The Wrestling Estate Fantasy Draft: Round 4

What if all the top wrestling companies in the world got together and said, “let’s blow the whole thing up and start from scratch?”

Eleven companies will then rise from the ashes, having a draft to determine how the best talent in the world will be divided up for the foreseeable future.

The draft will be conducted through email – 12 rounds. As far as the talent pool goes, all active wrestlers are available. Part-timers are usable, semi-retired wrestlers are not. (So Brock Lesnar and John Cena are fair game, Triple H, Undertaker and HBK are not.) For the purposes of this simulation, we will assume Roman Reigns does NOT have leukemia and Joey Janela’s leg is NOT broken. Some wrestlers can be taken as tag teams, but the caveat is that you have to use them in the same match.

At the end of the draft, we will also have a bonus 13th “legends” round, where you can draft one legend to appear on your show in any way you see fit. The only rule here is that the legend has to be in their present-day form, so you can’t get, for instance, Shawn Michaels from 1997. You won’t be able to draft Chris Jericho, though, as he will be able to appear on any of your shows without having to use a draft pick on him, kind of like as he does in real life, almost like a free space in bingo.

At the end of the draft, you will then submit a “2-3 hour” pay-per-view card to show how your talent would work together in your fictional wrestling company. We’ll run Twitter polls to let readers vote on who has the best roster and who created the most entertaining PPV.

The first-round picks can be found here.
The second-round picks can be found here.
The third-round picks can be found here.

John Corrigan
SHOOT
Draft Pick #34: Shayna Baszler
At 38 years old, she may skew older than most of the picks so far, but Shayna Baszler is in her prime right now. And if she’s not, holy shit, the future is promising. The current NXT Women’s Champion was my favorite part of WWE Evolution and she’ll be another great asset to SHOOT. As Paul Heyman tends to do, I’ll give you a spoiler right now: the main event of SHOOT’s first show is Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey, a dream match that Vince McMahon is too scared to make happen.

Jenna Leigh
Sparkle Female Superstars
Draft Pick #35: Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard is very young and very new to this industry, yet carries herself in and out of the ring with a confidence and skill of someone far older and more experienced. She has shown that she’s a natural, possessing ring awareness, ambition and tenacity that is inspiring to many. When she first started working, there were lots of “she’s only getting booked because of who her father is” rumblings, but she has left those critics silent. She will only continue to improve, as she’s a future main renter and, at her rate of improvement, will soon be a ring general.

Jack Goodwillie
World Series of Wrestling
Draft Pick #36: Drew McIntyre
Here’s a pick I’m surprised nobody has jumped on yet. All Drew McIntyre has done the past four or five years is rehab his value to the point where he’s now in talks to headline WrestleMania! I’ve seen the light on Drew ever since his NXT Championship match with Bobby Roode, and in fact, he does check every box you want in both a top face and heel. Tall, shredded, a very good worker, impactful and a solid A- on the microphone, maybe even an A. When Drew speaks, you listen because you can tell it’s coming from the heart and he believes it. There’s a lot of excellent workers still left on the board, but there’s something to Drew’s look that makes me think he’d fit well in a Las Vegas-based promotion. Maybe it’s got to do with that Excalibur vibe? Idk. But he’s a superstar, make no mistake. There are guys with a better superstar look to them (won’t mention names) but can’t work as good, just as there are better workers who don’t look as good as Drew does. He’s the best fit to have a technical contest with Adam Cole and is just as likely to have a knockdown, drag out brawl with Pete Dunne. Plus, I love mixing wrestlers from all over the world. I’m just surprised he was there in the fourth round!

Team LeftJab
Gotham Championship Wrestling
Draft Pick #37: Randy Orton
Needed a WWE name and a vet from the big stage and Orton is the guy. He will be the ultimate outsider who has put down the Indy scene and now has to perform in it.

Chad Gelfand
Professional Wrestling Association (PWA)
Draft Pick #38: Sasha Banks
I need a women’s wrestler to be another center piece of my promotion and I can’t think of a better wrestler than “The Boss” Sasha Banks. She is one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world to go along with her crossover appeal and charisma. Her current underutilization in WWE may have some people forgetting, but make no mistake that Sasha Banks wholeheartedly deserves to be regarded as one of the best in the world.

Neal Wagner
Anarchy Wrestling
Draft Pick# 39: Naito

Steven Jackson
International Association Wrestling
Draft Pick #40: YAMATO
There are times in life when you stop and are immediately drawn to someone and their unique talents. Everyone is drawn to someone different and for me, I’ll never forget the first time I saw YAMATO. One of the finest Japanese pro wrestlers I’ve ever seen, YAMATO is truly one of a kind. He’s versatile, charismatic, but most of all, dangerous! Out of all my picks so far, YAMATO is the wrestler I would want to build IAW around.

Sam Gladen
Deep South Wrestling
Draft Pick #41: Guerillas of Destiny
They’re the penultimate tag team in wrestling today.

Juan Bautista
Global Championship Wrestling
Draft Pick #42: South Coast Connection – Ashley Dunn and Kelly Sixx
Another young, bright up-and-coming tag team. They will be a great addition to our division.

Calvin Gibbon
Champagne Championship Wrestling
Draft Pick #43: Johnny Gargano
When people are talking about how you stole the show after every single Takeover show, you know that you’re one of the best wrestlers in the world. Johnny Wrestling aka Johnny Gargano is one of the most beloved babyfaces in wrestling right now. In Champagne, he will bring not just his expertise, but his legions of fans.

Anthony Mahalis
World Wrestling Syndicate
Draft Pick #44: Daniel Bryan
Again, can’t believe he is available. This is a sheer value pick at this point. The guy is still a great wrestler. He is one of the best babyfaces of all time and a really interesting heel. The YES! Movement will ride on.

The fifth round begins Wednesday.