Total Divas – The Draft(Season 6, Episoide 11) Review
The E! Network has resumed season 6 of Total Divas after being on hiatus for 3 months. The 11th episode of the season aired earlier this week and 4 more episodes will be rolled out on a weekly basis to close out this season. Everything picks up right where it had left off before the hiatus bringing us to The Draft, the title of this episode.
The Draft, also known as the Brand Extension, actually took place in July of 2016 and this is a different look at the events happening around that time. This version sees the draft from the perspective of the women of the WWE and their concerns about what it could mean to their lives and careers.
Trinity, who is known as Naomi in WWE, is concerned that she and her husband John(Jimmy Uso) will be drafter to different brands, as Raw and Smackdown will now have separate rosters. Being drafted to different brands would mean they would be on different television shows and touring groups. The married couple would not be able to travel with each other and would not be seeing much of each other.
Lana has no fear of being separated from husband Rusev, as they would be drafted as a package deal due to Lana being Rusev’s manager as well as his spouse. She is mostly concerned she will be separated from her friends Trinity, Natalya, Maryse and Eva Marie.
Meanwhile Paige is stressing out over the idea of being split up with Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio at the time of filming had just started dating Paige, but Paige admits Alberto is the only man she has had such strong romantic feelings for. She is also on the injury list, but is eligible for the draft due to a promising recovery timetable.
Nikki Bella is also injured, but unlike Paige is not eligible for the draft. Much of this episode for Nikki revolves around her recovery and getting into ring shape. Bella is disturbed over Natalya’s reluctance to spar in the ring with her due to Nikki’s neck injury. This causes Bella is speculate on if the rest of the women would be as uncomfortable wrestling her. Would they all be afraid they would aggravate Bella’s injury?
Eva Marie is very excited about the draft as she had not been on television for awhile and sees the draft as an opportunity to be in the spotlight again.
The night of the draft comes and tensions rise. No one knows who will be drafted to what brand. One by one, Lana watches all her friends be drafted to Smackdown while she and Rusev are drafted to Raw. When The Usos are drafted to Smackdown, Trinity is on the edge of her seat until she is too drafted to the same brand as her husband. This is a huge relief for both Trinity and John.
Paige is sent into a mental breakdown as she watches boyfriend Alberto drafted to Smackdown, while she is sent to Raw. She feels she has lost the only person she ever loved. Eva Marie is finally drafted in the third hour to Smackdown, but for some reason believes she is going to Raw. This embarrasses her and she muses that now it will be “All Blue Everything” with Smackdown being known as the blue brand.
Natalya and Brie Bella meet to discuss Brie’s twin sister Nikki. After a brief chat Natalya comes to the conclusion that if Nikki’s doctors feel she is healthy enough to wrestle and Nikki herself is comfortable with a return, then it is safe to wrestle with her after all.
Because this footage was taped so far in advance, much has happened in the real world relevant to this episode. Alberto Del Rio was granted his release from the WWE, has gotten engaged to Paige and continues to wrestle outside the WWE. Paige has not yet returned to action.
Nikki Bella did in fact return to the ring and won a mixed tag team match at Wrestlemania. After the match, her tag team partner and longtime boyfriend John Cena proposed to her and Nikki said yes! Expect the proposal to be on future episodes of Total Bellas and Total Divas. The wedding planning and wedding itself will also be on these shows.
Eva Marie was not used much on Smackdown after being suspended due to a wellness violation for having adderall in her system. WWE will not renew Eva’s contact and she looks to be gone from the company and working on other projects.
Trinity, as Naomi in the WWE, has become a two time Smackdown Women’s Champion. After having to surrender the championship due to injury, she returned at Wrestlemania to regain the prestigious and well deserved symbol of excellence.
