2011 WWE Draft
Encyclopedia
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, the corporation held a draft to exchange personnel assigned to one of its two television programs (Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and SmackDown) that are (in terms of storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
) independent brands that represent WWE. The Draft aired live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
on Raw in the United States for two hours in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
from the RBC Center. As a standard for previous drafts, most on-air personnel were eligible to be drafted. A continuation of the draft took place on WWE's official website at 12:00pm Eastern time on the following afternoon.
Matches determined the recipient of draft picks for the television portion of the draft while the continuation of the draft via the Internet was conducted at random. The draft's 30 selections featured 29 Superstars and Divas being exchanged between WWE's two brands. SmackDown received 16 additional members to its roster while Raw received 13. For the first time in draft history, two of the draft picks consisted of the same wrestler—John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
—being selected to SmackDown with the first pick and back to Raw with the last televised pick.
Background
The Brand ExtensionWWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
storyline
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was initiated in March 2002, in which WWE's Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and SmackDown! television programs were made into brands (similar to conferences within a league) to which employees were assigned to; the ECW brand was additionally involved between 2006 and 2009. Annual drafts have followed since this occurrence, except for in 2003. As with past drafts, the purpose of the 2011 WWE Draft was to increase television ratings
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
of WWE programming and refreshen the rosters for each brand. The 2011 event was confirmed by the RBC Center in April 2011, with WWE officially announcing it on the April 18th edition of Raw. A USA Network executive had also confirmed the event to occur via a press release on the same day of the WWE announcement.
The 2011 WWE Draft would mark the sixth time that only the Raw and SmackDown brands were involved; Superstars (male wrestlers) and Divas (female wrestlers) along with other WWE personalities from these brands were eligible to be drafted. Unlike sports draft lotteries where players are signed to a team, WWE Drafts feature on-air personnel being exchanged between brands. Like all other WWE programs, the Draft was run by the WWE management backstage. Championships could be exchanged between brands if the champion was drafted, like with previous drafts; however, the WWE Divas Championship
WWE Divas Championship
The WWE Diva's Championship is a unified professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is competed for by WWE Divas. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced in storyline by then-SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero as an alternative to Raw's Women's Championship...
and WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
were accessible to both brands and thus had no role in the draft because of their inter-brand availability.
Roster selections
Overall, 29 superstars were drafted in 30 selections. Eight selections were made on television (four from each brand) with seven draftees; the online draft featured 22 selections (13 by Raw and nine by SmackDown). Of the 29 drafted personalities, only five were females (all drafted after the televised event). All but one of the draftees were in-ring competitors: Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer, Ricardo RodriguezRicardo Rodriguez (wrestler)
Jesús Rodríguez is a Mexican-American professional wrestler and ring announcer, currently signed to WWE, performing on its RAW brand under the ring name Ricardo Rodriguez as Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer and occasional wrestler.-Early career:Rodriguez formerly wrestled for promotions...
, came to Raw in the televised draft with Del Rio in one draft pick. SmackDown obtained the first draft pick by winning the first match, which resulted in the acquisition of John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
. Raw obtained their first pick after winning the second match and were able to acquire Rey Mysterio. Cena became the second person to have been drafted twice during the same draft event (Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
being the other in 2004), with Raw reacquiring Cena with the eighth draft pick to conclude the televised portion. The draft also featured various superstars being selected to a new brand for the first time in their WWE careers, such as Sheamus and Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan
Colonel Dan Bryan was an officer in the Irish Army and head of G2 during World War II, known in neutral Ireland as "The Emergency"....
.
WWE uses specific terms to refer to its employees. The term "Superstar" is used to refer to male in-ring performers while female wrestlers are labeled as "Diva
WWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
s;" this is reflected in the following list.
Televised draft
During Raw, matches were held among representatives of the two brands to determine which would receive one or two draft picks. Each match featured one or more wrestlers representing their brand; if a wrestler was drafted earlier in the program, they would represent their new brand. After the matches, a computerized system, which appeared on the Raw stage TitanTron, randomly selected a member from the opposing brand's roster for the winning brand. Unlike the regular Raw production, the lighting in the RBC Center featured red and blue lighting on the audience, like in WWE SuperstarsWWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, and both programs' logos represented on the TitanTron.
Matches
| # | Match | Stipulation | Winner(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw: Evan Bourne, Daniel Bryan Bryan Danielson Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing... , Ted DiBiase Ted DiBiase, Jr. Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand... , Mark Henry Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic... , The Great Khali, Vladimir Kozlov, Santino Marella, Mason Ryan Barri Griffiths Barri Griffiths is a Welsh professional wrestler and former Gladiators competitor, also known as Goliath and by his ring name Mason Ryan. He is signed to WWE, where he wrestles on the Raw brand.He was also a member of The Nexus... , Sheamus, and Yoshi Tatsu Naofumi Yamamoto is a Japanese professional wrestler and former boxer, who is currently signed to WWE, performing on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Yoshi Tatsu.-New Japan Pro Wrestling :... vs. SmackDown: Brodus Clay Brodus Clay George Murdoch is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Brodus Clay. He is signed to WWE, where he wrestles on its Raw brand and its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling... , Kane Kane (wrestler) Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury.... , Chris Masters Chris Masters Christopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:... , Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom... , Cody Rhodes, Big Show and The Corre (Wade Barrett Wade Barrett Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:... , Ezekiel Jackson, and Heath Slater) |
20-man tag team battle royal for one draft pick | SmackDown: Big Show and Kingston | |
| Raw: Eve Eve Torres Eve Marie Torres is an American dancer, model, and professional wrestler. She is working for WWE on Raw brand. She is a two time WWE Divas Champion.Torres began her career as a model and dancer... vs. SmackDown: Layla Layla El Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla... |
Singles match for one draft pick | Raw: Eve | |
| Raw: Sheamus vs. SmackDown: Kofi Kingston Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom... |
Singles match for one draft pick | SmackDown: Kingston | |
| Raw: Dolph Ziggler vs. SmackDown: Randy Orton Randy Orton Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand... |
Singles match for two draft picks | SmackDown: Orton | |
| Raw: Rey Mysterio vs. SmackDown: Wade Barrett Wade Barrett Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:... |
Singles match for two draft picks | Raw: Mysterio | |
| Raw: The Miz, CM Punk CM Punk Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion.... , Alberto Del Rio vs. SmackDown: John Cena John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.... , Christian, and Mark Henry Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic... |
6-man tag team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... for one draft pick |
Raw: The Miz, Punk, and Del Rio | |
Selections
| Pick # | Brand (to) | Employee |
Role | Brand (from) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmackDown | Superstar | Raw | ||||||
| Raw | Superstar | SmackDown | ||||||
| SmackDown | Superstar | Raw | ||||||
| SmackDown | Superstar | Raw | ||||||
| SmackDown | Sin Cara Místico Luis Ignascio Urive Alvirde is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE, working on its SmackDown brand under the name Sin Cara... |
Superstar | Raw | |||||
| Raw | Big Show |
Superstar | SmackDown | |||||
| Raw | Superstar | SmackDown | ||||||
| Raw | Superstar | SmackDown | ||||||
Online draft
WWE announced that the draft would continue to take place over WWE.com on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 beginning at 12:00pm Eastern time.Selections
| Pick # | Brand (to) | Employee |
Role | Brand (from) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmackDown | Superstar | Raw | ||||||
| Raw | Superstar | SmackDown | ||||||
| SmackDown | Superstar | Raw | ||||||
| SmackDown |
|Superstar
|Raw
|-
|
|Raw
|
|Diva
|SmackDown
|-
|
|Raw
|JTG
|Superstar
|SmackDown
|-
|
|SmackDown
|
|Diva
|Raw
|-
|
|SmackDown
|
|Superstar
|Raw
|-
|
|SmackDown
|
|Superstar
|Raw
|-
|
|Raw
|
|Superstar
|SmackDown
|-
|
|SmackDown
|Natalya
|Diva
|Raw
|-
|
|Raw
|
|Superstar
|SmackDown
|-
|
|Raw
|
|Superstar
|SmackDown
|-
|
|SmackDown
|
|Superstar
|Raw
|-
|
|Raw
|
|Superstar
|SmackDown
|-
|
|SmackDown
|
|Superstar
|Raw
|-
|
|SmackDown
|
|Superstar
|Raw
|-
|
|SmackDown
|Tamina
Sarona Reiher
Sarona Reiher is a professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE, where she is performing on the SmackDown brand, using the ring name Tamina...
|Diva
|Raw
|-
|
|Raw
|
|Superstar
|SmackDown
|-
|
|SmackDown
|
|Superstar
|Raw
|-
|
|Raw
|
|Diva
|SmackDown
|-
|
|SmackDown
|Sheamus
|Superstar
|Raw
|}
Response and aftermath
Various WWE Superstars and Divas posted updates on their TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
accounts (as mentioned during the televised portion of the Draft) regarding their reactions to draft selections. Most of these regarded Raw losing top-tier talent to SmackDown, such as Cena and Orton switching brands. Mark Henry stated that with his recent weight loss, he was more determined to seek a championship reign on SmackDown. Rey Mysterio also was hopeful about his new home and explained that he would represent Raw just as proud as he has for the majority of his WWE career with SmackDown. The first and final pick in the televised event, John Cena, stated how he wanted to make history for 2011 and that it only begun by being the first person to ever be drafted officially first and last. Finally, Big Show was stunned by his selection but looked forward to the transition from broadcast delay
Broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical...
to live television
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
.
As a result of Sheamus holding the United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
, the title would be designated back to SmackDown (though the title would quickly go back to Raw due to Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
's victory at Extreme Rules
Extreme Rules (2011)
Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida...
five nights later). Big Show being one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions allows him to appear on both shows (as does his partner Kane), despite their brand designations. During the time that the Draft was produced, WWE was promoting their annual Extreme Rules
Extreme Rules (2011)
Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida...
pay-per-view event. At the time of production, the matches scheduled were between members of their respective rosters before the draft. These matches (including championships bouts) were scheduled to still take place while being official members to their new brands. As a result of the extra promotion, the April 25 episode of Raw increased viewership from the previous week in terms of adults from 1.6 and 1.7 to 2.0 and 1.9 for the first and second hours, respectively.
Footnotes
- A: – In addition to the United States, Raw is broadcast in various countries.
- B: – Although WWE claimed the Draft was conducted randomly, the results were predetermined since the Draft is a storylineNarrative threadA narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
. - C: – This Superstar was originally a Raw member but represented SmackDown after being drafted earlier in the evening.
- D: – This Superstar was originally a SmackDown member but represented Raw after being drafted earlier in the evening.
- E: – John Cena began in the Draft as a Raw member and was drafted with the first pick to SmackDown (resulting his representation of the brand in one of the matches during the televised portion); however, he was ultimately drafted back to Raw with the final pick.
- F: – The draft pick was nullified due to Riley being under a personal service contract to The Miz, and not an official WWE contract. Riley officially signed with Raw on May 30, 2011.