The immediate future of the WWE begins tonight. This week’s episode of SmackDown features the first half of the 2023 WWE Draft, which will divide talent between Raw and SmackDown for the foreseeable future.
(And yes, we know WWE’s adherence to the brand split is inconsistent, but the company seems fairly committed to it for the time being, even creating a new world championship for whichever show doesn’t get Roman Reigns.)
WWE helpfully released a list of which talent is eligible to be selected on which night, as the second half of the draft will take place this coming Monday on Raw. The top names that jump out right way on Night One are Cody Rhodes and The Bloodline, which consists of Reigns and Solo Sikoa. Will Cody get a chance to try to finish his story down the road against Reigns, or will they be sent to different brands?
Top women’s stars Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch are also on the draft list for tonight. Bianca’s Raw Women’s Championship suggests she should stay on Monday nights, but the draft has sent champions to the opposite show in the past.
Reports suggest there will be podiums and draft rooms for both Raw and SmackDown, which should be a nice touch that makes the WWE Draft feel more like the NFL Draft — which not coincidentally, is also holding it’s second and third rounds tonight. WWE announced that eight picks for each brand will be revealed tonight during the show, with additional picks on “The SmackDown LowDown” on Saturday morning.
2023 WWE Draft Night One picks tracker:
- 1. SmackDown selects The Bloodline: Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman
- 2. Raw selects Cody Rhodes
- 3. SmackDown selects Bianca Belair
- 4. Raw selects Becky Lynch
- 5. SmackDown selects The Street Profits
- 6. Raw selects Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)
- 7. SmackDown selects Edge
- 8. Raw selects Matt Riddle
- 9. SmackDown selects Bobby Lashley
- 10. Raw selects Drew McIntyre
- 11. SmackDown selects The O.C. (AJ Styles, Michin, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows)
- 12. Raw selects The Miz
- 13. SmackDown selects Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY)
- 14. Raw selects Shinsuke Nakamura
- 15. SmackDown selects Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn
- 16. Raw selects Indi Hartwell