TheWWE Draft, also known as theSuperstar Shake-up from 2017 to 2019, is a process used byprofessional wrestling companyWWE to provide new brand competition and to refresh the promotion'sRaw andSmackDownrosters. The draft was first used during thebrand extension from 2002 to 2011, and was officially brought back in 2016 with the start of the second brand extension.[1][2]
The first draft happened on April 1, 2002, withRic Flair representing RAW andMr. McMahon representing SmackDown!.[1] On June 10, 2002, Mr. McMahon became thekayfabe sole owner of WWE when he beat Flair in aNo Holds Barred match. The following month, he namedgeneral managers (Eric Bischoff for RAW andStephanie McMahon for SmackDown!) to lead each brand. Since then, there have been further drafts:
In March 2004, with the theme/tagline ofWrestleMania XX being "Where it all begins again," Mr. McMahon announced a draft lottery, stating "it's time to shake things up again." Each general manager received six picks.
In June 2005, Mr. McMahon announced a second draft lottery which would take place throughout the entire month of June. Both general managers received five random picks.
In May 2006, WWE added a third brand calledECW, the revived version ofExtreme Championship Wrestling.[3] "ECW Representative"Paul Heyman was allowed to pick one wrestler from RAW and one from SmackDown!.
On May 28, 2007,Shane McMahon announced a new draft which featured all three brands. The Draft took place on June 11, 2007, on a special three-hour episode ofRAW.
On May 26, 2008, Mr. McMahon announced a new draft, which would feature all three WWE brands. The draft took place on June 23, 2008.
On February 11, 2009, WWE announced viaWWE.com that the2009 WWE Draft would take place "8 Days afterWrestleMania" which was April 13, 2009, onRaw.
The 2010 draft took place over two days: the first day aired live on April 26 onRaw atRichmond Coliseum inRichmond, Virginia, and the second part, the supplemental draft, was shown on April 27 on WWE's website.[4][5]
The 2011 draft, which took place on April 25 and April 26 at the RBC Center inRaleigh, North Carolina, was the last of the first brand extension, as it ended on August 29.[6][7][8]
On May 25, 2016, it was announced that beginning on July 19,SmackDown would broadcast live on Tuesday nights. Previously the show was usually filmed on Tuesdays and aired on Thursdays or Fridays. It was also said that from that date on both Raw and SmackDown would get unique rosters again. A draft took place on July 19 at theDCU Center inWorcester, Massachusetts.[9]
From 2017 to 2019, the draft was called the Superstar Shake-up, where wrestlers could now change their brands unannounced.[10] Starting in October 2019, WWE made a yearly draft again (except in 2022).[11][12][13]
| No. | Year | Date(s) | Brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002 | March 25 | |
| 2 | 2004 | March 22 | |
| 3 | 2005 | June 6–30 | |
| 4 | 2006 | May 29 |
|
| 5 | 2007 | June 11 |
|
| 6 | 2008 | June 23 | |
| 7 | 2009 | April 13 | |
| 8 | 2010 | April 26 |
|
| 9 | 2011 | April 25 | |
| 10 | 2016 | July 19 |
|
| 11 | 2017 | April 10–11 |
|
| 12 | 2018 | April 16–17 |
|
| 13 | 2019 | April 15 – May 8 |
|
| 14 | 2019 | October 11–14 |
|
| 15 | 2020 | October 9–12 |
|
| 16 | 2021 | October 1–4 | |
| 17 | 2023 | April 28 – May 1 | |
| 18 | 2024 | April 26–29 |
Whether a champion keeps their championship after being drafted is unpredictable. During the 2005 Draft,John Cena, theWWE Champion, was drafted from SmackDown! to RAW and kept his championship. General ManagerTheodore Long announced that a new SmackDown! World Championship was to be created but the idea was abandoned when Batista, theWorld Heavyweight Champion, was drafted to SmackDown! from RAW, bringing the title with him. During the 2007 Draft, however, theECW World ChampionBobby Lashley was stripped of the title after being drafted to RAW.
In the2008 draft, ECW ChampionKane was drafted to RAW. WWE ChampionTriple H was drafted to SmackDown.WWE United States ChampionMatt Hardy was drafted to ECW. This caused SmackDown to have two championships and RAW had the ECW Championship. ECW had no top championship but did gain the United States Championship. TheWorld Heavyweight Championship was moved back to RAW on June 30, 2008, whenCM Punk defeatedEdge. ECW wrestlerMark Henry won the ECW championship on June 29, 2008, at theNight of Championspay-per-view to return that championship to ECW. This caused each brand to have its own top championship once again.
In 2009, WWE Champion Triple H was drafted back to Raw with the championship. Also Intercontinental Champion,Rey Mysterio was drafted to SmackDown and United States Champion, MVP was drafted to Raw. Divas Champion,Maryse was drafted to Raw and Women's Champion,Melina was drafted to SmackDown. At Backlash,Edge beatJohn Cena in a Last Man Standing match (with help from Big Show) to bring the World Heavyweight Championship back to SmackDown and to have the championships evenly divided.
In 2011, United States Champion,Sheamus was drafted to SmackDown. At Extreme Rules,Kofi Kingston defeated him in a tables match to bring the title back to Raw.