As WWE continues its true brand split into the second season of its new television contracts, it has now completed its latest WWE Draft to shake up the rosters of its two main shows. The draft began Friday night on SmackDown and concluded Monday night on Raw with every superstar on both rosters available for selection.
There were 84 picks (men, women, tag teams and groups) over the two-day draft with Raw, a three-hour show, getting three picks for every two for SmackDown. WWE initially split those superstars into two pools in order to ensure that the company’s biggest stars served as attractions over the two-day draft.
The first night of the draft, taking place Friday during SmackDown on Fox, featured four of WWE’s six singles champions as eligible draftees, though all remained on their respective brands. The other two — Bayley (SmackDown women’s) and Sami Zayn (intercontinental) — were up for selection Monday during Raw on USA Network; they both remained on SmackDown.
Though the initial Fox-USA Network draft in 2019 received mostly negative reviews — it was largely boring and left the rosters uneven — WWE decided to use the same format with chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon announcing every pick in a commissioner-type role. Improvements were made this year as WWE did away with the pre-taped war room celebrations featuring cartoon robots and face-painted executives and focused on reactions from drafted superstars.
Now all that’s left is to break down the WWE Draft selections and new rosters.
WWE roster
Raw
- Men (22): Drew McIntyre (c, WWE), Bobby Lashley (c, United States), R-Truth (c, 24/7), AJ Styles, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Braun Strowman, Matt Riddle, Jeff Hardy, Keith Lee, Ricochet, Elias, Sheamus, Angel Garza, Humberto Carillo, Drew Gulak, Tucker, Dabba-Kato, Titus O’Neil, Akira Tozawa, Riddick Moss, Arturo Ruas
- Women (8): Asuka (c), Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, Lana
- Men’s tag teams/factions (5): The New Day (c), The Hurt Business, The Miz & John Morrison, Retribution, Lucha House Party
- Women’s tag teams (2): Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax (c), Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke
SmackDown
- Men (15): Roman Reigns (c, Universal), Sami Zayn (c, Intercontinental), Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Big E, Aleister Black, Apollo Crews, Otis, Murphy, Kalisto, Lars Sullivan, King Corbin, Shorty G
- Women (5): Bayley (c), Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, Carmella, Natalya
- Men’s tag teams (4): The Street Profits (c), Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, Rey & Dominik Mysterio
- Women’s tag teams (1): The Riott Squad
Undrafted
- In pools but not selected: Andrade, Erik, Billie Kay, Mickie James, Tamina, Zelina Vega
- Not in draft pools: Becky Lynch, Jimmy Uso, Ivar, Sonya Deville, Edge, Jinder Mahal, Samoa Joe, Mojo Rawley, The Forgotten Sons, Bo Dallas, Big Show, John Cena, Bill Goldberg, Ronda Rousey, The Undertaker
WWE Draft results
Day 1 (Friday, Oct. 9)
|
1 |
Drew McIntyre (c, WWE) |
Roman Reigns (c, Universal) |
|
Asuka (c, Raw women’s) |
Seth Rollins |
|
|
The Hurt Business |
||
|
2 |
AJ Styles |
Sasha Banks |
|
Naomi |
Bianca Belair |
|
|
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) |
||
|
3 |
Ricochet |
Jey Uso |
|
Mandy Rose |
Rey & Dominik Mysterio |
|
|
The Miz & John Morrison |
||
|
4 |
The New Day (c, SD tag team) |
Big E |
|
Dana Brooke |
Otis |
|
|
Angel Garza |
||
| 5 | Humberto Carillo | Murphy |
| Drew Gulak | Kalisto | |
| Tucker |
Day 2 (Monday, Oct. 12)
|
1 |
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt |
Bayley (c) |
|
Randy Orton |
The Street Profits (c) |
|
|
Charlotte Flair |
||
| 2 | Braun Strowman | Daniel Bryan |
| Matt Riddle | Kevin Owens | |
| Jeff Hardy | ||
| 3 | Retribution | Lars Sullivan |
| Keith Lee | King Corbin | |
| Alexa Bliss | ||
| 4 | Elias | Sami Zayn (c) |
| Lacey Evans | Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura | |
| Sheamus | ||
| 5 | Nikki Cross | Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode |
| R-Truth (c) | Apollo Crews | |
| Dabba-Kato | ||
| 6 | Titus O’Neil | Carmella |
| Peyton Royce | Aleister Black | |
| Akira Tozawa | ||
| 7 | Lana | Natalya |
| Riddick Moss | The Riott Squad | |
| Arturo Ruas |
- Teams split: New Day was split up with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods winning the SmackDown tag team titles but being drafted to Raw as Big E was drafted to SmackDown. Heavy Machinery and Lucha House Party were also split up.
- New Day and Street Profits swapped their brands’ tag team titles after being drafted opposite one another.
- Shorty G was added to the SmackDown roster on Monday. He went undrafted on Friday.
- Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik) were added to the Raw roster on Monday. They went undrafted on Friday.