2023 WWE Draft

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2023 WWE Draft
File:File:2023 WWE Draft Placeholder poster.jpg
Promotional poster featuring wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands
Sport Professional wrestling
Dates April 28 – May 1, 2023
League WWE
Teams Raw
SmackDown
NXT (outgoing only)
← 2021

The 2023 WWE Draft was the 17th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the April 28 episode of Friday Night SmackDown (in Corpus Christi, Texas) and concluded with the May 1 episode of Monday Night Raw (in Fort Worth, Texas), with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. This was the first draft held since 2021 and the first under the creative direction of Triple H. Draft results went into effect beginning with the May 8 episode of Raw.

Production

Background

The WWE Draft is a process used by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE while a brand extension, or brand split, is in effect. The original brand extension occurred from 2002 to 2011, while the second and current brand split began in 2016. During a brand extension, the company divides its roster into what they call brands and wrestlers exclusively perform for each brand's respective television show, albeit with some exceptions. The draft is used to refresh the rosters of the brand divisions, typically between the Raw and SmackDown brands, which are regarded as the main roster. Since 2016, wrestlers from WWE's developmental brand, NXT, have been eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown.[1]

A draft was not held in 2022 and brand division enforcement became increasingly relaxed, but on the April 7, 2023, episode of SmackDown, WWE executive Triple H announced the 2023 draft and stated that every WWE wrestler from Raw and SmackDown would be eligible for the draft, as well as select wrestlers from NXT.[2] The following week, the dates for WWE's 17th draft were confirmed, with it beginning with the April 28 episode of Friday Night SmackDown and concluding with the May 1 episode of Monday Night Raw, with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. This subsequently repositioned the draft back in its traditional post-WrestleMania slot, after the last three drafts were held in October.[3][4] The drafting pools for which wrestlers were eligible to be drafted each night were revealed on April 27.[5] On Night 1 of the draft, Triple H announced that draft results would go into effect beginning with the May 8 episode of Raw, two days after the Backlash pay-per-view and livestreaming event.[6]

Selections

Night 1: SmackDown (April 28)

There were four rounds of draft picks on Night 1 with each brand receiving two picks each round; SmackDown went first due to Night 1 taking place as that night's episode of SmackDown. Draft selections were announced by various WWE Hall of Famers, including Triple H, who announced the first round picks. The second round picks were announced by Rob Van Dam and Michael Hayes, the third round by John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Teddy Long, and the fourth by D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and "Road Dogg" Jesse James).[6][7]

Round Brand pick # Overall pick # Wrestler(s) Pre-draft brand Post-draft brand Role
1 1 1 The Bloodline
(Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa with Paul Heyman)		 SmackDown SmackDown Male tag team and male manager
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion (Reigns)
1 1 2 Cody Rhodes Raw Raw Male wrestler
1 2 3 Bianca Belair Raw SmackDown Female wrestler
Raw Women's Champion
1 2 4 Becky Lynch Raw Raw Female wrestler
2 3 5 The Street Profits
(Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford)		 Raw SmackDown Male tag team
2 3 6 Imperium
(Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, and Giovanni Vinci)		 SmackDown Raw Male stable
Intercontinental Champion (Gunther)
2 4 7 Edge Raw SmackDown Male wrestler
WWE Hall of Famer
2 4 8 Matt Riddle Raw Raw Male wrestler
3 5 9 Bobby Lashley Raw SmackDown Male wrestler
3 5 10 Drew McIntyre SmackDown Raw Male wrestler
3 6 11 The O.C.
(AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and "Michin" Mia Yim)		 Raw SmackDown Mixed stable
3 6 12 The Miz Raw Raw Male wrestler
4 7 13 Damage CTRL
(Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky)		 Raw SmackDown Female stable
4 7 14 Shinsuke Nakamura SmackDown Raw Male wrestler
4 8 15 Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn NXT SmackDown Female tag team
NXT Women's Tag Team Champions
4 8 16 Indi Hartwell NXT Raw Female wrestler
NXT Women's Champion

Night 1 supplemental picks: SmackDown LowDown (April 29)

These wrestlers were included in the Night 1 draft pool, but were not drafted on SmackDown. Their draft selections were revealed on SmackDown's post-show, the SmackDown LowDown, the next day on WWE's social media and streaming platforms.[7][8]

Wrestler(s) Pre-draft brand Post-draft brand Role
Apollo Crews NXT Raw Male wrestler
Candice LeRae Raw Raw Female wrestler
Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville Raw (Green)
SmackDown (Deville)		 Raw Female tag team
Dexter Lumis Raw Raw Male wrestler
Hit Row
(Ashante "Thee" Adonis, B-Fab, and Top Dolla)		 SmackDown SmackDown Mixed stable
JD McDonagh NXT Raw Male wrestler
Lacey Evans SmackDown SmackDown Female wrestler
Maximum Male Models
(ma.çé and mån.sôör with Maxxine Dupri)		 Raw Raw Male tag team and female manager
Natalya SmackDown Raw Female wrestler
The Viking Raiders
(Erik and Ivar with Valhalla)		 SmackDown Raw Male tag team and female manager
Zoey Stark NXT Raw Female wrestler

Night 2: Raw (May 1)

There were six rounds of draft picks on Night 2 with each brand receiving two picks each round; Raw went first due to Night 2 taking place as that night's episode of Raw. Draft selections were again announced by various WWE Hall of Famers, including Triple H, who again announced the first round picks; several others from Night 1 returned to announce Night 2's selections. Booker T and his wife Queen Sharmell announced the round two picks, Shawn Michaels returned to announce the round three picks, round four were by Eric Bischoff and the returning Rob Van Dam, round five by Molly Holly and the returning "Road Dogg" Jesse James, and the sixth and final round were announced by the returning John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Teddy Long. WWE official Adam Pearce was supposed to announce the round three picks with Michaels but instead had to help break up a fight between Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes.[7][9]

Round Brand pick # Overall pick # Wrestler(s) Pre-draft brand Post-draft brand Role
1 1 1 Rhea Ripley[lower-alpha 1] Raw Raw Female wrestler
SmackDown Women's Champion
1 1 2 Austin Theory Raw SmackDown Male wrestler
United States Champion
1 2 3 Seth "Freakin" Rollins Raw Raw Male wrestler
1 2 4 Charlotte Flair SmackDown SmackDown Female wrestler
2 3 5 Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Raw (Owens)
SmackDown (Zayn)		 Raw Male tag team
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions[lower-alpha 2]
2 3 6 The Usos[lower-alpha 3]
(Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso)		 SmackDown SmackDown Male tag team
2 4 7 The Judgment Day
(Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio)		 Raw Raw Male stable
2 4 8 Latino World Order
(Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde, and Zelina Vega)		 SmackDown SmackDown Mixed stable
3 5 9 Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodríguez SmackDown Raw Female tag team
WWE Women's Tag Team Champions[lower-alpha 4]
3 5 10 Asuka Raw SmackDown Female wrestler
3 6 11 The New Day
(Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)		 SmackDown Raw Male tag team
3 6 12 The Brawling Brutes
(Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch)		 SmackDown SmackDown Male stable
4 7 13 Trish Stratus Raw Raw Female wrestler
WWE Hall of Famer
4 7 14 Karrion Kross with Scarlett SmackDown SmackDown Male wrestler and female manager
4 8 15 Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler SmackDown Raw Female tag team
4 8 16 LA Knight SmackDown SmackDown Male wrestler
5 9 17 Braun Strowman and Ricochet SmackDown Raw Male tag team
5 9 18 Shotzi SmackDown SmackDown Female wrestler
5 10 19 Bronson Reed Raw Raw Male wrestler
5 10 20 Pretty Deadly
(Elton Prince and Kit Wilson)		 NXT SmackDown Male tag team
6 11 21 Alpha Academy
(Chad Gable and Otis)		 Raw Raw Male tag team
6 11 22 Rick Boogs Raw SmackDown Male wrestler
6 12 23 Katana Chance and Kayden Carter NXT Raw Female tag team
6 12 24 Cameron Grimes NXT SmackDown Male wrestler

Night 2 supplemental picks: Raw Talk (May 1)

These wrestlers were included in the Night 2 draft pool, but were not drafted on Raw. Their draft selections were revealed on Raw's post-show, Raw Talk, which aired immediately after Raw on WWE's social media and streaming platforms.[7][10]

Wrestler(s) Pre-draft brand Post-draft brand Role
Akira Tozawa Raw Raw Male wrestler
Dana Brooke Raw Raw Female wrestler
Emma SmackDown Raw Female wrestler
Grayson Waller NXT SmackDown Male wrestler
Indus Sher
(Jinder Mahal, Sanga, and Veer Mahaan)		 NXT Raw Male stable
Johnny Gargano Raw Raw Male wrestler
Los Lotharios
(Angel and Humberto)		 SmackDown Raw Male tag team
Nikki Cross Raw Raw Female wrestler
Odyssey Jones NXT Raw Male wrestler
Piper Niven Raw Raw Female wrestler
Riddick Moss SmackDown Raw Male wrestler
Tamina Raw SmackDown Female wrestler
Tegan Nox SmackDown Raw Female wrestler
Xia Li SmackDown Raw Female wrestler

Free agents

Within WWE's storylines, a "free agent" refers to a contracted wrestler who has not been assigned to one of the company's three brands—Raw, SmackDown, or NXT—and can in turn appear on any brand. The following wrestlers were included in the draft pools but ultimately became free agents, either through contractual negotiations or going undrafted. Their status as free agents were announced via the post-shows, SmackDown LowDown and Raw Talk.[7]

Wrestler(s) Pre-draft brand Date Role Notes
Baron Corbin Raw May 1, 2023 Male wrestler Went undrafted during Night 2. Declared as a free agent during Night 2's supplemental draft.
Would later be assigned to NXT in August 2023
Brock Lesnar Free agent[lower-alpha 5] May 1, 2023 Male wrestler During Night 2 of the draft, Triple H announced that Lesnar, who was initially included in the Night 2 draft pool, renegotiated his free agent status so that he could continue to appear for both brands.
Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin Raw May 1, 2023 Male tag team Went undrafted during Night 2. Declared as free agents during Night 2's supplemental draft.
Dolph Ziggler Raw April 29, 2023 Male wrestler Went undrafted during Night 1. Declared as a free agent during Night 1's supplemental draft.
Elias Raw May 1, 2023 Male wrestler Went undrafted during Night 2. Declared as a free agent during Night 2's supplemental draft.
His WWE contract expired on September 14, 2023.
Mustafa Ali Raw April 29, 2023 Male wrestler Went undrafted during Night 1. Declared as a free agent during Night 1's supplemental draft.
Would later be assigned to NXT in August 2023
Omos with MVP Raw April 29, 2023 Male wrestler and male manager During Night 1's supplemental draft, it was revealed that MVP negotiated their free agent status to maximize Omos' visibility on both brands.
Von Wagner NXT April 29, 2023 Male wrestler Though not initially included in the Night 1 draft pool, Wagner was revealed as one of the select NXT wrestlers available to be drafted on SmackDown LowDown. He was declared as a free agent during Night 1's supplemental draft.
Xyon Quinn NXT May 1, 2023 Male wrestler Though not initially included in the Night 2 draft pool, Quinn was revealed as one of the select NXT wrestlers available to be drafted on Raw Talk. He was declared as a free agent during Night 2's supplemental draft.

Wrestlers not included in either draft pool

The following are wrestlers who were not included in either draft pool, as they had been inactive for extended periods leading up to the draft (largely due to injury).

Wrestler(s) Pre-draft brand Reason for omission
(if any)		 Subsequent status Date Role Notes
Logan Paul Free agent Part-time contract Free agent June 19, 2023 Male wrestler Paul makes limited appearances per year. He last appeared at WrestleMania 39 Night 1 on April 1, 2023. Returned on the June 19, 2023, episode of Raw to announce his participation in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.
Tommaso Ciampa Raw Inactive due to a hip injury Raw June 19, 2023 Male wrestler Last appeared on the September 19, 2022, episode of Raw. Returned on the June 19, 2023 episode of Raw in a match against The Miz.
Gable Steveson Raw Inactive due to training for the 2024 Olympics NXT July 25, 2023 Male wrestler Steveson was drafted to Raw in the 2021 draft, but was still training at the WWE Performance Center. In addition to training, he had made a couple of appearances on WWE TV programs, with his last appearance before the draft occurring on the December 9, 2022, episode of SmackDown for Kurt Angle's birthday celebration. He then returned on the June 20, 2023, episode of NXT and began making occasional appearances before deciding he would join NXT on the July 25 episode.
Robert Roode Raw Inactive due to neck surgery Producer August 5, 2023 Male wrestler Last appeared on the June 6, 2022, episode of Raw.
In August 2023, he began working behind the scenes as a producer with his first official show being that year's SummerSlam.[11]
Bray Wyatt SmackDown Was inactive due to contracting COVID-19, which exacerbated an existing heart issue Died August 24, 2023 Male wrestler Last appeared on the February 24, 2023, episode of SmackDown.
On August 24, 2023, Wyatt unexpectedly died from a heart attack.[12][13]
Alexa Bliss Raw Inactive due to skin cancer treatment and maternity leave[14] Female wrestler Last appeared at the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2023.
Aliyah SmackDown Inactive due to unknown reasons Female wrestler Last appeared on the September 12, 2022, episode of Raw.
Big E SmackDown Inactive due to a neck injury Male wrestler Last appeared on the March 11, 2022, episode of SmackDown.
Carmella Raw Inactive due to maternity leave[15] Female wrestler Last appeared on March 31, 2023, for the WrestleMania 39 set reveal.
R-Truth Raw Inactive due to a torn quadricep Male wrestler Last appeared on the November 1, 2022, episode of NXT.
Randy Orton Raw Inactive due to a back injury Male wrestler Last appeared on the May 20, 2022, episode of SmackDown.
Shanky SmackDown Inactive due to unknown reasons Male wrestler Last appeared on the July 22, 2022, episode of SmackDown.
Returned at the 2023 Superstar Spectacle in India, but it was a cross-branded live event so no brand designation was assigned.
Uncle Howdy SmackDown Inactive due to Bray Wyatt's absence Male wrestler Last appeared on the March 3, 2023, episode of SmackDown.

Aftermath

Post-draft moves

The day after the draft on May 2, it was revealed that ring announcers Mike Rome and Samantha Irvin, who announced for Raw and SmackDown, respectively, would switch brands beginning May 8.[16] This switch was made because Irvin is engaged to Ricochet, who was drafted to Raw, as WWE tries to keep real-life couples on the same brand.[17]

Despite being drafted to Raw, Dana Brooke appeared on the June 6 episode of NXT to compete in a battle royal to determine the next challenger for the NXT Women's Championship. During her entrance, she was referred to as a Raw roster member, but during the battle royal itself, the commentators referred to her as a free agent. A change in her roster status has not been confirmed and her WWE.com profile still lists her as a member of Raw.[18] Furthermore, although Los Lotharios (Angel and Humberto) were drafted to Raw, they would also appear in NXT on the June 13 episode, stating they would be going after the NXT Tag Team Championship. WWE president Nick Khan would state this cross-over of talent from Raw and SmackDown to NXT was intentional, as he said NXT has the potential to become WWE's third brand again, while still also developing younger wrestlers.[19]

On August 5, WWE announced a change to the on-air commentary teams that would begin with the August 7 episode of Raw. Raw's team of Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick moved to SmackDown while SmackDown commentator Wade Barrett moved to Raw, with Michael Cole, who was on SmackDown with Barrett, doing commentary for both shows.[20]

At Payback on September 2, 2023, Jey Uso, who had "quit" WWE a month prior after a fallout with his brother Jimmy Uso and The Bloodline as a whole, was reinstated but as a member of Raw.[21] On the following episode of Raw, WWE official Adam Pearce revealed that a member of the Raw roster was traded to SmackDown so that Jey could join Raw. Who was traded has yet to be revealed.[22]

Championships

Prior to the draft on the April 24 episode of Raw, Triple H unveiled a new World Heavyweight Championship for the brand that did not select Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, as he and his titles would become exclusive to the brand that drafted him. As a result of SmackDown drafting Reigns, the World Heavyweight Championship became exclusive to Raw.[6] Despite the title becoming exclusive to Raw, SmackDown wrestlers competed in the tournament to crown the inaugural champion (which was reportedly due to WWE's attempt to retain viewership for the May 12 episode of SmackDown, which went head-to-head with the 2023 NBA playoffs). At Night of Champions, Raw's Seth "Freakin" Rollins defeated SmackDown's AJ Styles to become the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion.[23]

On Night 1 of the draft, reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre were drafted to SmackDown. That same night, they were scheduled to defend the championship against Kayden Carter and Katana Chance on the May 2 episode of NXT, but during Night 2 of the draft, Carter and Chance were drafted to Raw. On NXT, Dawn and Fyre retained the title and they claimed they would defend the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship across all three brands. On that same episode, reigning NXT Women's Champion Indi Hartwell relinquished her title due to being drafted to Raw and also due to a leg injury.[24] On the June 9 episode of SmackDown, the issue of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship being on SmackDown would be addressed as reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler challenged Dawn and Fyre to a championship unification match, which was accepted and scheduled for the June 23 episode.[25] Rousey and Baszler won to become the unified WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, thus making the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship available to NXT again. The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was subsequently retired in the process, with Dawn and Fyre recognized as the final champions.[26]

As a result of the draft, Raw and SmackDown's secondary championships switched brands, as Intercontinental Champion Gunther was drafted to Raw while United States Champion Austin Theory was drafted to SmackDown, and there were no title changes by the time draft results went into effect on May 8. Despite their namesakes, the women's championships would also switch brands, with Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair drafted to SmackDown and SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley drafted to Raw.[7] This same incident occurred during the 2021 draft, but the night that draft's results went into effect, the women's champions swapped titles to keep the branded championships on their respective brands.[27] This did not happen between Belair and Ripley when the 2023 draft results went into effect on May 8.[28] The issue of the Raw and SmackDown women's championships being on the opposite brands would be resolved a month after the draft following the Night of Champions event. On the June 9 episode of SmackDown, reigning Raw Women's Champion Asuka was presented with a new championship belt and the title reverted to its original name of WWE Women's Championship,[25] while on the June 12 episode of Raw, reigning SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley was also presented with a new championship belt and the title was renamed as the Women's World Championship.[29]

Other post-draft changes

Although drafted to Raw as the manager of Maximum Male Models (ma.çé and mån.sôör), Maxxine Dupri would leave the team and join with Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis), who were also drafted to Raw. The two teams had been at odds before the draft where Dupri tried to get Otis to join Maximum Male Models.[30]

Notes

  1. ↑ Although a member of The Judgment Day stable, Ripley was listed separately in the drafting pool, but The Judgment Day would stay together as they were all drafted to Raw.
  2. ↑ The holders of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship are allowed to appear on both brands for as long as they are champions.
  3. ↑ Although members of The Bloodline stable, The Usos were listed separately in the drafting pool, but The Bloodline would stay together as they were all drafted to SmackDown.
  4. ↑ The holders of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship are allowed to appear on both brands for as long as they are champions.
  5. ↑ During the 2021 draft, Lesnar was made a free agent, allowing him to appear on either brand, although he had primarily appeared on Raw since October 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Report: Robert Roode to work as producer at WWE SummerSlam - Wrestling Observer
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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