Friday's episode of SmackDown kicked off the 2021 WWE draft, with the first four rounds of picks settling which Superstars go to the blue brand and who will be competing on Monday Night Raw for the foreseeable future.

While both are under the same company umbrella, two competing networks want the best and biggest roster imaginable, meaning Fox and USA Network do have stakes in who ends up where.

It's unknown how much influence they have on draft picks, but if we put on our suspension-of-disbelief goggles and treat this like a legitimate draft, let's examine how this first night played out and which of the two brands is in better shape.

The draft is far from over, but as far as Night 1 goes, is Raw or SmackDown winning the 2021 WWE draft?

Picks

By the end of SmackDown, the following picks were announced in this order:

Round 1

1. Roman Reigns to SmackDown.
2. Big E to Raw.
3. Charlotte Flair to SmackDown.
4. Bianca Belair to Raw.

Round 2

1. Drew McIntyre to SmackDown.
2. RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) to Raw.
3. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) to SmackDown.
4. Edge to Raw.

Round 3

1. Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss to SmackDown.
2. Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley to Raw.
3. Hit Row (Ashante "Thee" Adonis, B-Fab, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Top Dolla) to SmackDown.
4. Keith "Bearcat" Lee to Raw.

Round 4

1. Naomi to SmackDown.
2. Dominik and Rey Mysterio to Raw.
3. Jeff Hardy to SmackDown.
4. Austin Theory to Raw.
5. Brock Lesnar clarified that he will remain a free agent.

Raw Loses Its Advantages

In the modern version of the brand split, Raw had two distinct advantages over the past few years.

Not only was the show able to pick first, but it would also get three picks per round compared to SmackDown's two. That extra pick often made a big difference, especially in early rounds.

This time, SmackDown got the first pick. We're not supposed to think of the logistics of this being scripted, but WWE didn't bother to make up an excuse for why SmackDown kicked off the draft this year. Obviously, the reason why was that it made sense for Roman Reigns—the champion of choice with a gimmick that revolves around him being the top dog of WWE—to be the first overall pick.

No explanation was given for why Raw doesn't have an extra overall pick per round, either. It made sense Raw had the extra people since it is three hours versus SmackDown's two, but we're also supposed to disregard that, it seems.

This gave SmackDown a massive boost, not just to be able to grab The Tribal Chief but to also not have to scramble to make up for the numbers game. At this stage, both brands are on equal playing field.

Well, they should be. However, the picks themselves have changed the landscape.

The Charlotte Flair Conundrum

In previous drafts, the Intercontinental and United States Championships have swapped brands. Even the World Heavyweight or Universal and WWE Championships were able to go between Raw and SmackDown without any issues.

The same can't be said for when a belt is branded with Raw or SmackDown. That led to an instance last year wherein the Raw and SmackDown tag team champions were on opposite brands and simply swapped belts in an even exchange.

At the moment, there is no direct solution to SmackDown choosing Charlotte Flair and her bringing the Raw Women's Championship over to Friday nights.

One would think if that were to happen, Raw's direct next pick would be Becky Lynch to balance things out. Instead, Raw opted for Bianca Belair, who could well lose the SmackDown Women's Championship Triple Threat match at Crown Jewel.

WWE normally releases draft pools in advance but opted to stay silent about it this year. All fans were told was that half the roster was eligible (despite only 16 picks happening).

We can assume The Man wasn't eligible to be chosen this time around, but that still puts Raw at a disadvantage. What if SmackDown chooses Lynch as the first pick next time and leaves Raw with no women's title?

It's unlikely to happen, as something will go down in the coming weeks to balance this out, but that's only because WWE will have to script that to happen. If this were a legitimate draft, everyone would be laughing at the representatives from USA Network and Raw for such an obvious oversight.

SmackDown Understands What Tag Teams Are, but Raw Doesn't Like The New Day

It's one thing to have to hope you can choose another champion to compensate for losing yours. It's another to make a blunder wherein you don't play smart and maximize your potential at every opportunity.

WWE allows for tag teams, factions and stables to be drafted as units. Both Randy Orton and Riddle stayed on Raw as RK-Bro. Super Brutality's Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley were also drafted to Raw to keep together the women's tag team champions.

Why, then, did Raw make the baffling mistake of drafting Big E without Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods?!

The New Day have moved in previous drafts together. They are still an official faction, despite being split up in last year's draft. There is no kayfabe excuse to why Raw wouldn't want Kingston and Woods, who are decorated Superstars in their own right.

Raw's mistake was SmackDown's gain, as the blue brand stole Kingston and Woods, gaining two-thirds of arguably the greatest tag team in WWE history.

Then SmackDown proved it understood this draft strategy by picking the quartet of Hit Row, gaining Ashante "Thee" Adonis, B-Fab, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Top Dolla all in one move!

Meanwhile, Raw's closest pick to this idea was getting both Dominik and Rey Mysterio—a tag team that has been fracturing lately and likely won't still be together much longer.

Edge Does Not Equal Drew McIntyre and Jeff Hardy

SmackDown picked up two big-name Superstars in Drew McIntyre and Jeff Hardy, both of them being beloved former world champions.

Best of all, both can be great challengers for Reigns, keeping the blue brand's top-title scene fresh.

In return, the big get for Raw's main event scene was Edge. However, as great as The Rated-R Superstar is, that's not a smart move when playing the numbers game.

Not only does SmackDown leave the first night with two fresh contenders instead of one, but both McIntyre and Hardy also regularly appear. Edge, sadly, does not. He's a part-timer who has wrestled a total of eight matches this year. Hardy has wrestled 32, and McIntyre has wrestled 57.

What happens when Edge suffers another injury setback and is out for several months? Who will be in the title hunt and drawing ratings?

SmackDown, meanwhile, will easily be able to get Hardy vs. Reigns for TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs if that is returning in December and then McIntyre vs. Reigns for January's Royal Rumble—and possibly even stretch that feud to Elimination Chamber or Fastlane in February.

Verdict: SmackDown Wins Night 1

Both rosters have picked up some fantastic Superstars. It shouldn't go without being said that Austin Theory and Keith Lee on Raw are major players to keep an eye on or that Belair could snatch the SmackDown Women's Championship and bring that over to Raw with her to offset Flair's return to Friday nights.

Given the way things have played out, though, SmackDown is looking to be in better shape.

Smart picks like Hit Row and two-thirds of The New Day, stealing the Raw women's champion, taking Hardy and McIntyre off the table and making sure not to lose a veteran in the women's division like Naomi will work out well in the long run. Raw is going to be left scrambling to make up some serious ground.

Thankfully, with the latter half of the draft set for Monday night, there is still an opportunity for things to balance out and for both brands to walk away from this rejuvenated.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.