The WWE Draft concluded during Monday night’s Raw. Many of the top names on the WWE roster could be chosen from either Raw or SmackDown in Night 2, as 24 selections were made during the three-hour broadcast.
Raw had first pick of the night and secured a new Women’s Champion, SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley after Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair was drafted to SmackDown last Friday night. SmackDown responded by taking a champion from Raw and picking US Champion Austin Theory as its first pick.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of the action from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The WWE draft ends with 24 picks
In the first round of Night 2 of the draft, Raw won SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley while SmackDown defeated US Champion Austin Theory with her first pick. Raw then took Seth Rollins, SmackDown followed with Charlotte Flair to end the round. Of note, prior to the start of the draft, Triple H announced that Brock Lesnar was now ineligible to draft as he had renegotiated his contract and was able to appear on either show.
Other notable moves included undisputed tag team champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn being drafted to Raw and The Usos, along with Bloodline members Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa on SmackDown. Three selections were made by NXT, with tag team Pretty Deadly and Singles star Cameron Grimes going to SmackDown, and team Katana Chance & Kayden Carter being selected from Raw.
Complete WWE Draft Night 2 results
Raw | Rhea Ripley |
knock down | Austin theory |
Raw | Seth Rollin |
knock down | Charlotte Flair |
Raw | Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn |
knock down | The Usos |
Raw | Judgment Day |
knock down | Latino world order |
Raw | Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez |
knock down | asuka |
Raw | The new day |
knock down | The brawling brutes |
Raw | Trish Stratus |
knock down | Karion Kross |
Raw | Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey |
knock down | LA Knight |
Raw | Brown Strowman & Ricochet |
knock down | Shotzi |
Raw | Bronson Reed |
knock down | Pretty Deadly (NXT) |
| Raw | Alpha Academy |
| knock down | Rick Boogs |
| Raw | Katana Chance & Kayden Carter (NXT) |
| knock down | Cameron Grimes (NXT) |
The WWE draft can be difficult to watch, as it requires viewers to shy away from common sense at several points. For example, on Night 1, SmackDown selected The Bloodline, meaning Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa, but not The Usos, for reasons not mentioned. Night 2 started with Raw picking Ripley but not the entirety of Judgment Day, although that was clearly a valid option but later had to use a pick to get the rest of Judgment Day on track. Why? What’s the point? Similarly, the idea that “every WWE Superstar” is eligible for the draft was an important part of the publicity for the draft, including Lesnar’s portrayal when those statements were made. Instead, Lesnar was not eligible to be drafted once the draft actually materialized. It’s an insult to fan intelligence to pursue this already stupid idea with as little care as WWE does. Grade: C
What else happened at WWE Raw?
- Damage CTRL (Bayley & Dakota Kai) def. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez via Pinfall when Bayley stuck Morgan. Defeating the tag champions could cement a title fight for the damage-CTRL pair. Damage CTRL confronted Bianca Belair backstage later that night.
- Braun Strowman & Ricochet def. Alpha Academy via Pinfall when Ricochet hit Chad Gable with a Swanton off Strowman’s shoulders.
- Cody Rhodes attacked Brock Lesnar after Lesnar halted the fourth round of the draft. Rhodes’ music hit and Lensar turned towards the entrance ramp only for Rhodes to jump him from behind before security ended the brief scuffle.
- Matt Riddle defeated. Jimmy Uso on Pinfall after a floating bro. After Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn caused Jey Uso to be knocked out of the ring by faking a chair shot, Owens rammed Jimmy’s head into an exposed turnbuckle to help Riddle win.
- Shinsuke Nakamura hit Miz with a Kinshasa after appearing on Miz TV. Miz offered to team up with Nakamura, who then led the crowd with a chant of “The guy with the tiny balls” in Japanese before knocking Miz out with a few punches.
- Judgment Day def. LwO via pinfall when Damian Priest stuck Rey Mysterio with South of Heaven.
- Seth Rollins defeated. Solo Sikoa on disqualification after interference by the Usos. Rollins interrupted a show opening promo by Paul Heyman during which Heyman berated men in the Raw locker room for being excited about the new World Heavyweight Championship, specifically citing Rollins. Rollins’ interruption brought Sikoa to the ring and led to preparations for the evening’s main event. Late in the game, Rollins took control as the Usos rushed the ring to attack. Rollins was saved by Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle when the show went off the air.