9 WWE Superstars who were #1 picks in the Draft

By Suhas Jirgi
Modified Sep 29, 2020 07:24 IST
[Pc: Wikipedia.org, sportzwiki.com, menshealth.com]
[Pc: Wikipedia.org, sportzwiki.com, menshealth.com]

WWE finally confirmed the rumors of an imminent WWE Draft in 2020. During the September 27th Clash of Champions pay-per-view, WWE revealed that the Draft will take place on two shows: October 9th's Friday Night SmackDown and October 12th's Monday Night RAW.

WWE Drafts are always highly anticipated affairs. They not only provide possibilities for fresh feuds and interesting interactions, but also give us a peek into the minds of WWE creative.

The order in which WWE Superstars are drafted gives the viewers an idea as to how much value a certain superstar holds in the company. Comparisons, drama, and swerves are never in short supply during Drafts. The company ensures that the event is always a high-octane one.

Before each Draft, the rumor mill is actively trying to predict who the #1 pick will be.

There have been ten WWE Drafts to date, in which nine different superstars have had the honor of being the #1 pick. In the following article, take a look at the ten #1 Draft picks in WWE history:

#9 WWE Draft 2002 - The Rock

[Pc:WWE.com]
[Pc:WWE.com]

WWF, now WWE, acquired all of WCW's assets following their victory in the 2001 Monday Night Wars. WWF went on to buy ECW, too. This led to WWE having a large pool of talent, which they decided to split into two distinct brands: RAW and SmackDown.

Before this, members of the roster were free to appear on both brands. However, the brand extension stated that a wrestler would be exclusive to only one show.

Ric Flair had control of RAW whereas Vince McMahon, a giant heel at that time, was in control of SmackDown. As the whole roster watched on from a viewing area, McMahon announced that The Rock would the first-ever draft pick, moving over to SmackDown.

While you may think The Rock would be delighted to be the first choice, nothing would be further away from the truth. The Rock came out to face McMahon and verbally lambasted him for separating him from the RAW audience.

In the present, it is easy to see why The Rock would be the first-ever Draft pick. Currently the most electrifying man in all entertainment, the Hollywood megastar was a once-in-a-generation Superstar.

With an imposing physique and unmatched promo skills, WWE saw the star that Dwayne Johnson was capable of being. While his appearances in the company are now sparse, he continues to be an integral part of the WWE landscape and is heavily featured in vignettes.

#8 WWE Draft 2004 - Renee Dupree

Renee Dupree
Renee Dupree

The second edition of the WWE Draft was announced on March 14th, 2004, the day after Wrestlemania XX. The tagline of the show was "Where it all began", and the Draft was held to support just that.

The 2004 Draft introduced a new process for drafting superstars. Instead of informed choices, the General Managers from each brand would pick names out of a lottery basket. RAW's GM at that time was Eric Bischoff, who stood across from Paul Heyman, his counterpart on SmackDown.

SmackDown was given the first opportunity at the Draft. Heyman picked out a name at random, according to kayfabe anyway, to reveal that Renee Dupree was the #1 pick. The 20-year-old Canadian then was a bright young prospect slated for big things.

After the Draft, Renee unsuccessfully challenged John Cena for the WWE United States Championship for a few months. He later won the WWE Tag Team titles with Kenzo Suzuki. At the age of 20, he was the youngest wrestler to do so.

In the following years, he bounced around RAW and ECW, never making any significant impact. In 2007, he requested his release from the company and was subsequently let go.

#7 WWE Draft 2005 and 2011 - John Cena

[Pc: WWE.com]
[Pc: WWE.com]

John Cena is the only wrestler to have been the #1 pick at two separate WWE Drafts.

In 2005, the Professor of Thuganomics was drafted to the red brand. Cena was the WWE Champion at the time and took his championship to his new home. It had been three years since Cena's debut match again Kurt Angle and the Cenation Leader was already one of the top guys in the company.

He continued to makes waves, though, which is backed up by the fact Cena made his way back to RAW as the #1 pick of WWE's Draft in 2011. The SmackDown locker room was ecstatic when Cena was revealed to be the #1 pick and cheers erupted all over the arena.

Those cheers were premature, however, as Cena spent less than half a day as a part of SmackDown's roster. RAW earned the night's last draft pick as Team RAW beat Team SmackDown in a six-man tag match that included Cena. In a shocking turn of events, RAW revealed that their final draft pick would be Cena, inducting him back onto the roster.

#6 WWE Draft 2007 - The Great Khali

[Pc: WWE.com]
[Pc: WWE.com]

SmackDown's WWE World Heavyweight Champion Edge defeated Raw's John Cena to win the blue brand the #1 Draft pick in WWE's 2007 edition. SmackDown chose to go with the 7'1" Great Khali.

The Punjabi Playboy had debuted in 2006, where he was immediately introduced into a feud with The Undertaker. As the two behemoths collided, the Great Khali seemed to manhandle The Phenom on multiple occasions. This led to Khali quickly becoming a sensation in the company, being booked as a true monster.

Following his transition to SmackDown, the Great Khali continued to dominate anyone he got into the ring with. Ironically, he would end up succeeding Edge as the next World Heavyweight Champion.

After Edge had to forfeit the title due to injury, the giant emerged victorious in a 20-man Battle Royal to crown the new champion.

The clunky style of the Great Khali's wrestling finally caught up with him as he started losing traction with the fans. The giant still makes appearances for WWE when needed, but is no longer an active member of the roster.

#5 WWE Draft 2008 - Rey Mysterio

[Pc: GivemeSport.com]
[Pc: GivemeSport.com]

The biggest little man in WWE had the honor of being the #1 Draft pick in the 2008 draft. ECW also participated this year.

WWE Champion Triple H of RAW defeated Mark Henry of SmackDown to gift the privilege of making the first Draft pick. Rey Mysterio's theme hit and he made way to the ring the shake hands with Triple H. The scene seemed set for a WWE Championship feud between The Game and The Luchador, but that was not to be.

In the final match of the night, SmackDown's Edge eliminated RAW's John Cena in a 15-man Battle Royal, gifting two Draft picks to SmackDown. The blue brand first drafted Mr. Kennedy into their roster before making waves by drafting WWE Champion Triple H as well.

This meant Mysterio and Triple H's battle would not be possible and they have never been involved in a full-fledged feud. Mysterio had to wait for three years, until 2011, for his next world title reign. He beat The Miz to become WWE Champion for the first time, only to drop it to Cena later in the night.

#4 WWE Draft 2008 - MVP

Enter caption[Pc: TheSportsrer.com]
Enter caption[Pc: TheSportsrer.com]

Montel Vontavious Porter lived up to his name as he became the Most Valuable Player in 2008's WWE Draft.

Rey Mysterio of RAW overcame Evan Bourne of SmackDown in the night's first match-up, giving the red brand the opportunity to Draft first. RAW chose MVP, making him the 2008 #1 pick.

MVP was enjoying his reign as the WWE United States Champion when he was moved to RAW. His entertaining offense and intriguing character meant it was no surprise when The Ballin' Superstar was picked first. The fact this brought the United States title back to Raw was the cherry on top.

MVP held on to his title for almost two months before losing it to Kofi Kingston on an episode of RAW. 12 years have passed and MVP is currently part of The Hurt business. He leads the stable on RAW consisting of Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander.

The fact that MVP is still entertaining the WWE Universe and has constantly reinvented himself to stay relevant is truly commendable and showcases the talent he possesses.

#3 WWE Draft 2010 - Kelly Kelly

[Pc: WWE.com]
[Pc: WWE.com]

Kelly Kelly made history by becoming the first woman to be a #1 pick in a WWE Draft. She would continue to be the only woman to be the #1 draft pick for nine years, until the Draft in 2019.

The main reason that Kelly Kelly was the #1 draft pick can be attributed to the first match of that night. The first match featured Team Lay-Cool (Layla and Michelle McCool) from SmackDown up against Maryse and Eve Torres from Raw. Team Lay-Cool secured the victory, which meant SmackDown yet again won the privilege to make the #1 draft.

SmackDown opted for former WWE Women's Champion Kelly Kelly, who spent the majority of her time on the brand feuding with Lay-Cool. Her only other notable stint was being Naomi's mentor in NXT Season 3.

With 2010 still being the era of 'Divas' rather than women Superstars, Kelly Kelly struggled to make any large impact before being drafted back to RAW in 2011.

#2 WWE Draft 2016 - Seth Rollins

In 2016, Vince McMahon announced that RAW and SmackDown would once again be separate WWE brands with exclusive rosters. He handed over the reins of RAW to his daughter Stephanie McMahon, while his son, Shane McMahon received control of SmackDown.

In addition to this, it was revealed that SmackDown would no longer be a taped show. As its new name suggested, 'SmackDown Live' was set to be telecast live, just like RAW.

The Draft was meant to split the roster proportionally, with the three-hour RAW getting three picks for every two picks of SmackDown Live, which would have a two-hour runtime.

The Draft was announced when the Authority, the faction headed by Stephanie and Triple H, was at the height of its power. Seth Rollins was their poster boy and it was no surprise when they chose The Architect to be #1 pick.

Dean Ambrose was WWE Champion, which was the only world championship present in the company. He was set to take on Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in July 24th's Battleground in a Triple Threat match.

RAW, therefore, drafted both the challengers while SmackDown Live drafted the Lunatic Fringe. Ambrose retaining caused RAW to unveil the WWE Universal Championship.

Despite being the #1 pick, Rollins would have to wait almost three years, until Wrestlemania 35, to win the Universal Championship for the first time.

#1 WWE Draft 2019 - Becky Lynch

'Superstar Shake-ups' replaced WWE Drafts from 2016 to 2019. Unlike the Drafts, Superstar Shake-ups simply saw wrestlers appearing on the opposite brand over a period of time. In October 2019, when SmackDown moved to Fox Network, the need for another full-scale Draft arose.

The format was largely similar to the Draft in 2016. RAW, being the longer show, got to pick three Superstars for two stars chosen by SmackDown. Though there were a few candidates for the #1 draft pick, no one was surprised when RAW chose WWE RAW Women's Champion, Becky Lynch.

The Man's stock was through the roof and she was undoubtedly the most over Superstar at the time. Having just defeated Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the WrestleMania main event, she had cemented her spot at the top of the food chain.

Lynch justified being the #1 Draft pick by continuing to dominate the women's roster for over a year. She never really dropped the belt, before willingly relinquishing it to Asuka after Money in The Bank 2020 due to her pregnancy.

Being the #1 pick in a WWE Draft gives a Superstar more than just bragging rights. It gives an indication that WWE has big things in the works for them and that the forthcoming months will hold a good deal of opportunities to further their career in the business.

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