The WWE Draft is a process used by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE to refresh its rosters between the Raw and SmackDown brands when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers from the promotion's developmental brand NXT (2016–present) are also eligible to be drafted to Raw and SmackDown. Two of WWE's former brands, ECW (2006–2009) and 205 Live (2019), have also taken part in the draft during the promotion's various brand split periods.
The brand extension, also referred to as the brand split, is the separation of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE's roster of wrestlers into distinct divisions, or "brands". The promotion's wrestlers are assigned to a brand via the annual WWE Draft and exclusively perform on that brand's weekly television show, with some exceptions. Throughout its history, WWE has utilized the brand extension twice. The first brand split occurred from 2002 to 2011, while the ongoing second began in 2016.
The 2010 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft was the eighth WWE draft, produced by the American professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment. The draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 26, and the second part, the "supplemental draft", was held on April 27. The first day was broadcast on WWE's Monday night program Raw on the USA Network in the United States, and the supplemental draft was available on WWE's official website. The televised portion was held at Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. During the production of the draft, guest hosts were portrayed as authority figure characters on Raw; however, due to the importance of the event, the draft was run by the WWE management backstage, as are all other WWE programs.
Matthew Michael Clement is a Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a member of the UpUpDownDown channel. He also wrestles on the independent circuit under the mononymous ring name Breeze.
Joseph Ruud is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Erick Rowan.
Matthew Thomas Rehwoldt is an American color commentator and retired professional wrestler who serves as a color commentator for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is previously known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aiden English.
Thomas Pestock is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Baron Corbin. He is a former one-time WWE United States Champion and one-time NXT Tag Team Champion.
Matthew Adams is an Australian professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Buddy Matthews as a member of the stable House of Black and is a former one-time AEW World Trios Champion. Adams also makes appearances on the independent circuit and is best known for his time with WWE where he performed under the ring name Buddy Murphy.
The 2016 Battleground was the fourth annual Battleground professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on July 24, 2016, at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. It was the last event to feature WWE's full main roster before the newly reinstated brand extension went into full effect, excluding WWE's "Big Four" PPVs, as after the following month's SummerSlam, monthly PPVs became brand-exclusive until WrestleMania 34 in April 2018, after which, brand-exclusive PPVs were again discontinued.
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, also known as The Bludgeon Brothers, were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were also known as being members of the cult faction The Wyatt Family, led by Bray Wyatt.
Nathan Everhart is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jason Jordan. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as the lead producer for Raw and SmackDown. He has not wrestled since suffering a neck injury in January 2018.
American Alpha was a professional wrestling tag team, composed of former amateur wrestlers Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. The team performed on WWE's developmental brand NXT before being moved up to the main roster on the SmackDown brand. The team was disbanded after Jordan moved to the Raw brand on July 17, 2017 while Gable stayed on SmackDown.
The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Before its retirement, it was defended across the NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brand divisions, which were developmental territories for WWE. During its short tenure, it was the promotion's only championship with a weight limit, wherein only wrestlers 205 lb and under—designated as cruiserweights—could compete for the title.
WWE 205 Live is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, as a replacement for WWE Superstars, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March 2021 when the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock, after which, it was available on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in international markets.
Roadblock: End of the Line was the second Roadblock professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. While the first Roadblock was streamed exclusively on the WWE Network, this second event also aired via traditional pay-per-view (PPV) outlets. It took place on December 18, 2016, at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The name of the event was a reference to it being WWE's final PPV of 2016. This was the final Roadblock until 2022 when WWE revived the event as a television special for the NXT brand.
Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to Raw primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Monday Night Raw, also referred to simply as Raw. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with SmackDown, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.
SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Friday Night SmackDown, also referred to simply as SmackDown. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with Raw, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.
The 2019 Royal Rumble was the 32nd annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on January 27, 2019, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. During the event, WWE reported there were 48,193 people in attendance.
The 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up was the thirteenth WWE draft – and the last to be branded as the Superstar Shake-up – produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands. Instead of a traditional draft, changes between the brands were made behind the scenes, with moving wrestlers simply appearing on a brand's show or announced via WWE's website or social medias. The event began on the April 15 and 16 episodes of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, respectively, on the USA Network. The April 15 and 16 episodes were initially the only episodes advertised for the Superstar Shake-up, but more draft moves were confirmed throughout the remainder of the month and into early May.
The 2019 WWE Draft was the fourteenth WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brands. Returning to its original name and a traditional draft format, it was the second draft of 2019, following April's Superstar Shake-up. The draft began on the October 11 episode of Friday Night SmackDown and concluded on the October 14 episode of Monday Night Raw, with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. It was the first draft in which the brand's television networks were presented as having an influence over WWE's drafting decisions.
