Xia Li And Ridge Holland Move From NXT To SmackDown In 2021 WWE Draft
NXT has lost two more superstars in the 2021 WWE Draft.
On the October 4 episode of Raw, WWE held the final rounds of its draft. In the fourth round, Raw selected AJ Styles & Omos and Kevin Owens. SmackDown, on the other hand, decided to bolster their women’s division with Shayna Baszler and Xia Li.
Li signed with WWE in 2017 but didn’t make her NXT TV debut until February 2019. Her final appearance on the brand came on July 20th when she challenged Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Championship. In the two months since then, Li has been wrestling dark matches ahead of SmackDown tapings.
Xia joins Hit Row, Austin Theory, and Aliyah as NXT talents drafted to the main roster during this year’s draft.
#WWENXT standout @XiaWWE is headed to #SmackDown!#WWEDraft pic.twitter.com/um0xugjtbI
— WWE (@WWE) October 5, 2021
In the sixth and final round of the draft, SmackDown also selected NXT’s Ridge Holland.
Holland’s last match on NXT came on September 28 when he lost to Kyle O’Reilly. He had worked two dark matches ahead of SmackDown tapings in August, defeating Austin Theory on both occasions.
SmackDown’s final pick of the draft was Sami Zayn. Raw concluded the draft by selecting Gable Steveson and Carmella.
#WWENXT powerhouse @RidgeWWE is about to bring his Herculean strength and power to #SmackDown!#BeSeeinYa#WWEDraft pic.twitter.com/M28fyw3FW2
— WWE (@WWE) October 5, 2021
Keep up with everything happening on WWE Raw with Fightful’s ongoing coverage. You can view results from night two of the draft by clicking here.
