Jab and Grapple - Boxing and Wrestling News and Analysis

WWE Draft History

by Kris on June 10th, 2007

With the first WWE tri-branded draft taking place tomorrow night on a special 3 hour Raw I thought I’d run down some of the big moves that have happened on the past drafts:

• 2002 - 2002 marked the first brand extension when SmackDown was added to the WWE lineup. Mr. McMahon, drafting for SmackDown, chose The Rock with the first pick while Raw’s Ric Flair selected The Undertaker. This draft also had notable stipulations which meant Triple H as well as other champions and contenders could not be moved. Other notable moves include Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, and Hulk Hogan going to SmackDown while nWo, Kane, and RVS went to Raw.
• 2004 - This draft was used to shake things up in the WWE. Triple H was drafted onto SmackDown but was traded back to Raw by Kurt Angle for Booker T. Others worth mentioning are Edge going to Raw and RVD going to SmackDown.
• 2005 - In perhaps the biggest shakeup of all the drafts 2005 sent lots of top superstars to different shows. Raw picked up John Cena, Kurt Angle, Carlito, Big Show, and RVD. SmackDown got Chris Benoit, Randy Orton, Christian, and Batista.
• 2006 -  2006 marked another brand extension as ECW was added to the lineup. ECW representative Paul Heyman was given 2 choices to start the show with. He chose Kurt Angle and RVD. Another star, Big Show, joined ECW after the draft. When RVD’s contact expires at the end of the month all 3 big ECW stars will have left the WWE.

This year no one is off limits in the first tri-brand WWE draft. Stay tuned to Jab and Grapple on Tuesday for coverage of tomorrow’s draft.

Share This

Related Stories

• Weekly Recap: SNME Returns, WEC Makes Televised Debut, and More
• WWE Draft 2008 Picks #6, #7, and #8
• Twist Added to WWE Draft
• Weekly Recap: Two UFC Events and a Wrestling “Death”
• Special Raw Draft Special Concludes with a Bang

POSTED IN: Uncategorized