Quite possibly the biggest event of WWE Television, the WWE Draft returns this week after a 1 year hiatus.
The draft is indeed one of the most anticipated events in WWE. It quite literally shakes things up for the WWE environment, as superstars from both RAW and SmackDown are drafted to the other roster. Some NXT stars may even get called up on either brand. The Draft last happened two years ago and it shook things up for good, most memorably Roman Reigns being drafted to SmackDown. Read on to find out the date of the draft, top picks and some predictions about the upcoming event.
When is WWE Draft 2023 taking place?
This year’s Draft is taking place this week, with Night One of the event starting on 28th April at Friday Night SmackDown. Night two of the draft will conclude on the following week’s Monday Night RAW.
Who are the possible top picks for the upcoming draft?
1. Roman Reigns
As expected, WWE picks its champions to be drafted first. Roman Reigns is the current Undisputed WWE Champion, holding both top prizes of the company- the Universal and the WWE Championship.
It’s been recently reported that USA Network wants the champion and the entire Bloodline to be on the main brand. Besides, a new WWE World Heavyweight Championship was revealed by Triple H on this week’s RAW. This would mean if Roman Reigns takes both the Universal and WWE Championship to RAW, SmackDown would get a new World Heavyweight Champion.
2. Bianca Belair
Despite being the RAW Women’s Champion, the EST of WWE might switch brands this year.
Bianca Belair has accomplished all that there was to accomplish on RAW. She has defeated most of the RAW Women’s Division and it’s time to shake things up for her. She could get potential matchups against Ronda Rousey, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez and then establish herself as the most dominant woman on the blue brand as well.
3. Drew McIntyre
The Scottish Warrior has spent most of his time on the blue brand being a mid carder. Moving over to RAW might be beneficial for Drew McIntyre.
After his match at WrestleMania 39, McIntyre has been absent from WWE TV. Many even suspected that he’s leaving the company because his contract is up. However, it might be too soon for The Scottish Warrior to leave WWE. He might even make it into the title picture soon enough after being drafted to RAW. Whether or not he returns or gets drafted to RAW is something we will have to wait and see.
4. Gunther
Things would get pretty interesting if the Intercontinental Champion moves over to RAW.
Ever since his debut last year, Gunther has proven to be one of the top superstars of the company. He might even be the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion if he holds it for a few more months. After beating most of the competition on the blue brand for his title, having new competitors would be a breath of fresh air for The Ring General.
5. Charlotte Flair
After losing the SmackDown Women’s Championship to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, The Queen can now once again target the RAW Women’s title if she’s drafted to the red brand.
If she does end up being drafted to RAW, Bianca Belair would finally get her wish to challenge the final horsewoman of WWE. It would be a pretty interesting match and seeing Charlotte in the title picture again would be great.
Some other superstars who can switch brands are The Alpha Academy, Street Profits, Elias, Matt Riddle and Alexa Bliss. Even NXT stars like Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Pretty Deadly and Carmelo Hayes. Catch the event on this week’s Friday Night SmackDown!
Some FAQs about WWE Draft
1.Is WWE going to have a draft in 2023?
Yes, after a 1 year hiatus, WWE’s draft is taking place this year on April 28 and would be concluded on 1st May.
2.What is WWE Draft?
Draft is a process in WWE where superstars from all of their brands, such as RAW and SmackDown are switched from their respective brands.
3.Why does WWE do a draft?
WWE conducts the draft because there needs to be fresh competition and new rivalries in their brands, aka RAW and SmackDown.
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