Smark Out Moment

The 2023 WWE DRAFT will start on the April 28 edition of Friday Night SmackDown and conclude on the May 1 edition of Monday Night Raw. Every Superstar from all rosters is eligible to be traded, including the champions, as well as talent from NXT who will be called-up to the main roster, although WWE frequently leaves wrestlers out of the draft each year and keeps them as free agents.

Stay tuned to this post, which will be updated continuously throughout both nights to fill you in on all the trades in one convenient location. Make sure to keep refreshing for updates!

NIGHT 1 MAIN DRAFT RESULTS

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa (with Paul Heyman)

- No surprises here whatsoever, outside of how The Usos aren't included in there.

RAW DRAFTS: Cody Rhodes

- So there goes the idea that Rhodes is going to beat Roman Reigns to win the world title. At best, he wins the second-place award with the new belt. Lame.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Bianca Belair

- Uggggggggggghhhh why do they like to do this shit where the Raw and SmackDown champions have to trade titles? This means Rhea Ripley is going to Raw and they'll have to do that swap bullshit.

RAW DRAFTS: Becky Lynch

- So this means Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes will both be on Raw, which I don't think is necessarily a good idea for a multitude of reasons.

Round 2:

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: The Street Profits

- At least Montez Ford and Bianca Belair haven't been separated. That's good.

RAW DRAFTS: Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)

- So we have four titles that are going to be changing brands. But you know what? I'm down for this. Gunther will be on the brand with the non-Roman title. He has a chance to win that world title. Awesome.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Edge

- I still feel like he's going to be treated more like a free agent more than a SmackDown-only star.

RAW DRAFTS: Matt Riddle

- Now I get why Rob Van Dam did this announcement.

Round 3:

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Bobby Lashley

- Congrats Lashley. You're being fed to Roman Reigns at some point in the next 12 months. But you might win the United States Championship and bring it over to compensate for Gunther.

RAW DRAFTS: Drew McIntyre

- You don't need Rollins, Rhodes and McIntyre all fighting for that top babyface spot. One of them needs to turn heel. We'll see if they have any plan to balance this out.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: The O.C. (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and Michin)

- Why is Michin still listed as part of this group?

RAW DRAFTS: The Miz

- Saw this coming. USA Network and all.

Round 4:

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky)

- That doesn't mean they aren't still splitting. I like how Michael Cole immediately said "Oh no..." But holy shit, why are they still on the same brand as Bianca Belair? They've feuded enough!

RAW DRAFTS: Shinsuke Nakamura

- This is a pick that could be great or a waste, depending on how the rest of the rosters balance out. But once again, another babyface on Raw and no top heels other than Gunther. That's looking really unbalanced.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn

- LOL what? Those women's tag titles never mean anything and they just keep bouncing around.

RAW DRAFTS: Indi Hartwell

- LOLOLOL and why didn't you have Indi lose that match to Roxanne Perez or Tiffany Stratton?

NIGHT 1 SUPPLEMENTAL PICKS

Remaining draft picks from the first pool will be announced on The SmackDown LowDown Saturday morning. Stay tuned for updates.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Hit Row, Lacey Evans

- Well SmackDown sure got the shaft, didn't they? A do-nothing stable and the woman that they cannot for their life figure out what to do with despite her talents.

RAW DRAFTS: Apollo Crews, Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green, Dexter Lumis, JD McDonagh, Maximum Male Models, Natalya, Sonya Deville, The Viking Raiders, Zoey Stark

- Good for Zoey and JD! The others will really depend on what the balancing act is all about.

FREE AGENTS: Dolph Ziggler, Omos (with MVP), Mustafa Ali, Von Wagner

- Uh....what? Why are these people NOT drafted? Does that just prove they don't know what they want to do with them? If so, why not put them in the night 2 draft pool, at least? This seems weird. Especially with Von Wagner. All NXT talent is eligible, so if he's NOT drafted, why is he a "free agent" instead of "still an NXT Superstar"??

NIGHT 2 MAIN DRAFT RESULTS

ANNOUNCED DRAFT POOL FOR THIS NIGHT: 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

Round 1:

RAW DRAFTS: Rhea Ripley

- Necessary once Belair was drafted. They'll still have to do their dumb swap thing, but thankfully, we won't have the wrong colors on the wrong brands for these titles.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Austin Theory

- While I'm disappointed he won't be on the brand with a title that is winnable, at least we know there's no weird stuff going on with having two midcard titles on one brand and none on the other. I still think Bobby Lashley stands a good chance at winning this belt at Backlash.

RAW DRAFTS: Seth Rollins

- Saw that coming not only the moment the world title was secure for Raw, but also when Becky Lynch was drafted to Raw. No surprises here.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Charlotte Flair

- Gotta keep Flair and Lynch away from each other. Plus, putting her on the same brand as Belair is a smart move.

Round 2:

RAW DRAFTS: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

- Can't get much better than these two in one shot.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: The Usos

- As if The Bloodline was going to be split up. You all were sweating.

RAW DRAFTS: The Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor)

- Gotta keep them with Rhea Ripley.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde, Santos Escobar, and Zelina Vega)

- Now this is a surprise. They're splitting up Rey and Dominik. That's interesting. How's the feud going to continue?

Round 3:

RAW DRAFTS: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

- I maintain my previous thoughts that Raquel stands a good chance at being the one to dethrone Rhea Ripley.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Asuka

- I'd have preferred her to have a feud with Ripley on Raw rather than be stuck again on the same brand as Belair and Flair, but we'll see.

RAW DRAFTS: The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)

- New Day rocks. It's a shame Big E still isn't eligible to return.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: The Brawling Brutes (Butch, Ridge Holland and Sheamus)

- There goes Sheamus winning that Intercontinental Championship any time soon.

Round 4:

RAW DRAFTS: Trish Stratus

- What an overall pointless pick, considering she's unlikely to be around past SummerSlam.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Karrion Kross

- Poor Karrion Kross. You're not winning that world title any time soon. Raw needs heels and SmackDown needs babyfaces. Why put him on the brand with Roman?

RAW DRAFTS: Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler

- Hey, they're keeping Rousey away from Flair, but they're also stopping her from being on the same brand as Belair and they have her still on the same show as Becky. Meh.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: LA Knight

- Booooooooooooooooooo. No feuds for the world title? No feuds against Seth Rollins or Cody Rhodes or Johnny Gargano or Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn? I'm not a fan of this move. Raw needs heels!!! What are they doing?!

Round 5:

RAW DRAFTS: Braun Strowman and Ricochet

- Moving Ricochet away from Samantha Irvin? And why does Raw have SO MANY BABYFACES?!

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Shotzi Blackheart

- Sure.

RAW DRAFTS: Bronson Reed

- This means he's not winning that United States Championship at Backlash.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson)

- I really thought they'd be better suited for Raw where they'll have more time to talk and be in backstage segments and all. Same for LA Knight.

Round 6:

RAW DRAFTS: Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis)

- I guess that means Maximum Male Models will go to Raw, too.

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Rick Boogs

- Not with Elias?

RAW DRAFTS: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter

- LOL so they can't beat Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to win the NXT women's tag titles, then. Why book that match?

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Cameron Grimes

- Once again, someone who I think would have been better off on Raw where there's more time for promos. But I'm glad he's one of the call-ups. He needed to move on from NXT.

NIGHT 2 SUPPLEMENTAL PICKS FROM RAW TALK

RAW DRAFTS: Akira Tozawa, Angel Garza, Dana Brooke, Emma, Humberto Carrillo, Jinder Mahal, Johnny Gargano, Nikki Cross, Odyssey Jones, Piper Niven, Riddick Moss, Sanga, Tegan Nox, Veer Mahaan, Xia Li

- I'm surprised Johnny Gargano was kept off the televised part of the draft. That's weird. The rest are moves that entirely depend on how WWE plans on using them and balancing out the rosters. All could have positives and negatives. Congrats to Odyssey Jones and Indus Sher!

SMACKDOWN DRAFTS: Grayson Waller, Tamina

- HAHAHAHAHAHA wow. The supplemental draft sends ONE person over to SmackDown, and it is arguably the least valuable player in the women's division given how she never pops up and when she does, she loses, and this has been the history of her career. She's also recently said she doesn't even know how much longer she'll be wrestling. This is basically as if SmackDown didn't get anyone at all in this part of the draft.

- Update. They've got Grayson Waller. He's great, but I'm still going to repeat the same thing I keep repeating, which is "Why does SmackDown have all these heels with no babyfaces to feud with and no possible upward momentum to win the world title when the heel champion Roman Reigns is clearly not going to lose it any time soon and will barely defend it anyway"? And now, this means Theory, Waller, Knight, Kross and Sikoa all have the same United States title to fight for, with pretty much just AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, Cameron Grimes and Santos Escobar to fight them, since we can't count Edge in this as he's a part-timer.

FREE AGENTS: Baron Corbin, Cedric Alexander, Elias, Shelton Benjamin, Xyon Quinn

- Again, why is an NXT person listed as a free agent instead of just "still in NXT" if they haven't been drafted to Raw or SmackDown? Also, why is Elias not with Boogs? Are they already giving up on that tag team without even giving them a chance? Cedric and Shelton are just clearly in the "wherever we need a jobber" territory, which sucks for them, but I'm not surprised they ended up in this spot based on the way they've been booked. Corbin, at this rate, will probably go to SmackDown, since that's apparently the heel brand, which makes no sense.

REMAINING FREE AGENTS

MEN'S DIVISION:

• Big E
• Bray Wyatt
• Dolph Ziggler
  
• Gable Steveson
• Logan Paul
• Mustafa Ali
• Omos (with MVP)
  
• Randy Orton
  
• Robert Roode
• R-Truth
• Shanky
• Tommaso Ciampa
  
• Uncle Howdy
• Von Wagner
• Xyon Quinn
  

WOMEN'S DIVISION:

• Alexa Bliss
• Aliyah
• Carmella
• Lita
  

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS YEAR'S WWE DRAFT?
TELL US YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!