| 2007 WWE draft | |
|---|---|
 TheWWE Draft logo used from 2007 to 2011. | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Professional wrestling |
| Dates | June 11 and 17, 2007 |
| Location | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |
| Overview | |
| League | World Wrestling Entertainment |
| Teams | Raw SmackDown! ECW |
The2007 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft, the fifthWWE Draft, took place at theWachovia Arena inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on June 11. The first half of the draft was televisedlive for three hours onWorld Wrestling Entertainment's program,Raw onUSA Network.[1][2][3] The second half of the draft, or the "supplemental draft", was conducted over WWE's website, WWE.com, for four hours on June 17, 2007, as draft picks were announced at twenty-minute intervals.[4] There were twenty-three draft picks, with twenty-seven wrestlers drafted overall, between thepromotion's three mainbrands:Raw,SmackDown!, andECW.[1][5] For the televised half of the draft, each brand'sdraft pick was determined by nine matches, one being a battle royal for two draft picks, where wrestlers from their respective brands wrestled to earn a draft pick.[6][7] The supplemental draft, however, was conducted randomly, with each brand receiving random draft selections. Raw and SmackDown! received five random draft picks, while ECW received three random draft picks.[4] The televised draft picks were randomly selected by a computer that was shown on the Rawtitantron.[8][9] Every WWE wrestler from Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW was eligible to be drafted.[10]
Thedraft was announced byShane McMahon on the May 28, 2007, episode ofRaw from theAir Canada Centre inToronto, Ontario, and was promoted as the "first ever tri-branded draft".[10][11][12] Besides the promoted draft, the show was billed as "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night", a tribute of appreciation to the WWE Chairman,Vince McMahon,[13][14] who was blown up in his limousine later that night.
The draft lottery is a concept used by WWE to improve its weeklytelevision ratings ofRaw,SmackDown! andECW'.[15] The WWE yet again used the concept in 2007, to improve its television ratings.[15] The 2007 WWE draft was the first official draft lottery to take place in WWE since the2005 WWE draft lottery.[16]
During the program, representatives from the Raw, ECW, and SmackDown! brands were involved in matches that determined which brand received a draft pick. Overall, there were 9 matches, of which SmackDown! got four, Raw got three and ECW got two.
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edge (SmackDown!) defeatedJohn Cena (Raw) | Singles match for 1 draft pick |
| 2 | CM Punk (ECW) defeatedCarlito (Raw) | Singles match for 1 draft pick |
| 3 | Umaga (Raw) defeatedBalls Mahoney (ECW) | Singles match for 1 draft pick |
| 4 | Bobby Lashley (ECW) defeatedChris Benoit (SmackDown!) | Singles match for 1 draft pick |
| 5 | MVP (SmackDown!) defeatedSantino Marella (Raw) | Singles match for 1 draft pick |
| 6 | The Miz (SmackDown!) defeatedSnitsky (ECW)1 | Singles match for 1 draft pick |
| 7 | Candice Michelle (Raw) defeatedKristal Marshall (SmackDown!) | Singles match for 1 draft pick |
| 8 | Batista (SmackDown!) defeatedElijah Burke (ECW) andJeff Hardy (Raw) | Triple Threat match for 1 draft pick |
| 9 | Randy Orton (Raw) won by last eliminatingMatt Hardy (SmackDown!)8 | Tri-branded 15-manBattle royal for 2 draft picks |
| Pick No. | Brand (to) | Employee | Role | Brand (from) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SmackDown! | The Great Khali | Male wrestler | Raw |
| 2 | ECW | The Boogeyman | Male wrestler | SmackDown! |
| 3 | Raw | King Booker andQueen Sharmell2 | Male/female wrestler | SmackDown! |
| 4 | ECW | Chris Benoit | Male wrestler | SmackDown! |
| 5 | SmackDown! | Torrie Wilson | Female wrestler | Raw |
| 6 | SmackDown! | Chris Masters | Male wrestler | Raw |
| 7 | Raw | Bobby Lashley3 | Male wrestler | ECW |
| 8 | SmackDown! | Ric Flair | Male wrestler | Raw |
| 9 | Raw | Snitsky | Male wrestler | ECW |
| 10 | Raw | Mr. Kennedy | Male wrestler | SmackDown! |
| Pick No. | Brand (to) | Employee | Role | Brand (from) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Raw | Paul London andBrian Kendrick4 | Male tag team | SmackDown! |
| 12 | SmackDown! | Kenny Dykstra | Male wrestler | Raw |
| 13 | ECW | Viscera5 | Male wrestler | Raw |
| 14 | Raw | The Sandman | Male wrestler | ECW |
| 15 | SmackDown! | Hardcore Holly6 | Male wrestler | ECW |
| 16 | ECW | The Miz | Male wrestler | SmackDown! |
| 17 | Raw | Daivari | Male wrestler | SmackDown! |
| 18 | SmackDown! | Bret Major andBrian Major4 | Male tag team | ECW |
| 19 | Raw | William Regal | Male wrestler | SmackDown! |
| 20 | SmackDown! | Victoria | Female wrestler | Raw |
| 21 | Raw | Jillian | Female wrestler | SmackDown! |
| 22 | SmackDown! | Eugene | Male wrestler | Raw |
| 23 | ECW | Johnny Nitro7 | Male wrestler | Raw |
The 2007 draft lottery provided WWE's three brands with new wrestlers, allowing for new storylines andrivalries. Television ratings for WWE increased, asRaw,SmackDown!, andECW became the most watched programs on their respective television networks in the summer of 2007.[17] Four months after the draft, on October 16, 2007, it was announced that ECW and SmackDown! would have a talent exchange that would allow wrestlers from their respective brands to compete on either brand.[18]