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WWE’s annual draft begins tonight on SmackDown, before wrapping on up Monday’s edition of Raw. Last year’s show was amidst the pandemic thus took place inside the ThunderDome, however this year’s edition will once again be in front of a crowd.
Current Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H won’t be available for the draft, however the rest of the Raw and SmackDown rosters are eligible.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has dropped some additional details on this year’s Draft, including potential roster changes.
As noted by the Observer, other than the ‘top’ picks required by USA Network and FOX for their respective shows, the rest of the Draft is not currently set. While WWE haven’t officially advertised NXT for the draft, it was noted that they will play a big part in the roster changes, however things could change in a moments notice.
Several names are rumored to be receiving a main roster call-up, potentially during the Draft of in the weeks following.
Some in WWE are under the belief that Aliyah, Dakota Kai and Xia Li are the leading names for the women, with the latter being due to WWE wanting a ‘legitimate Chinese star in the market’. Li hasn’t been seen in NXT alongside Boa and Mei Ying for a number of weeks, with all three women competing in dark matches prior to Raw and SmackDown.
As for the men’s side of things, the only name noted by the Observer is Austin Theory, who has also competed in various dark matches. LA Knight, Cameron Grimes and Hit Row are also some of the names rumored to be moving up.
The Observer noted that you can usually tell who is switching brands due to their amount of losses, which would imply that Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley will be moving over to SmackDown. While this could be the case, McIntyre could be turning heel to feud with current WWE Champion Big E, who is rumored to be remaining on Raw.
While it’s completely possible that both world champions are drafted to one brand, WWE will likely save Big E vs. Roman Reigns for Survivor Series from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in November.