WWE Announces Draft Rules for Protecting Champions
The WWE Draft is set to shake up the wrestling world once again, and the company has announced the rules for how champions will be protected.
Champions to Remain on Current Brands
Champions on each brand will be protected and are not eligible to be drafted. This means that Damian Priest (United States Champion), Becky Lynch (Raw Women’s Champion), Awesome Truth (Raw Tag Team Champions), and Sami Zayn (Intercontinental Champion) will all remain on Raw. Similarly, Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Universal Champion), Bayley (SmackDown Women’s Champion), A-Town Down Under (SmackDown Tag Team Champions), and Logan Paul (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion) will remain on SmackDown.
Women’s Tag Team Champions Eligible for Draft
Even though their status as champions allows them to go to both brands, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane are eligible to be drafted. If they lose the titles, they will be assigned to the brand that drafts them.
Draft Format and Schedule
Friday’s SmackDown will feature four rounds of draft picks being announced. Each round will consist of the brands making two picks apiece for a total of 16 picks (8 for SmackDown and 8 for Raw).
Monday’s Raw will feature six rounds of draft picks being announced. Each round will consist of the brands making two picks apiece for a total of 24 picks (12 for Raw and 12 for SmackDown).
SmackDown will have the first pick on Friday, and Raw will have the first pick on Monday.
Rosters will go into effect on Monday, May 6, two days after Backlash France.
Talent Pools for SmackDown and Raw
The draft will include a pool of talent from both Raw and SmackDown, as well as NXT. Here is a look at the talent pools for each brand:
SmackDown
- AJ Styles
- Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
- Alpha Academy (Otis, Chad Gable, Maxxine Dupri & Akira Tozawa)
- Bianca Belair
- Ricochet
- Randy Orton
- Nia Jax
- Liv Morgan
- LA Knight
- Jey Uso
- Ivar
- Cedric Alexander & Ashante “Thee” Adonis
- Bron Breakker
- Seth Rollins
- Shayna Baszler
- Sheamus
- The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga & Paul Heyman)
- The O.C. (Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows & Michin)
- Zoey Stark
- “Plus NXT Superstars”
Raw
- Braun Strowman
- #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa)
- Apollo Crews
- Bronson Reed
- Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell
- Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
- CM Punk
- The Creeds (Brutus Creed, Julius Creed & Ivy Nile)
- Imperium (Gunther & Ludwig Kaiser)
- Giovanni Vinci
- The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, AOP, Paul Ellering & Scarlett)
- Drew McIntyre
- Damage CTRL (Kabuki Warriors, IYO SKY & Dakota Kai)
- Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, JD McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio)
- Kayden Carter & Katana Chance
- Kevin Owens
- Legado Del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto & Elektra Lopez)
- Naomi
- Natalya
- The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Street Profits & B-Fab)
- Tegan Nox
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince)
- Odyssey Jones
- The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston)
- New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate)
- Tiffany Stratton
- LWO (Rey Mysterio, Carlito, Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde)