Hello, Place to Be Nation! JT Rozzero here to provide analysis and grades for the recent PTBN Main Event PPV Card Draft! If you haven’t checked out this great episode, starring Scott Criscuolo, Chad Campbell, Graham Cawthon & Greg Phillips, be sure to do so now. Go ahead, I will wait. When you return, we will get to business.
Hey! Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Being an expert in this field, I am taking it upon myself to go ahead and break this thing down and critique it, pick by pick, round by round, and then give grades to each of the drafters. So, without further ado, let us dive right in!
PPV Roster Slots:
WrestleMania (4)
SummerSlam (4)
Royal Rumble (4)
Survivor Series (4)
WWE Secondary Shows (7)
Other Promotions (8)
Greg Phillips: WrestleMania XVII (1,1; 1st Overall)
JT’s Take: No complaints here as Greg takes the greatest WrestleMania ever, which signaled the peak of the Attitude Era and the end of the Monday Night Wars inside a huge stadium and rabid crowd. Perfect value and a no brainer selection. 1 for 1
Graham Cawthon: Great American Bash 1989 (1,2; 2nd Overall)
JT’s Take: We are off to strong start as Graham nails a layup pick at #2. With a loaded card filled with stars, Bash 89 is considered one of the greatest PPVs of all time across all of wrestling history. 1 for 1
Chad Campbell: WrestleMania XIX (1,3; 3rd Overall)
JT’s Take: Great choice here by Chad. A tremendous WrestleMania that is closer to being the best ever than most fans may realize and easily worth a first round pick. 1 for 1
Chad Campbell: WrestleMania III (2,1; 4th Overall)
JT’s Take: Personal tastes aside, Chad cashes in here with his second WrestleMania. He grabs one of the most memorable and historically significant shows in PPV history, featuring a monster Main Event and one of the WWF’s greatest matches of all time. It was also a strong pick because it was unlikely to last back to him in round three. 2 for 2
Graham Cawthon: WrestleMania XXXI (2,2; 5th Overall)
JT’s Take: And we have our first reach of the draft. The show was great and certainly worthy of being drafted considering the number of Manias that will be chosen, but there was no need to take it so soon. Drafting is about value and Graham took a show with a mid round value fifth overall. Poor planning. 1 for 2
Greg Phillips: SummerSlam 2001 (2,3; 6th Overall)
JT’s Take: Similar to Graham’s pick, this was a bit of a reach. It is another great show in the middle of a hot year and co-headlined by an all time classic WWE Title Match, but a show that likely would have lasted a bit longer. Greg qualified that he thinks it is the best SummerSlam, so there is logic there, but he assigned high round value to a mid round pick. 1 for 2
Greg Phillips: SummerSlam 2002 (3,1; 7th Overall)
JT’s Take: Now we are talking. The 2002 edition of SummerSlam is certainly a contender for the best offering the catalogue of the PPV and is worthy of being a third round pick. In fact, just for value purposes, if Greg flipped these two picks, the board would look slightly stronger, even though SS01 would still be a bit high overall. 2 for 3
Graham Cawthon: SummerSlam 1992 (3,2; 8th Overall)
JT’s Take: A bit of a panic choice, which Graham even notes. However, I will give him a pass here as it is certainly in the upper tier of SummerSlams and thanks to Greg, he has the second best of the three taken. I think a better strategy would have been to grab the best Royal Rumble on the board as opposed to panicking and taking a SummerSlam just to take it. I will give him a point here, but it was borderline. 2 for 3
Chad Campbell: Royal Rumble 1992 (3,3; 9th Overall)
JT’s Take: As I mentioned in the last pick, locking in the consensus #1 Royal Rumble with none off the board would be the best strategy at this point and Chad nails it. Grabbing this show in round three is a steal, says money. 3 for 3
Chad Campbell: No Way Out 2001 (4,1; 10th Overall)
JT’s Take: To open the fourth round, Chad snaps up one of the best secondary WWF PPVs of all time, a show that you could argue even rivals the top WrestleManias top to bottom. He also fills the top spot in his secondary show roster slot. Great draft to this point here. 4 for 4
Graham Cawthon: Money in the Bank 2011 (4,2; 11th Overall)
JT’s Take: I dig this pick here, top notch main event with a molten hot crowd rests atop a really fun undercard. It is also a show with tremendous historical impact as well. Despite a couple of shaky picks from a value perspective, Graham’s overall roster looks good thanks to the strength of his secondary shows. 3 for 4
Greg Phillips: Extreme Rules 2012 (4,3; 12th Overall)
JT’s Take: Very smart pick by Greg here as the real tip top secondary shows were starting to come off the shelves and he picks up a high quality outing. 3 for 4
Greg Phillips: WrestleMania XXX (5,1; 13th Overall)
JT’s Take: Another nice choice here as Greg grabs a consensus Top Five Mania in Round Five. I do think there were a couple of other Manias that could have gone before XXX, I can’t argue its importance and overall quality and the value is about right. 4 for 5
Graham Cawthon: Canadian Stampede (5,2; 14th Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham continues to stock pile secondary shows, nabbing a short, efficient, beloved PPV. Strong pick here. 4 for 5
Chad Campbell: SummerSlam 1998 (5,3; 15th Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad takes his first SummerSlam and really you could take a stance that it is the second best chosen so far. Value, value, value. He was able to use previous picks on strong shows and still pick up a really great SummerSlam. 5 for 5
Chad Campbell: SummerSlam 2013 (6,1; 16th Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad lays out his strategy here and I am a fan. He knows SummerSlam is starting to dwindle and since has drafted Best Available so far, he is able to fill a need with a high quality outing. So, in this end of the snake, he picks up two fantastic SummerSlams and now has that slot locked down. 6 for 6
Graham Cawthon: WrestleMania V (6,2; 17th Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham reaches again here, taking a WrestleMania that was likely in no danger of going anytime soon. The Megapowers Exploding was fantastic, but it was a bloated card and not even in the Top 10 WrestleManias. Again, not an awful choice, but Graham wastes a chance to take something of high stock and saving this for fill at the end. 4 for 6
Greg Phillips: SummerSlam 2011 (6,3; 18th Overall)
JT’s Take: The run on SummerSlams continues and I think this was a solid pick mainly due to how many editions of the show have already gone. If Greg waited another round, he may have run into some trouble. Here, he locks up a very good show and adds to his already strong roster of August shows. 5 for 6
Greg Phillips: Spring Stampede 1994 (7,1; 19th Overall)
JT’s Take: Fantastic value here! Taking this high of level WCW PPV at this point is a tremendous steal. It is his first “other promotion” show and he was able to get a Hall of Fame level candidate in round seven. 6 for 7
Graham Cawthon: Great American Bash 1996 (7,2; 20th Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham bounces back with a good pick here. Not only was this a strong show in the ring, but also has through the roof historical value too. Graham’s “other promotion” shows are the strongest part of his roster so far. 5 for 7
Chad Campbell: Royal Rumble 2000 (7,3; 21st Overall)
JT’s Take: Chaddie “Value” Campbell. He identified that Rumbles were being a bit undervalued here early and he takes advantage of his back-to-back picks by loading up. 7 for 7
Chad Campbell: Royal Rumble 2007 (8,1; 22nd Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad now has the best three Royal Rumble PPVs on his roster. Flawless so far. 8 for 8
Graham Cawthon: Royal Rumble 2004 (8,2; 23rd Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham panics a bit and takes a Rumble after Chad put a dent in the available talent, and I am down with the strategy, however my bigger issue is that there may have been a few better options available to make that point. Still, on the strength of the actual Rumble match, this is a good card to have, so I will give Graham the point even though I think there were better choices available. 6 for 8
Greg Phillips: Royal Rumble 2010 (8,3; 24th Overall)
JT’s Take: Greg and Graham have really let Chad dictate the flow here. Greg closes the round with a strong Rumble choice but looking at his roster, I think he had an opportunity to nab a WrestleMania with these next two picks and really solidify that slot by going best available. And mainly that is because I feel there is a glut of Rumbles that are all about the same in quality and could be had later. 7 for 8
Greg Phillips: Spring Stampede 1999 (9,1; 25th Overall)
JT’s Take: Love this choice. A fantastic show and similar to the 1994 version, Greg gets a top tier “other promotion” show in a good spot. 8 for 9
Graham Cawthon: Slamboree 1998 (9,2; 26th Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham again plays from behind as “other promotion” shows start to fly off the shelf. And I have two issues with that. 1) He already has a strong 1-2 punch in that slot and 2) This was a strong opportunity for him to stock up in areas where he is weak (WrestleMania says hello). I mean, this isn’t a bad choice, but it is easily on par with a lot of other WCW and even ECW or TNA shows that could have been had late. Poor strategy and being reactionary plagues Graham again. 6 for 9
Chad Campbell: SuperBrawl II (9,3; 27th Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad’s strategy of waiting on “other promotions” pays off luckily for him. If Graham had taken THIS show, I wouldn’t have taken issue with him going “other” again. But the difference is taking a depth show vs. taking an all star show. Chad is already strong across the board and now picks up an all time WCW show to close out the ninth round. 9 for 9
Chad Campbell: Royal Rumble 2001 (10,1; 28th Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad is completely loaded at the Rumble slot. The strongest roster slot overall thus far. 10 for 10
Graham Cawthon: SummerSlam 1989 (10,2; 29th Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham takes his second SummerSlam and it is a good one, giving him some needed balance. Solid work here. 7 for 10
Greg Phillips: WrestleMania XXVIII (10,3; 30th Overall)
JT’s Take: I like this pick here. We haven’t had a Mania taken in a while and when you can pair this with XVII and XXX, it is a no brainer selection. 9 for 10
Greg Phillips: Bash at the Beach 1996 (11,1; 31st Overall)
JT’s Take: Another very good pick by Greg, taking a top notch show with tremendous historical importance and value. The great WCW shows are dwindling a bit and Greg was able to get one before they evaporate and also put a dent in Graham’s lead in this category. 10 for 11
Graham Cawthon: Survivor Series 1988 (11,2; 32nd Overall)
JT’s Take: Not a fan here at all. This is the first Survivor Series to go and Graham doesn’t even take the best available on the board. 1988 is a good show, but not nearly worthy of this pick, especially since there are 28 of them to choose from. Reach city. 7 for 11
Chad Campbell: Vengeance 2003 (11,3; 33rd Overall)
JT’s Take: Nothing else to say at this point. Chad is slaying it, grabbing one of the best WWE secondary shows ever. 11 for 11
Chad Campbell: One Night Stand (12,1; 34th Overall)
JT’s Take: This was one category that Graham had real control over since early on but Chad has surpassed him by really loading up back-to-back here. Pairing No Way Out 2001 with Vengeance 2003 and One Night Stand 2005 is a murderer’s row of secondary shows. 12 for 12
Graham Cawthon: Backlash 2000 (12,2; 35th Overall)
JT’s Take: Nice work by Graham here, going neck and neck with Chad in the secondary category. Here, he takes one of the best shows from one of WWE’s hottest years. 8 for 12
Greg Phillips: Survivor Series 2011 (12,3; 36th Overall)
JT’s Take: Eh, similar to Graham’s Survivor Series choice earlier, this felt like a reach and like he picked a Survivor Series just to pick one, and almost admits as much. No need to rush into taking one this early unless you are taking a consensus great show. You could argue there are a handful of secondary shows left that are better than even the best of Survivor Series. 10 for 12
Greg Phillips: Judgment Day 2000 (13,1; 37th Overall)
JT’s Take: Nice grab here by Greg to open up the 13th round. Judgment Day 2000 is a tight show during a red hot period and capped by a fantastic main event with a memorable finish. 11 for 13
Graham Cawthon: Survivor Series 1995 (13,2; 38th Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham goes back to the Survivor Series well and atones for his 1988 pick by grabbing a strong top to bottom show in 1995. The main event is a classic and the rest of the card is filled out with well worked traditional survivor matches. 9 for 13
Chad Campbell: No Mercy 2002 (13,3; 39th Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad continues to sit back and go under the radar by stacking high quality shows that may be overlooked. Featuring a MOTYC and one of the best Hell in a Cell matches in company history, this was a great choice. 13 for 13
Chad Campbell: Starrcade 1985 (14,1; 40th Overall)
JT’s Take: I can’t debate the quality of this show in any way but I think Chad could have picked this up later and filled a bigger need here. It is a strong pick so I won’t punish him but I think this is the first time he reached a bit based on the flow of the draft. 14 for 14
Graham Cawthon: Survivor Series 2001 (14,2; 41st Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham continues to pick up Survivor Series cards and locks in a strong card, but I still feel he hasn’t taken the consensus best edition. Based on how things were falling, he could have held off here and still had his pick of the litter later. 9 for 14
Greg Phillips: Survivor Series 2014 (14,3; 42nd Overall)
JT’s Take: Outside of his love for Sting, there is no way I can defend this pick here. No need to take this show this early in the draft, it would have certainly been around for a while, especially with other stronger options on the board still. 11 for 14
Greg Phillips: Beach Blast 1992 (15,1; 43rd Overall)
JT’s Take: Greg bounces back nicely here with a very strong “other promotion” show. Great value by sneaking a loaded card into his roster, which is already stacked in these slots. 12 for 15
Graham Cawthon: Survivor Series 2006 (15,2; 44th Overall)
JT’s Take: Another swing and miss here. Sure it had random teams and some fun lineups, but that was on paper. In execution, it is middle of the road at best. He has now taken four Survivor Series without actually taking the best ones. This is a show Graham could have had with his final pick and thus wastes a key mid round selection. 9 for 15
Chad Campbell: Halloween Havoc 1990 (15,3; 45th Overall)
JT’s Take: Nice value again here and Chad even mentions the fantastic war between the Nasty Boys and Steiner Brothers. My only complaint is it again feels like a reach as this show was unlikely to go soon when you look at the rosters of Graham and Greg. For the first time, I am going to ding Chaddie a point for not reading the field a bit better. 14 for 15
Chad Campbell: Halloween Havoc 1997 (16,1; 46th Overall)
JT’s Take: I like this pick much better and it feels similar to the No Mercy 2002 choice based on the two big matches that pop out, including an easy MOTYC. 15 for 16
Graham Cawthon: Halloween Havoc 1989 (16,2; 47th Overall)
JT’s Take: Nice choice by Graham even though it was a bit reactionary. Still, he realized there was a run on WCW shows going on and needed to ensure he locked one more in. 10 for 16
Greg Phillips: Souled Out 1998 (16,3; 48th Overall)
JT’s Take: Greg adds to his “other promotions” position with a very nice selection. An overlooked show by some, this was a well built and executed show and a strong choice considering that the WCW offerings are starting to dwindle a bit. 13 for 16
Greg Phillips: WrestleMania XXIV (17,1; 49th Overall)
JT’s Take: I like this pick here. Greg is in the pole position for WrestleManias and already has a strong lineup in place, really putting Chad and Graham in the soup a bit as they play from behind. It is is surprising that more haven’t been taken yet. 14 for 17
Graham Cawthon: Survivor Series 1989 (17,2; 50th Overall)
JT’s Take: < Shakes head > I am not thankful for this pick. 10 for 17
Chad Campbell: Vengeance 2005 (17,3; 51st Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad closes out the first half of the draft with a bang, grabbing a fantastic secondary show loaded with two classic matches and filled out by a solid undercard. Also, Chad’s secondary shows are amazingly high level. 16 for 17
Chad Campbell: WrestleMania X (18,1; 52nd Overall)
JT’s Take: The second off is off to a good start as Chad takes his third WrestleMania. To get arguably a Top 6 Mania at this point is great value. 17 for 18
Graham Cawthon: WrestleMania XX (18,2; 53rd Overall)
JT’s Take: Strong selection for Graham, who badly needed a WrestleMania and he takes one of the best available. The card is a bit bloated but you can’t challenge the historical value and grouping of strong matches. 11 for 18
Greg Phillips: Backlash 2007 (18,3; 54th Overall)
JT’s Take: A nice pick here, but I think there are still strong Backlashes available, let alone other secondary offerings. Again, not a bad choice and I won’t ding him, but not nearly a best available choice. 15 for 18
Greg Phillips: Unbreakable 2005 (19,1; 55th Overall)
JT’s Take: I like this move here. Everyone has been so focused on WCW for the “other promotions” slot that Greg is able to nab the best TNA show and nails the pick. Greg’s “other promotions” shows are very strong. 16 for 19
Graham Cawthon: Royal Rumble 1996 (19,2; 56th Overall)
JT’s Take: Shaky choice here. I know the Rumble pool is sagging a bit but there are easily better options out there and Graham needed a strong one here. 11 for 19
Chad Campbell: Royal Rumble 2002 (19,3; 57th Overall)
JT’s Take: Now this is the show Graham should have taken. Chad closes out his Rumbles nicely by grabbing one of the best ones left on the board. Looking at his roster you could argue Chad has the best five overall Rumbles. 18 for 19
Chad Campbell: SummerSlam 1991 (20,1; 58th Overall)
JT’s Take: Chad continues to load up, adding a great show to 1998 and 2013 on his roster. Good value, right on target. 19 for 20
Graham Cawthon: SummerSlam 1997 (20,2; 59th Overall)
JT’s Take: Graham has done a nice job with SummerSlams and that trend continues here. A solid show just as WWF was catching on fire and has heavy historical value to boot. 12 for 20
Greg Phillips: Royal Rumble 1991 (20,3; 60th Overall)
JT’s Take: Love this pick here and another that makes Graham’s 1996 choice even shakier. This show had a surprisingly jacked undercard and a really fun Rumble match. Tremendous value. 17 for 20
Greg Phillips: Payback 2013 (21,1; 61st Overall)
JT’s Take: On the surface I am OK with Greg taking this show. However, when you look at his roster needs, this was a total reach, especially considering there was very little chance it was taken any time soon. Greg could have bolstered his Rumble slots and still nabbed this ten picks from now. 17 for 21
Graham Cawthon: SummerSlam 1994 (21,2; 62nd Overall)
JT’s Take: Nice choice here as well as Graham piles on his strong SummerSlam offerings with a really fun show that features a great WWF Title match supported by a pair of very good title matches on the undercard. 13 for 21
Chad Campbell: Survivor Series 1998 (21,3; 63rd Overall)
JT’s Take: Amazing value for Chad. His strategy of waiting on Survivor Series pays off in spades as he grabs a top two entry in the show’s canon. It is embarrassing that seven installments of this show went before this one did. As lesser versions of this show were flying off the board, Chad was stocking up in other slots and he still comes away with an ace. 20 for 21
Chad Campbell: Survivor Series 1996 (22,1; 64rd Overall)
JT’s Take: And Chad lowers the boom by taking the other top two Survivor Series by selecting 1996. With an all time classic and a top flight WWF Title match to its credit, this show is also brimming with historical value. To get 1998 and 1996 this late in the draft is an absolute steal. 21 for 22
Graham Cawthon: Halloween Havoc 1996 (22,2; 65th Overall)
JT’s Take: Solid choice here, but again Graham has a lot of work to do in other areas, especially since his “other promotions” slot is one of his best. I will grant a point, but it is borderline. 14 for 22
Greg Phillips: Backlash 2008 (22,3; 66th Overall)
JT’s Take: Again, I think there are better Backlash options but this pick is still solid enough to grant a point. I think Greg had better avenues he could have taken though. 18 for 22
Greg Phillips: SummerSlam 2014 (23,1; 67th Overall)
JT’s Take: I think there are better SummerSlams left but based on the historical value of the main event and a strong Ambrose/Rollins bout, I am fine with this here. 19 for 23
Graham Cawthon: WrestleMania VI (23,2; 68th Overall)
JT’s Take: <Swoon> 15 for 23
