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Two lots of Draft Pools have been announced ahead of the 2020 WWE Draft.
The two-night roster changes will begin on the October 9 episode of WWE SmackDown and continue on the October 12 episode of WWE RAW.
WWE has confirmed that the 2020 WWE Draft will follow the same format as the 2019 WWE Draft, with 20 Superstars being drafted on Friday’s SmackDown and another 30 being drafted three nights later on RAW.
Overall, over 60 Superstars and tag teams are eligible to be drafted this year. Any undrafted Superstars will be declared free agents and they will be able to sign with a brand of their choosing.
Interestingly, a total of 12 tag teams can be chosen as one pick in the 2020 WWE Draft. However, if FOX (SmackDown's representatives) or the USA Network (RAW's representatives) only want one Superstar from a tag team, they are allowed to split teams up.
With the rules out of the way, let’s take a look at four teams that have been separated in the 2020 WWE Draft Pools, as well as 12 teams that are eligible to be drafted together.
#5 Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (previously assigned to WWE SmackDown)
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross’ tag team has been on the rocks ever since Bliss seemingly became brainwashed by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt during the Wyatt Swamp Fight at Extreme Rules.
Cross has repeatedly tried to talk some sense into her best friend in recent weeks on SmackDown, but it is clear that WWE is moving away from the Bliss-Cross duo and towards a long-term storyline between “The Fiend” and Bliss.
This time last year, Bliss and Cross lost their WWE Women’s Tag Team titles to Asuka and Kairi Sane at Hell in a Cell.
It looked as though Bliss would turn against the Scottish Superstar, as she previously did with Mickie James and Nia Jax, but they stuck together and ended up regaining the titles from The Kabuki Warriors at WrestleMania 36.
Although they often appear on SmackDown together, the two-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions have not joined forces as a tag team since they were defeated by Bayley and Sasha Banks in July.
That probably explains why they will be drafted separately on the second night of the 2020 WWE Draft.
#4 Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose (previously assigned to WWE RAW)
Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose only joined forces on WWE RAW just over a week ago, so it is surprising to see that they have been listed as singles competitors in the 2020 WWE Draft Pools.
Both Superstars will find out their brand destination on the first night of the 2020 WWE Draft on SmackDown. However, just like Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, they are not eligible to be drafted at the same time.
That, of course, does not necessarily mean that they will not end up on the same brand.
So far, the new members of the WWE RAW roster have racked up two victories since they left WWE SmackDown and made their Monday night re-debuts on the September 28 episode of RAW.
The duo, who do not have a tag team name yet, defeated Lana and Natalya in their first match as a team.
They also aligned with Asuka on this week’s RAW to defeat Lana, Natalya & Zelina Vega in a six-woman tag team match.
#3 Andrade and Angel Garza (previously assigned to WWE RAW)
It has been obvious for the last few weeks that Andrade and Angel Garza are not going to co-exist as WWE tag team partners for much longer.
Prior to their loss against WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits at WWE Clash of Champions, the two men were involved in a backstage brawl on an episode of RAW.
Just when it appeared as though they were officially done as a tag team, they defeated Dominik Mysterio & Humberto Carrillo and Murphy & Seth Rollins to become the number one contenders for The Street Profits’ titles once again.
Garza suffered a torn quad in the Clash of Champions match, ruling him out of action for the next few weeks. Andrade, meanwhile, has only appeared on RAW as a singles competitor since the pay-per-view.
The 2020 WWE Draft Pools list shows that Garza is set to be drafted on Friday and Andrade is set to be drafted on Monday.
That means we will not know until the two-night WWE Draft is finalized whether Zelina Vega’s former business associates will be on separate brands.
#2 Lana and Natalya (previously assigned to WWE RAW)
In September 2020, Natalya told Sportskeeda’s Matty Paddock that her recent alliance with Lana on WWE RAW was her idea.
“When things kinda broke down with her and Bobby [Lashley], I was immediately like, 'I want Lana with me!' I wanted to evolve my character and go a different route than just being ‘that angry heel’.”
Natalya and Lana have appeared in tag team matches in each of the last five weeks on WWE RAW. However, if their record so far is anything to go by, they do not look like they will challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles in the near future.
Their record currently reads: five matches, five losses.
Those defeats have come against Asuka & Mickie James, Liv Morgan & Ruby Riott, Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose, and Asuka, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose.
WWE has confirmed that both Natalya and Lana will find out on Monday whether they have been drafted to RAW or SmackDown.
Until then, the WWE Universe can speculate on whether the new allies will stay together or whether they really are on the verge of splitting up after just a few weeks.
#1 Which WWE tag teams are eligible to be drafted together?
To clarify, even though WWE has listed Jey Uso and Erik as singles Superstars in the 2020 WWE Draft Pools, The Usos and The Viking Raiders have not been separated.
Jimmy Uso and Ivar are currently sidelined with injuries, which is why their names are nowhere to be seen in the WWE Draft Pools.
As for the tag teams that are being drafted together, WWE’s list contains no major surprises.
The Street Profits (WWE RAW Tag Team Champions), Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions), and Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions) obviously have to be drafted together.
Looking further down the list, Lucha House Party have shown signs of dissension lately but it was always inevitable that they would be drafted as a trio.
- Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura
- Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
- Dominik Mysterio & Rey Mysterio
- Heavy Machinery
- The Hurt Business
- Lucha House Party
- The Miz & John Morrison
- The New Day
- Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
- RETRIBUTION
- The Riott Squad
- The Street Profits
The New Day’s Big E has enjoyed a singles run on SmackDown recently, while Heavy Machinery member Otis is currently in possession of the WWE Money in the Bank contract.
For now, both WWE Superstars remain in tag teams, but it will be interesting to see whether the RAW and SmackDown representatives exercise their rights to select just one Superstar from any of those aforementioned teams.
