It was a monumental day for WWE as the draft returned after three years and the futures of many Superstars were decided tonight!
SmackDown kicked off straight away with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in the ring, ready for a one-on-one match.
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
Rollins went for a headlock right off the bat and the Big Dog took him down off an Irish whip. They both countered each other early on before Rollins was caught with a clothesline and was sent outside. They both tried to hit a vertical suplex on each other but failed. Rollins ate a sit-up powerbomb for a two count off a reversal.
Roman missed the Superman Punch and took a couple of Suicide Dives into the announce table. Rollins hit the frog splash for a near fall. Rollins hit the buckle bomb and Roman hit the Superman Punch for another near-fall. Reigns went for a spear but Rollins reversed with a Pedigree.
Rollins was setting up for the stomp when the ring went dark and Bray Wyatt appeared through the ring and dragged Rollins into the bottom through a hole in the mat. There was smoke coming out of the ring and Rollins resurfaced before Wyatt stuck his head through but then reappeared on the stage!
Result: DNF
Match rating: A
Both networks, FOX and USA were getting ready for the upcoming draft in their "War Rooms". RAW will get the first pick according to the announce team.
Stephanie McMahon came out and announced RAW's first pick, Becky Lynch and for SmackDown, the first pick was Roman Reigns. RAW keeps the OC and FOX gets Bray Wyatt. RAW's last pick was Drew McIntyre, concluding Round 1 of the draft.
A WWE Draft panel was set up with Booker T, Beth Phoenix, Samoa Joe and was conducted by Renee Young.
King Corbin came out to kick of the second match of the night against 'Shorty' Gable.
King Corbin vs. Shorty Gable
Gable took Corbin down early on and focused on the knee before taking a boot to the face. Corbin chokeslammed Gable onto the announce table before we headed to commercials. We returned to see Gable send Corbin over the barricades with a huge dropkick.
Gable hit the Moonsault but missed the first German Suplex. Gable managed to hit a German Suplex finally and locked in the Ankle Lock. Corbin managed to get out and hit the End of Days for the win.
Result: King Corbin def. Shorty Gable
Match rating: B
Round 2 of the Draft kicked off with Randy Orton and Ricochet going to the Red Brand while Sasha Banks and Braun Strowman headed for the Blue Team. Bobby Lashley was the final pick for RAW as Stephanie McMahon concluded Round 2 of the draft.
We got a glimpse of the heated rivalry between The Gypsy King, Tyson Fury and SmackDown's newest member, Braun Strowman.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out next and Heyman gave us a recap of last week at Hell in a Cell when Cain Velasquez sent Brock Lesnar off. He set up a match between the two at Crown Jewel at the end of the month and said that Brock will destroy Velasquez in the match.
Rey Mysterio and Cain came out and they ran the footage of Velasquez beating Lesnar in the UFC. Cain said that at Crown Jewel, he will give Brock another scar to match the one he got in their first encounter.
Segment rating: A
The New Day were out next to talk about Susan G. Komen and their fight against breast cancer. They handed out two title belts for the Champions of Hope, survivors of breast cancer, before heading off to the ring to face the OC in a 6-Man Tag Team Match.
The New Day vs. The OC
Luke Gallows took down Woods as the match started and sent him outside before the rest of the OC ganged up on him. We returned from commercials to see Kofi Kingston hit a Boom Drop on Styles. Big came in and hit a Belly to Belly before Woods hit a DDT on Gallows.
AJ missed the Styles Clash and took a dropkick from Kofi. Kingston managed to hit a Trouble in paradise after a barrage of reversals for the win.
Result: The New Day def. The OC
Match rating: B
Stephanie McMahon was back for Round 3 of the Draft and this time it was Alexa Bliss and Kevin Owens going to RAW while Lacey Evans and The Revival remained on SmackDown. RAW picked Natalya to be their last pick in this round.
The reason RAW is getting an extra pick each round is because the show is an hour longer.
Round 4 of the Draft saw Lucha House Party and Heavy Machinery head to the Blue Brand while Nikki Cross, Street Profits and Viking Raiders were on RAW.
Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley - SmackDown Women's Championship match
Bayley came out and after her music stopped, she destroyed the inflatable figures that she had been known for al this while. She threw them off the stage and was looking different as well. A welcome fresh look and new gimmick for Bayley. She stormed the ring and attacked Charlotte but was immediately taken outside and sent into the Steel Steps and then the Barricades by the champ.
Charlotte threw Bayley off the apron and leaped after her. Charlotte hit a moonsault off the barricade and Bayley hit the Belly-to-Bayley but the champ kicked out. Bayley hit the Elbow Drop but Flair kicked out yet again before Bayley threw a fit.
Charlotte hit the Natural Selection but Bayley got the rollup and the title win!
Result: Bayley def. Charlotte to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion!
Bayley antagonized the crowd after the win and her new gimmick was complete
Match rating: A+
Episode rating: A
A huge night for the WWE Universe as the Draft kicked off. Kudos to Becky Lynch, as she becomes the first Women to be drafted as the No.1 pick. The Man is surely leading the Women's Revolution.