The NFL Draft isn’t the only major drafting event taking place over the next few days as WWE will be hosting their next brand split draft, starting with tonight’s edition of SmackDown. As picks happen, make sure to check back here for WWE Draft results, updates, and analysis on which wrestlers are headed to SmackDown, which are headed to Raw, and any surprises such as returns and NXT debuts we may see along the way.
First announced a few weeks ago following WrestleMania, the WWE Draft for 2023 will take place starting on Friday, April 28th, during SmackDown and concluding on Monday, May 1st during Raw. Prior to the draft, WWE has announced pools of superstars who are eligible to be drafted on both nights. In addition to regular rostered superstars, WWE is listing “select NXT superstars” as draft eligible for both nights. However, the identities of those stars remains a mystery at this point. When it comes to WWE Draft results, it should be noted that while certain superstars are only eligible to be drafted tonight, they can still be drafted to either the blue or red brand. This is just a way to divide the field a bit to ensure both networks behind the drafting (Fox and USA) have a select pool to reference on both nights. Overall, (almost) ALL superstars are eligible to be drafted, giving this the potential to be the biggest draft, and most interesting draft results, WWE has seen.
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USA Network perhaps described the purpose of the draft best, writing, “When WWE shifted to separate brands of RAW, SmackDown and NXT, they found themselves locked in (mostly, at least) to using Superstars found on each brand exclusively. So RAW Superstars only perform on Monday night, for example. But the WWE Draft is used as a vehicle for change – in the eyes of the fans, storylines can get stale, and matchups can get repetitive. So the Draft is a way to shuffle up the deck, so to speak, and bring new matches and Superstar interactions to the weekly television shows.”
WWE Draft Results, Night One
Round One
1.) SmackDown: Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa & Paul Heyman
A very nothing to see here pick, Fox is continuing to rock with their near-1000 day Universal Champion and his faction mates. Interestingly enough, the Usos were not in the draft pool for tonight, growing increasing speculation that the Usos may be drafted to Raw away from the Head of the Table and his new number one…
2.) Raw: Cody Rhodes
Not much of a surprise here. Best to keep Reigns and Rhodes on separate brands for as long as possible. Or, just put the new title on Rhodes. Either way, seems the chapter between those two wrestlers is over for now.
3.) SmackDown: Bianca Belair
Bianca is a great choice to have lead the women’s division on the blue brand. It will be interesting to see who her challengers will be as the EST has a pretty good track record of success against both the SmackDown and Raw roster.
4.) Raw: Becky Lynch
Will Seth Rollins be to Raw what Roman Reigns is to SmackDown? Lynch being drafted to Raw seems to suggest The Man’s man is headed to the flagship. But Rollins’ position aside, Lynch is a fine choice to lead the Raw women’s division.
Round 2:
SmackDown: Street Profits
Raw: Imperium
SmackDown: Edge
Raw: Matt Riddle
Round 3
SmackDown: Bobby Lashley
Raw: Drew McIntyre
SmackDown: The OC: AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Mia Yim
Raw: The Miz
Round 4
SmackDown: Damage CTRL
Raw: Shinsuke Nakamura
SmackDown: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
Raw: Indi Hartwell
WWE Draft Pool, Night One
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So, with that mind, let’s take a look at who is eligible to be drafted as part of the night one SmackDown pool:
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 & 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
Who will be the first pick? Will any tag teams or factions separate? Will there be any surprise returns? Tune in to SmackDown tonight and Raw on Monday for the answers to those questions and make sure to follow along on this page for up-to-the-minute draft updates.
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Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on the WWE Draft results and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
