WWE Draft Lottery
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...
promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
) to provide new brand competition and to refreshen its rosters. The Draft was first used during the brand extension of 2002, though it was officially incepted and used in 2004
2004 WWE Draft Lottery
The 2004 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on March 22, 2004. The draft took place live for two hours on WWE's flagship television program, Raw on Spike TV. Post-draft trades were announced on WWE's official website, WWE.com, until...
. Since the inception of the process, it has been referred to as the Draft Lottery (2004-2005) and the Draft (2007–present). Starting in 2005, the draft took place during the month of June; however, since 2009
2009 WWE Draft
The 2009 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the seventh Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 13; the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 15...
the Draft has been held in April.
History
| Year | Brands | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Raw SmackDown! |
|
| 2004 2004 WWE Draft Lottery The 2004 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on March 22, 2004. The draft took place live for two hours on WWE's flagship television program, Raw on Spike TV. Post-draft trades were announced on WWE's official website, WWE.com, until... |
Raw SmackDown! |
|
| 2005 2005 WWE Draft Lottery The 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place over a three week period in June. There were ten draft picks and an eleven-person trade conducted between the promotion's two brands: Raw and SmackDown!, where twenty-two superstars were drafted and traded overall... |
Raw SmackDown! |
|
| 2006 | ECW | |
| 2007 2007 WWE Draft The 2007 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on June 11, 2007. The first half of the draft was televised live for three hours on WWE's flagship program, Raw on USA Network... |
Raw SmackDown! ECW |
|
| 2008 2008 WWE Draft The 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on June 23, 2008. The Draft took place live for three hours on WWE's flagship program, Raw on USA Network. For the second consecutive year, the Draft took place among WWE's three brands: Raw,... |
Raw SmackDown ECW |
|
| 2009 2009 WWE Draft The 2009 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the seventh Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 13; the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 15... |
Raw SmackDown ECW |
|
| 2010 2010 WWE Draft The 2010 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the eighth Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 26, and the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 27... |
Raw SmackDown |
|
| 2011 2011 WWE Draft The 2011 WWE Draft was the eighth annual draft held by WWE, which took place on April 25. With a core business of professional wrestling, the corporation held a draft to exchange personnel assigned to one of its two television programs that are independent brands that represent WWE... |
Raw SmackDown |
|
Impact on championships
Whether a champion keeps their championship after being drafted is unpredictable:- During the 2002 Draft, the Undisputed WWE ChampionWWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
and the Women's ChampionWWE Women's ChampionshipThe WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
were ineligible to be drafted as, at the time, their respective services were deemed available to both brands. The rest of the champions, however, were eligible to be drafted to either brand's roster. Initially, the Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
and WWE European ChampionshipWWE European ChampionshipThe WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
became exclusive to Raw, while the Tag Team Championship, WWE Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
, and Cruiserweight ChampionshipWWE Cruiserweight ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...
became exclusive to SmackDown. However, as time went on, some of these championships would eventually switch brand designation. - During the 2005 Draft, the WWE ChampionWWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
John CenaJohn CenaJohn 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....
was drafted from SmackDown! to Raw and kept his championship. General Manager Theodore LongTheodore LongTheodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
announced that a new SmackDown! Championship was to be created but the idea was abandoned when the World Heavyweight ChampionWorld Heavyweight Championship (WWE)The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
Batista was drafted to SmackDown! from Raw, bringing the title with him. - During the 2007 Draft, the ECW World ChampionECW World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
Bobby Lashley was stripped of the title after being drafted to Raw. - During the 2008 Draft, Matt HardyMatt HardyMatthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
was drafted to ECW with his WWE United States ChampionshipWWE United States ChampionshipThe 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....
, Triple HTriple HPaul 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...
was drafted to SmackDown with his WWE Championship, and KaneKane (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....
was drafted to Raw with his ECW Championship. - During the 2009 Draft, WWE Unified Tag Team Champions The ColónsThe ColónsThe Colóns were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of real-life brothers, Carlito and Primo. The team worked for World Wrestling Entertainment...
(CarlitoCarly ColonCarlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
and PrimoEddie ColonEdwin "Eddie" Carlos Colón is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is currently signed by WWE wrestling on its Raw brand as Primo. He is the son of Carlos Colón, Sr. and the younger brother of wrestlers Stacy and Carly Colón, better known as Carlito in WWE...
), WWE Divas ChampionWWE Divas ChampionshipThe 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...
MaryseMaryse OuelletMaryse Ouellet is a Professional Glamour Model and a former professional wrestler, better known simply as Maryse. She most recently worked for WWE...
, WWE United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter and WWE Champion Triple H were drafted to Raw, while WWE Women's ChampionWWE Women's ChampionshipThe WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
MelinaMelina PerezMelina Nava Perez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring mononym Melina....
and WWE Intercontinental ChampionWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
Rey Mysterio were drafted to SmackDown. - During the 2011 Draft, WWE United States Champion Sheamus was drafted to SmackDown.
- Also during the 2011 Draft, one half of the WWE Tag Team championsWWE Tag Team ChampionshipThe 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...
Big ShowPaul WightPaul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
was drafted to Raw from Smackdown, leaving his partner Kane with the other half on Smackdown.