While the mainstream sports world is currently enthralled by the NFL Draft, with Round 1 featuring tons of intriguing angles and Night 2 set to take place at the same time as SmackDown and Rampage, the WWE Universe is preparing for a draft of their own, with Night 1 set for the final Friday of April, and Night 2 scheduled for the first edition of RAW in the month of May.
Soon, fans will see which stars are headed to RAW, who will be working SmackDown, and, most importantly of all, who will be eligible to wrestle for the newly christened WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which will be decided at Night of Champions at the end of May.
But how will the draft work, especially since WWE only has one on-screen authority figure, Adam Pearce, who oversees the runnings of both weekly shows? Is Pearce going to fantasy book both brands as a double GM? Or is there another plan in store, maybe bringing Paul “Triple H” Levesque into play? Only time will tell, but WWE has announced which performers are eligible for each night of the draft, which does tip their hand ever so slightly as to what WWE plans to pull off moving forward.
Night One: Friday on SmackDown
Becky Lynch
Bianca Belair
Bobby Lashley
Candice LeRae
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
Cody Rhodes
Damage CTRL (Bayley, IYO SKY & Dakota Kai)
Dexter Lumis
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre
Edge
Hit Row (Top Dolla & Ashante “Thee” Adonis w/ B-Fab)
Imperium (GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
Lacey Evans
Matt Riddle
Maximum Male Models (ma.cé, mån.sôör & Maxxine Dupri)
Mustafa Ali
Natalya
Omos (w/ MVP)
Shinsuke Nakamura
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa)
The Miz
The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson & Michin)
The Street Profits
Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar w/ Valhalla)
Select NXT Superstars
Whoa, some very interesting stuff on this list indeed; The Bloodline, at least according to the WWE's official website, is just Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa – no Paul Heyman? – but The O.C. features all four members, even “Michin” Mia Yim, who hasn't been featured on television with the other members of the faction seemingly once in 2023 while Styles recovers from an injury suffered at a house show in Hershey, Pennsylvania? And what about Damage CTRL? Some fans wanted to see the faction split up, as they also have with The Street Profits, but as things presently stand, both factions are being drafted together. Is WWE going to pull a switch-a-roo and have either Bayley or Montez Ford drafted separately from their on-screen pals? As long as WWE doesn't split up The Way on the main roster, I'm good.
BREAKING NEWS: WWE will crown a BRAND NEW World Heavyweight Champion on May 27 at #NightofChampions!@TripleH has brought back a legendary championship on #WWERaw that The Game knows all too well! pic.twitter.com/BNxvJK2rRh
— WWE (@WWE) April 25, 2023
WWE has released the eligible entrants for Night 2 of the Draft on RAW.
WWE also released the wrestlers eligible for Night 2, featuring some blasts from the past, some surprising tag teams, and some surprisingly split-up groups too.
Night Two: This Monday on Raw
Akira Tozawa
Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable)
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo
Asuka
Austin Theory
Baron Corbin
Braun Strowman & Ricochet
Brock Lesnar
Bronson Reed
Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin
Charlotte Flair
Dana Brooke
Elias
Emma
Johnny Gargano
Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio)
Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett)
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
LA Knight
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
Nikki Cross
Piper Niven
Rhea Ripley
Rick Boogs
Riddick Moss
Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler
Seth Rollins
Shotzi
Tamina
Tegan Nox
The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch)
The LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde & Zelina Vega)
The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
Trish Stratus
Xia Li
Select NXT Superstars
Alright, Day 2's eligible entrants might be just as surprising as Day 1s, with interesting setups and split-ups across the roster; The Brawling Brutes and The LWO are being drafted as full units, with Rey Mysterio and Sheamus set to stick with their factions instead of being singles stars, but Rhea Ripley is being drafted away from The Judgement Day, which, considering her undeniable chemistry with Dominik Mysetrio, is a darn shame if they end up getting separated. While some may suggest that WWE has Ripley eligible on her own because she's a champion, Reigns is eligible to be drafted with Sikoa, who has a far higher potential to win singles gold than any member of JD, no offense to Finn Balor and Damian Preist. It's also surprising to see Rick Boogs and Elias billed as separate acts, as the company has spent a notable amount of time trying to set up the duo as a team.
How will the WWE Draft shake things up? Only time will tell, but it's safe to say this announcement makes things more interesting, not less.
Uh-oh, is this what the future holds for #TheJudgmentDay? 🤔
The #WWEDraft begins TONIGHT on #SmackDown!
📺 8/7c on @FOXTV pic.twitter.com/7TLBNagt9y
— WWE (@WWE) April 28, 2023