The WWE Draft kicked off on Friday Night Smackdown with Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon presiding over proceedings.
In the first round of the draw, things started off in predictable fashion with Raw and Smackdown picking their top champions Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns.
Marquee champions staying put
Raw then opted to retain Raw Women’s Champion Asuka before Smackdown threw the first curveball.
Smackdown drafted the Monday Night Messiah Seth Rollins to the Friday night show.
Because Raw programming is longer than Smackdown, the red brand were afforded three picks per round to the two of the blue brand.
Raw retained the Hurt Business stable with their final pick. All teams count as one pick unless it was decided that just one member of a team would be drafted. The Hurt Business includes United States Champion Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Cedric Alexander and MVP.
WWE Draft sends Phenomenal One back to Raw
In Round 2, Raw had the first pick and dropped a bombshell by drafting AJ Styles back to Monday nights putting him in contention to challenge for the WWE Championship in the near future.
Sasha Banks can now lock into her plans for revenge on Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley after being drafted to Friday nights.
Going the other way former Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi is heading to Raw.
The Women’s division on Smackdown got very interesting with the pick of Bianca Belair while Raw now have WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler on their books.
In Round three Raw retained Ricochet and Mandy Rose while Smackdown left number one contender Jey Uso on their ahead of his Hell in a Cell meeting with cousin Roman Reigns.
The feud between the Mysterios and Rollins looks to be far from over after Dominik & Rey Mysterio followed their arch-nemesis to Smackdown.
The Miz and John Morrison will be staying on Monday nights but the final round would change the face of the tag division.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods wee split from New Day teammate Big E, with the pair heading to Raw while the latter stays on Smackdown as a singles superstar.
Dana Brooke will be staying on Raw as will Angel Garza but the tag team division takes a hit as “Mr. Money in the Bank” Otis of Heavy machinery was drafted to Smackdown as a singles competitor.
The WWE Draft will conclude live on Tuesday 13 October on Raw at 02:00 (SAST) on WWE DSTV Channel 128 and Supersport.
Friday Night SmackDown – WWE draft Night 1 – 9 October 2020
Round 1
- Raw: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre
- SmackDown: Universal Champion Roman Reigns
- Raw: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka
- SmackDown: Seth Rollins
- Raw: The Hurt Business (United States Champion Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Cedric Alexander and MVP)
Round 2
- Raw: AJ Styles
- SmackDown: Sasha Banks
- Raw: Naomi
- SmackDown: Bianca Belair
- Raw: WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
Round 3
- Raw: Ricochet
- SmackDown: Jey Uso
- Raw: Mandy Rose
- SmackDown: Dominik & Rey Mysterio
- Raw: The Miz & John Morrison
Round 4
- Raw: SmackDown Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
- SmackDown: Big E
- Raw: Dana Brooke
- SmackDown:“Mr. Money in the Bank” Otis
- Raw: Angel Garza