{"id":118834,"date":"2023-04-14T14:02:29","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T18:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=118834"},"modified":"2023-04-15T10:43:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T14:43:46","slug":"superstars-benefitted-most-wwe-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2023\/04\/14\/superstars-benefitted-most-wwe-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Superstars Who Benefitted Most From WWE Draft\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

WWE launched its first WWE Draft in 2002 to deal with its bloated roster following its acquisition of WCW. The Draft was a storyline to deal with Ric Flair and Vince McMahon disagreeing on how to run Raw and SmackDown.<\/span><\/p>\n

A first-of-its-kind, superstars would be selected by McMahon and Flair to exclusively appear on their respective SmackDown and Raw brands. Minus a few years off, the Draft has been an annual feature ever since. It’s helped a few superstars redefine their careers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, we take a look at superstars who have benefitted from the WWE Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE Draft Biggest Winners<\/h2>\n

The Rock\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has achieved a lot. Arguably the most well-known wrestler of all time. Highest-paid movie star<\/a>. Business owner and soon-to-be billionaire. Stars in his own NBC sitcom Young Rock.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

He also has the honor of being the first person to ever be drafted. McMahon selected him for SmackDown in the 2002 Draft. Does Rock care? Probably doesn’t even remember. Let’s get on the superstars who have benefitted from the WWE Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>JBL<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Nobody has benefitted more from the WWE Draft than John \u201cBradshaw\u201d Layfield. In fact, without the Draft JBL may never have existed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2002 Draft resulted in The Dudley Boyz and the APA, Faarooq and Bradshaw, both being split up. Bradshaw stepped out of the shadows of his tag team colleagues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradshaw had been with WWE for 18 years at this point so nobody would have predicted what happened next.<\/span><\/p>\n

Birth of the JBL Character\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Bradshaw tweaked his character to reflect his Texan roots, donning a hat and carrying a bull rope to the ring. His first solo feud was alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin against the NWO. This showed Bradshaw could hang at the main event level.<\/span><\/p>\n

He then went on to win the Hardcore Championship 17 times which helped him feature every week on Raw. Bradshaw had a brief injury before moving to SmackDown to reform the APA.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he\u2019d shown that his skills were as a single competitor. He soon turned on Faarooq and launched his rich Texan heel gimmick JBL.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE Championship Run\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

JBL was an instant hit<\/a> and he quickly captured the WWE Championship. He feuded with Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and The Big Show and always came out on top during his 280-day reign. He finally dropped the championship to John Cena.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without the WWE Draft \u2018forcing\u2019 Bradshaw to leave his APA tag team career behind this iconic WWE Championship run would never have happened.<\/span><\/p>\n