On the latest edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Triple H announced the WWE Draft was returning for the first time since 2021.
Just as he did at the negatively received post-WrestleMania Monday Night Raw, the Hall of Famer took to the ring to address the WWE Universe.
In a promo in which he celebrated the company’s record-breaking success at WrestleMania 39, The Game confirmed that the Draft will be coming in a “few weeks” and will be the biggest ever. He added that every WWE Superstar will be eligible before declaring it will “truly change the game.”
The WWE Draft was first introduced in 2002 when the company announced its first-ever brand split. Following the acquisition of WCW and ECW, the promotion saw its roster double in size. The draft was introduced and the roster was split into two Superstars being picked to exclusively appear for either Raw or SmackDown.
The draft has been used repeatedly by the company to refresh its programming, introduce new matches and provide further championship opportunities to the performers. Since 2016, the draft has been an annual occurrence but did not happen in 2022.
Over the years, the draft has given fans some interesting viewing. In 2021, the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch was drafted to Raw and Raw Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair was picked for SmackDown. This left the two champions holding the opposite titles to their show.
To resolve the situation WWE had the rivals simply exchange the title belts on SmackDown. However, the segment did not go as planned.
Instead of simply handing Lynch the SmackDown title as planned, Flair snatched it away from The Man before dropping it on the floor. The awkward moment left Lynch and the SmackDown GM Sonya Deville visibly irked and led to Lynch and Flair having a heated argument backstage which resulted in the Queen being being escorted from the building.
When Will The WWE Draft Take Place?
Despite Triple H not revealing the exact date of when the draft will happen, a report from WRKD Wrestling has provided a potential date.
The current planned date for the upcoming WWE Draft is May 8th in Jacksonville, Florida.
If this date is correct then the 2023 edition of the draft goes down on Monday Night Raw at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL.