WWE Draft 2024

The WWE draft is an annual event where the WWE roster is split between the two major brands, WWE Raw and SmackDown. Even the superstars from NXT are included in the draft and may be assigned to one of these two brands. The draft is designed to shake up the WWE landscape and create new storylines and rivalries. It is a highly anticipated event by fans and wrestlers alike, as it can have a significant impact on the direction of their careers.

The 2024 WWE draft is the 18th edition of the draft and will air as a two-night event beginning with the April 26 edition of SmackDown and concluding on the April 29 episode of RAW.

WWE Draft 2024 Info - Date, Where to watch?

WWE Draft 2024 will take place over two nights - the April 26, 2024 episode of Friday Night SmackDown. It will then conclude on the April 29, 2024 episode of Monday Night RAW. Besides RAW and SmackDown, the picks are expected to be announced through WWE' Bump, RAW Talk, Talking Smack and its official social media handles as well. The episode of SmackDown will air live from Cincinnati, Ohio while RAW will air from Kansas City, Missouri.

The two-night event can be viewed on their respective channels. SmackDown airs on Fox while RAW airs on the USA Network in the United States. Viewers elsewhere can view the draft at the same place they watch these weekly programs.

How does the WWE draft work?

The draft typically takes place over several days and involves a series of picks between the two brands. Each brand takes turns selecting wrestlers from a pool of available talent until both rosters are filled. Wrestlers who are not selected in the draft become free agents and can be signed by either brand in the weeks following the event. The purpose of the draft is to create competition between the two brands and to keep the storylines fresh and exciting for fans. The draft is also used to move wrestlers between brands in order to create new matchups and rivalries.

Some drafts are not as large as others. While the 2002 and 2016 drafts had superstars being assigned brands, other drafts merely had them changing brands.

When is the next WWE draft?

The next WWE draft is from April 26, 2024 (SmackDown) to April 29, 2024 (RAW). Fans can tune into Fox to watch SmackDown and the USA Network to stream Monday Night RAW to watch their favorite wrestlers get drafted in the annual WWE draft.

WWE draft history

After the highly acclaimed Monday Night Wars came to an end, WWE bought its rival WCW in 2001. Not only did the promotion buy its rival’s assets and programs, but it also hired most of the talents of WCW at the time. Throughout the year, more and more former WCW stars started joining WWE and the promotion also saw a rise in the number of wrestlers coming from its developmental brand OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling).

This led to a significant increase in WWE’s roster size within a span of a year. To adequately give time to its talents, the promotion decided to split its roster in half and make a superstar exclusive to either RAW or SmackDown.

The Rock was the first-ever superstar to get drafted when he was selected by SmackDown as their number-one pick followed by The Undertaker who became RAW’s number-one pick. WWE would then go on to organize the event annually and it also added ECW in 2006 upon the brand’s revival. The brand was active in the draft before its eventual retirement in 2010.

WWE discontinued the draft after the 2011 edition because it decided to remove the brand extension and merge both RAW and SmackDown. In 2012, NXT was created and had a dedicated roster. It led to RAW and SmackDown being called the main roster of the WWE.

WWE re-introduced the brand extension in 2016. This time, however, SmackDown was given only two picks for every three picks by its Monday counterpart. The reason was that SmackDown being a two-hour show didn’t require a roster as big as RAW, which is three hours long. The draft has been organized annually ever since with the exception of 2021 when the process was not held. Also, there were two drafts held in 2019 - one in April and the other in October. While no star is drafted into NXT, the superstars from the Black and Gold brand can be drafted into either RAW or SmackDown.

2023 Draft

SmackDown - April 28 draft

SmackDown Lowdown Draft April 29

RAW draft - May 1

RAW Talk - May 1

Free Agents after the draft

WWE Draft - First pick of every draft

Can NXT Superstars be drafted into RAW or SmackDown?

Yes. While NXT is not considered for assigning superstars in the draft, it has been used as a talent pool in the same. NXT superstars have been included in the draft from the 2016 draft, which was also the first draft after the introduction of the NXT Championship in 2012. Finn Balor was the first superstar to be drafted from NXT when he was chosen as RAW’s number three pick in the 2016 draft. American Alpha were the first players to go from NXT to SmackDown via the WWE draft.