he was eight years younger.
Still, the move wasn’t a simple demotion for Batista. On the contrary, the blue brand was a straight up better fit for The Animal in 2005. He had feuded exhaustively with Triple H and it was time to move on to fresh opponents. On SmackDown, Batista moved on to excellent feuds opposite the likes of The Undertaker, Edge, and Booker T besides holding things down as the face of SmackDown when brand warfare was the name of the game for Survivor Series that year.
Randy Orton Gets Away From Evolution And Charts A Course Forward
Randy Orton had a tumultuous 2003. A feud with Mick Foley helped him realize his potential as a main eventer and he won his first world title at SummerSlam. Triple H and Evolution turning on The Viper offered an iconic Raw moment, but Orton would quickly flounder as a top babyface. He lost his feud with Triple H in pretty decisive fashion, and only started to get his mojo back when he feuded with The Undertaker and returned to heel form going into WrestleMania 20.
The best choice for Orton’s WWE future was to stay heel, but also stay away from Triple H, not to mention not having to compete with Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho for a top spot. Moving to SmackDown was, particularly in hindsight, huge for cementing Orton as a main eventer as he had time to grow on the lower profile show, got to continue his issue with The Undertaker, and was back in a world title mix by WrestleMania 22.
Muhammad Hassan Gets Into Position
Muhammad Hassan drew huge heat upon his arrival on the WWE main roster. While John Cena was cemented as the face of Raw and, by extension, the whole company, WWE primed Hassan for a run as a heel world champion.
Indeed, all indications were that WWE meant for Hassan to enter the World Heavyweight Championship picture by SummerSlam 2005 after feuding with and presumably getting the best of The Undertaker in the lead up. Real life got in the way, with WWE booking Hassan to lead what looked like a terrorist attack on The Dead Man that coincided with a real life terrorist attack in London. It was a bad look for the character and company, which compelled WWE to pull the plug on the Hassan gimmick altogether in short order. Nonetheless, it further bespeaks the weight of the 2005 Draft that it was also intended result in minting yet another new main eventer.
WWE Drafts always generate some buzz and open up new storytelling possibilities. None has ever compared to the radical changes imposed by the 2005 Draft, though, which completely changed the game at the time and had ripple effects for years to follow.
