WWE's "cliffhanger" Draft idea for Bobby Lashley and Big E scrapped last-minute - Reports

WWE had originally planned for Bobby Lashley to be the No.1 pick for RAW on Night One of the 2021 Draft. Instead, the company chose current WWE Champion Big E as the first pick for the Red brand on last week's SmackDown show.

As per PWInsider, Vince McMahon's promotion scrapped the "cliffhanger idea" of wanting fans to eagerly wait to see where Big E would be drafted to, after his fellow New Day members, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, were drafted to the Blue brand.

"The original plan for this past Friday's Draft was that the #1 Draft Pick for Raw was to have been Bobby Lashley with the idea that viewers would have to see where Big E, the WWE Champion, would land on Monday, especially after the remainder of New Day was drafted to Smackdown. That cliffhanger idea was dropped over the course of the day this past Friday with Big E replacing Lashley as Raw's top draft pick. Lashley was instead drafted on Raw," stated the report.

On Night Two of the 2021 Draft, The All Mighty was drafted to RAW as their No.2 pick of the night. Hurt Business members Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin were also picked by the Red brand, which was announced on RAW Talk.

---

Notable WWE Draft picks by RAW

Apart from picking Big E, RAW also got Bianca Belair, Hall of Famer Edge, Women's Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H., and The Mysterios, on Night One of the Draft.

SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch, United States Champion Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, as well as Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson were drafted to the Red brand on Night Two.

The Draft will fully go into effect from the October 22 SmackDown show, which will take place a day after the Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia.