2023 WWE Draft
Promotional poster featuring wrestlers from theRaw andSmackDown brands
General information
Sport	Professional wrestling
Date	April 28 – May 1, 2023
Location	American Bank Center (April 28, 2023) Dickies Arena (May 1, 2023)
Overview
League	WWE
Teams	Raw SmackDown NXT (outgoing only)
← 2021 2024 →

The2023 WWE Draft was the 17thWWE Draft produced by theAmerican professional wrestling promotionWWE between theirRaw andSmackDownbrand divisions. The two-night event began with the April 28 episode ofFriday Night SmackDown (inCorpus Christi, Texas) and concluded with the May 1 episode ofMonday Night Raw (inFort Worth, Texas), withSmackDown airing onFox andRaw on theUSA Network. This was the first draft held since2021 and the first under the creative direction ofTriple H. In addition, this was the last draft before theTKO Group Holdings acquisition. Draft results went into effect beginning with the May 8 episode ofRaw.

TheWWE Draft is a process used by the Americanprofessional wrestling promotionWWE while abrand 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 theRaw andSmackDown brands, which are regarded as the main roster. Since 2016, wrestlers from WWE'sdevelopmental 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 laxed, but on the April 7, 2023, episode ofSmackDown, WWE executiveTriple 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 ofFriday Night SmackDown and concluding with the May 1 episode ofMonday Night Raw, withSmackDown airing onFox andRaw on theUSA 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 ofRaw, two days after theBacklashpay-per-view andlivestreaming event.^[6]

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 ofSmackDown. Draft selections were announced by variousWWE Hall of Famers, including Triple H, who announced the first-round picks. The second round picks were announced byRob Van Dam andMichael Hayes, the third round byJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield andTeddy Long, and the fourth byD-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and"Road Dogg" Jesse James).^[6][7]

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

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 ofRaw. 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 wifeQueen Sharmell announced the round two picks, Shawn Michaels returned to announce the round three picks, round four were byEric Bischoff and the returning Rob Van Dam, round five byMolly 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 officialAdam Pearce was supposed to announce the round three picks with Michaels but instead had to help break up a fight betweenBrock Lesnar andCody Rhodes.^[7][9]

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

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 andRaw Talk.^[7]

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).

The day after the draft on May 2, it was revealed that ring announcersMike Rome andSamantha Irvin, who announced for Raw and SmackDown, respectively, would switch brands beginning May 8.^[20]

Despite being drafted to Raw,Dana Brooke appeared on the June 6 episode ofNXT to compete in a battle royal to determine the next challenger for theNXT 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. An official change to her status was not announced and her WWE.com profile still listed her as a member of Raw.^[21] Furthermore, although Los Lotharios (Angel andHumberto) were drafted to Raw, they would also appear in NXT on the June 13 episode, stating they would be going after theNXT Tag Team Championship (their individual ring names would also revert to Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo, respectively, in July), they later returned to the main roster on the December 22 episode of SmackDown.^[22] Other main roster wrestlers would appear in NXT, and hold championships, with WWE president Nick Khan stating this cross-over of talent from Raw and SmackDown to NXT was intentional, as he said there was potential for NXT to become WWE's third brand again while still developing younger wrestlers.^[23]

On August 5, WWE announced a change to the on-air commentary teams that would begin with the August 7 episode ofRaw. Raw's team ofCorey Graves and Kevin Patrick moved to SmackDown while SmackDown commentatorWade Barrett moved to Raw, withMichael Cole, who was on SmackDown with Barrett, doing commentary for both shows.^[24]

AtPayback on September 2, 2023,Jey Uso, who had "quit" WWE a month prior after a fallout with his brotherJimmy Uso andThe Bloodline as a whole, was reinstated but as a member of Raw.^[25] On the following episode ofRaw, WWE official Adam Pearce revealed that a member of the Raw roster was traded to SmackDown so that Jey could join Raw.^[26] The following month on the October 13 episode ofSmackDown, after Triple H announced that Pearce—who had officiated for both Raw and SmackDown since January 2020—would now just be the general manager of Raw with formerNational Wrestling Alliance wrestlerNick Aldis introduced as SmackDown's general manager,^[27] Aldis revealed thatKevin Owens had been traded to SmackDown for Jey,^[28] in turn splitting the team of Owens andSami Zayn.^[29]

Shortly after the draft, NXT'sDragon Lee began making appearances on the main roster and had his main roster debut match onSmackDown in October. He was subsequently promoted to the main roster on the SmackDown brand.^[30] After a successful in-ring debut onRaw the week prior, NXT'sDiamond Mine (Brutus Creed,Julius Creed, andIvy Nile) were promoted to the main roster on the Raw brand on November 6, 2023.^[31]

AtSmackDown: New Year's Revolution, NXT'sTyler Bate made his main roster debut. Afterwards, Bate confirmed via WWE's Instagram page that he was now an official member of the SmackDown roster. NXT'sElektra Lopez were promoted to the main roster on the SmackDown brand on January 26, 2024. FollowingRoyal Rumble appearances, NXT'sTiffany Stratton andBron Breakker were subsequently promoted to the main roster on the SmackDown brand. During this time, the SmackDown stableThe Brawling Brutes was disbanded asRidge Holland later moved back to the NXT brand, while Butch would return to using his original ring name Pete Dunne and started a tag team with Bate under the name New Catch Republic.

Prior to the draft on the April 24 episode ofRaw, Triple H unveiled a newWorld Heavyweight Championship for the brand that did not selectUndisputed WWE Universal ChampionRoman 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 ofSmackDown, which went head-to-head with the2023 NBA playoffs). AtNight of Champions, Raw'sSeth "Freakin" Rollins defeated SmackDown'sAJ Styles to become the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion.^[32]

On Night 1 of the draft, reigningNXT Women's Tag Team ChampionsIsla Dawn andAlba Fyre were drafted to SmackDown. That same night, they were scheduled to defend the championship againstKayden Carter andKatana Chance on the May 2 episode ofNXT, but during Night 2 of the draft, Carter and Chance were drafted to Raw. OnNXT, 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 ChampionIndi Hartwell relinquished her title due to being drafted to Raw and also due to a leg injury.^[33] On the June 9 episode ofSmackDown, the issue of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship being on SmackDown would be addressed as reigningWWE Women's Tag Team ChampionsRonda Rousey andShayna Baszler challenged Dawn and Fyre to achampionship unification match, which was accepted and scheduled for the June 23 episode.^[34] 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.^[35]

As a result of the draft, Raw and SmackDown's secondary championships switched brands, asIntercontinental ChampionGunther was drafted to Raw whileUnited States ChampionAustin 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, withRaw Women's ChampionBianca Belair drafted to SmackDown andSmackDown Women's ChampionRhea Ripley drafted to Raw.^[7] This same incident occurred during the2021 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.^[36] This did not happen between Belair and Ripley when the 2023 draft results went into effect on May 8.^[37] 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 ofSmackDown, reigning Raw Women's ChampionAsuka was presented with a new championship belt and the title reverted to its original name of WWE Women's Championship,^[34] while on the June 12 episode ofRaw, 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.^[38]

AlthoughMaxxine Dupri was drafted to Raw as the manager of Maximum Male Models (ma.çé andmån.sôör), she would leave the team and join withAlpha Academy (Chad Gable andOtis), 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.^[39]

In August 2023,Lacey Evans left WWE due to the expiration of her contract.^[40]Edge would also leave WWE upon the expiration of his contract at the end of September and subsequently joined rival promotionAll Elite Wrestling under his real name of Adam Copeland.^[41] During the summer, Shayna Baszler turned on Ronda Rousey, splitting their team, and after Rousey lost a match to Baszler atSummerSlam in August, it was reported that Rousey had left WWE, which was later confirmed in late October when her WWE.com profile was moved to the alumni section.^[42] She subsequently had a few matches on theindies, including a match inRing of Honor.^[43]

Bray Wyatt was not included in either draft pool and had been off WWE programming since February 2023 due to an undisclosed illness. On August 24, 2023, Wyatt unexpectedly died of a heart attack, with the illness revealed asCOVID-19 which exacerbated an existing heart issue. Just prior to his passing, it was reported that he was making positive progress towards a return.^[14] His accompliceUncle Howdy had been inactive due to Wyatt's medical hiatus, but following Wyatt's death, Howdy's status was unknown.^[44]

Following WWE's acquisition byEndeavor, which was finalized on September 12 and saw WWE merge withUltimate Fighting Championship to become divisions of a new company calledTKO Group Holdings, WWE announced a new broadcasting deal that would moveSmackDown back to the USA Network in October 2024. As a result of the merger and broadcasting deal, WWE released a number of wrestlers from all three brands, including someWWE Performance Center recruits, in late September.^[45] These includedDolph Ziggler,Shelton Benjamin,Elias,Mustafa Ali,Emma,Riddick Moss,Aliyah,Top Dolla,Rick Boogs,Dabba-Kato,Shanky, Maximum Male Models (ma.çé and mån.sôör), Quincy Elliot, Dana Brooke,Yulisa León,Ikemen Jiro,Matt Riddle, Bryson Montana, Daniel McArthur, Kevin Ventura-Cortez, Alexis Gray, Brooklyn Barlow, Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald, Melanie Brzezinski, Alexis Lete, Alivia Ash, Gina Delucia, Giovanna Eburneo and Sarah Baer.^[46] In April 2024, WWE released a number of wrestlers from all three brands, includingXia Li,^[47]Jinder Mahal,^[48]Veer Mahaan,^[49]Sanga,^[50]Xyon Quinn,^[51]Von Wagner,^[52]Cameron Grimes^[53] and Guru Raaj from their contracts.

• 2023 in professional wrestling
• WWE Draft
• Professional wrestling in Texas
• April 2023 in the United States
• May 2023 in the United States
• Organized events in Fort Worth, Texas
• Professional wrestling shows in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex

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