Raw Star Claims They Can Still Compete on SmackDown Following WWE Draft

The WWE Draft has brought back stability to the Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown rosters. The brand split was brought back to WWE in 2016 and remained rigid for a couple of years, but lines became blurred in 2019 upon the introduction of the "wild crd rule." This now-defunct concept saw the lines get blurred between the two main roster shows, as red brand and blue brand stars popped up on opposite programs without any specific reasoning. Things became more strict when SmackDown moved to Fox in late 2019, but Roman Reigns capturing Raw's top prize, the WWE Championship, at WWE WrestleMania 38 ushered in fluidity between the two rosters once more. This was evident when Raw stars like Seth Rollins challenged Reigns for the Universal Title, a SmackDown championship, or when cross-brand exhibitions would go down on either weekly television or premium live events.

Now that the WWE Draft has redefined both Monday and Friday nights, WWE seems to be leaning into the exclusivity of each show's stars. Reigns getting drafted to SmackDown means that the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will only appear on the blue brand. WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther getting sent to Raw made it essential that WWE United States Champion Austin Theory head to SmackDown to keep the midcard titles balanced.

While this exclusivity seems to be in play for most, some stars are already teasing the idea of floating between brands.

"I got drafted from SmackDown to Raw, but that doesn't mean that I still can't show up on SmackDown," Raw's Natalya told The Archive Of B-Sox. "That's kind of the cool part about being in WWE. You're drafted to a certain brand, but if the storyline calls for it, you can show up on another show. It's cool."

Natalya's words echo the rules set in place for the undrafted WWE talent, who are dubbed "free agents." These stars like Baron Corbin and Omos have the freedom to compete on any brand.

Natalya added that she did not know which brand she was being sent to until the announcement was made on live television.

"How I learned about it was Triple H announced it on Raw. We had no idea," Natalya continued. "We really learn about a lot of stuff in the company as you guys learn about it. To be perfectly honest, I like it that way. We get to be part of the fan excitement and things can change so fast. In some ways, I'd rater just know about it as it comes rather than hear about it, it gets changed, then you get your hopes up or get excited, and it doesn't happen. It's nice to be on the journey with fans when they hear that information as well."

For full results from the WWE Draft, click here.