WWE has kept its annual WWE Draft shunted into the second week of October ever since Friday Night SmackDown made the jump to FOX. However, it looks like this year’s event will be bumped up the calendar, as Andrew Zarian of The Mat Men Podcast reported this week that the show is currently slotted for the Aug. 30 episode of Monday Night Raw and the Sept. 3 edition of SmackDown. That would put it shortly after SummerSlam, scheduled for Aug 21 in Las Vegas, and potentially give both rosters a much-needed refresh.
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The past two Drafts have been organized to where for every two picks SmackDown receives, Raw gets three. And unlike the Drafts of the late 2000s where the picks were randomized, every wrestler is available to be selected and every decision is made by the unnamed “network executives” at FOX and USA. This means that most of the big stars on each show wind up staying exactly where they were, while a few names on the undercard get shuffled around. Some of the biggest selections from last year included Seth Rollins (to SmackDown), AJ Styles (to Raw), Bianca Belair (to SmackDown), the separation of The New Day, Bray Wyatt (to Raw) and Kevin Owens (to SmackDown).
Hearing the WWE Draft is scheduled for 8/30 and 9/3.#WWE #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/hWIXNUqZfW
— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) June 7, 2021
One of the big questions surrounding the Draft over the past two years has been the virtual nonexistent presence of NXT. The only pick made in last year’s Draft involving the Black & Gold Brand involved Artuo Ruas, who has been out of action with a bicep injury. While speaking with ComicBook back in December, Kevin Owens made the compelling argument why NXT should be involved.
“They were able to draft people from an NXT, but you never saw a Raw or SmackDown superstar moved in a draft to NXT (in the past),” Owens said. “I think that should be the case. I think we should be able to take from NXT, and NXT should be able to take from Raw and SmackDown, because I think the level of competition is just as… It’s extraordinary over there. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to do that.”
Who do you think needs to be drafted to the opposite brand? Should NXT play a bigger role this year? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments!
