Andrade def. Ali
The first surprise of Raw’s WWE Draft came at the end of the first round when USA Network execs used the No. 5 overall pick to draft Andrade and Zelina Vega. The pick was something of a curious one: For all his remarkable talent, the former NXT Champion has been conspicuously quiet since driving Rey Mysterio to the brink of retirement a couple of months ago. But Andrade quickly surged back into the forefront moments after his number was called, notching a win over Ali that served as notice that Raw won’t be relegated to B-show status quite so easily.
The match was also a crash course for anyone who hasn’t seen enough of Andrade to know what made him worthy of a first-round selection. The former NXT Champion bent the rules, smashed his foe in the face where applicable and scored the win by executing the Hammerlock DDT after Zelina Vega incapacitated Ali behind the ref’s back. Ali, for his part, looked as impressive in defeat as he did against Randy Orton at WWE Hell in a Cell, and he put on enough of a showing that USA or FOX will undoubtedly be motivated to take a flyer on him. But in terms of immediate return on investment, it’s hard to beat Andrade — literally and figuratively.
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