The first night of the 2023 WWE Draft was a night of surprises, and not just involving big names switching brands.
On the April 28th episode of SmackDown four rounds of the Draft were aired, all presided over by WWE legends. Little was shown about how the picks were made, instead, the WWE Hall of Famers came to the stage and announced two picks each for SmackDown and Raw.
Round one was headed up by Triple H, who announced that Roman Reigns along with Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman was the number one pick overall. This was due to The Bloodline being drafted as one.
The second round was led by Michael Hayes and Rob Van Dam, while round three announcements were done by JBL and Teddy Long.
The final round broadcast featured Shawn Michaels and Road Dogg. Michaels had the task of confirming that NXT Women’s Champions Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre would be moving to SmackDown and also had to watch NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell get drafted to Raw.
AJ Styles Makes Surprise WWE Return
The show also featured a surprise appearance from AJ Styles who was drafted to SmackDown along with Mia Yim, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson.
After being drafted the group makes its way to the ring before being confronted by The Viking Raiders. The returning stars quickly dispatched their new rivals and Styles announced that they were just getting started.
AJ Styles has been out of action since breaking his ankle at a live event back in late December 2022.