Report: WWE Planning Raw And SmackDown Draft In October
Another draft is coming.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that WWE will “tentatively” hold a draft on the Oct. 11 episode of SmackDown and the Oct. 14 episode of Raw. The draft is being done so superstars are made exclusive to their respective brands.
Meltzer reports that the draft is being done as “part of a series of moves that will be made to freshen up both shows both with talent and in other ways during October,” but no further details were provided.
The last draft, dubbed the Superstar Shake-Up, was held in April of this year. However, the exclusivity didn’t last long as Vince McMahon introduced the Wild Card rule, which allowed superstars to jump between brands. The Wild Card rule initially limited things to four superstars appearing on the other brand each week, but that limit was quickly dropped without explanation.
WWE has yet to officially announce the upcoming draft.
SmackDown will premiere on Fox on Oct. 4. The Oct. 11 episode will air from Las Vegas while the Oct. 14 episode of Raw takes place in Denver.
