WWE Draft: CM Punk Is Staying On Raw

CM Punk was on hand at the WWE Draft Monday night for Raw where he was eligible to be drafted by either brand. As WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque made clear ahead of the draft, it’s important to retain as much talent on your roster as possible. Punk was undoubtedly one of the biggest names up for grabs Monday, alongside Jade Cargill, Drew McIntyre, Imperium (Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser) and Damage CTRL.

Though Punk is currently out injured, he will officially remain on the Raw roster upon his return. He’s been active in several storylines despite his absence, including with Seth Rollins who just got surgery following his WrestleMania 40 loss and Drew McIntyre who has been a thorn in Punk’s side ever since his return. 

Punk was the reason that McIntyre lost the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania to Damian Priest just minutes after winning it. With Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes shifting over to SmackDown, there’s a fairly large hole that needs to be filled for a top babyface in WWE. Punk feels like the most natural fit to execute that plan, so him sticking with Raw isn’t really a surprise. 

WWE Draft Rules 

• Champions on each brand will be protected and are not eligible to be drafted. As a result, Damian Priest, Becky Lynch, Awesome Truth and Sami Zayn will remain on Raw. Cody Rhodes, Bayley, A-Town Down Under and Logan Paul will remain on SmackDown.
  
•  Even though their status as champions allows them to go to both brands, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane are eligible to be drafted. They will be assigned to that brand if they lose the titles.
• Monday’s Raw will feature six rounds of draft picks being announced. Each round will consist of the brands making two picks apiece for a total of 24 picks (12 for Raw and 12 for SmackDown).
  
•  SmackDown will have the first pick on Friday, and Raw will have first pick on Monday.
•  Rosters will go into effect on Monday, May 6, two days after Backlash France.