2020 WWE Draft
The 2020 WWE Draft was the 15th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began on the October 9 episode of Friday Night SmackDown and concluded on the October 12 episode of Monday Night Raw. Both shows were broadcast from the Amway Center (presented by way of WWE's virtual fan viewing experience, ThunderDome) in Orlando, Florida with SmackDown airing on FOX and Raw on USA.
2020 WWE Draft | |
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Promotional poster for the 2020 WWE Draft featuring Sasha Banks, Braun Strowman, Keith Lee, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, and Asuka. | |
General information | |
Sport | Professional wrestling |
Date(s) | October 9–12, 2020 |
Location | Amway Center |
Overview | |
League | WWE |
Teams | Raw SmackDown NXT (outgoing only) |
Production
Background
The WWE Draft is an annual process used by WWE while a brand extension is in effect to refresh the rosters of their brand divisions, typically between the Raw and SmackDown brands. In 2019, the promotion held two drafts, the first in April and the second in October. The one in April had an untraditional drafting format, where drafting decisions were made behind the scenes and drafted wrestlers simply appeared on the brand without a major reveal, while the one in October returned to a traditional format, where draft picks were announced on the shows by a WWE official. The 2020 draft was officially announced during the Clash of Champions pay-per-view on September 27 and was scheduled to occur on the October 9 and October 12 episodes of SmackDown and Raw, respectively.[1]
On August 19 during the NXT TakeOver XXX media call, WWE executive and NXT head Triple H said that the 2020 draft would also involve the NXT brand,[2] but the official announcement that occurred during Clash of Champions stated that this draft would only be between Raw and SmackDown.[1] During the NXT TakeOver 31 media call on September 30, a now unsure Triple H stated that he did not know if NXT would be involved.[3] WWE's advertising just a couple days later affirmed that the draft would only be between Raw and SmackDown without NXT involvement. Like previous drafts, wrestlers, including all champions, were eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown. However, both the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and the 24/7 Championship are still defended across the brands regardless of the brand that the champions were drafted to.[4]
2020 draft rules
The rules for the 2020 WWE draft were revealed by Fox Sports on October 8, which were the same as the previous draft in October 2019.[5] Over 60 male and female wrestlers, as well as individual tag teams and stables, including current champions, were placed into the 2020 drafting pools. Over 20 wrestlers were announced as being eligible to be drafted on the October 9 episode of SmackDown and more than 30 wrestlers were eligible to be drafted on the October 12 episode of Raw.[6] The rules of the draft were as follows:
- Due to the length of each show, for every two picks made by SmackDown, Raw received three (as SmackDown is two hours and Raw is three).
- Tag teams and stables counted as one pick unless FOX or USA, in conjunction with WWE, wanted to specifically pick one wrestler from the group.[lower-alpha 1]
- Any undrafted wrestlers were immediately (in kayfabe) declared free agents and were able to sign with the brand of their choosing.
Draft pool
Night 1: SmackDown (October 9)
There were four rounds of draft picks during Night One of the 2020 draft. WWE Chief Brand Officer (CBO) Stephanie McMahon announced the draft picks for each.[8][9]
- Notes
- One stable was split up as a result of the first night: Big E remained on SmackDown while his New Day stablemates, Kofi Kingston and the returning Xavier Woods, were drafted to Raw, temporarily taking the SmackDown Tag Team Championships with them (they would later trade the titles over to The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) moments after the then-Raw Tag Team Champions were drafted to SmackDown during Night Two to resolve any confusions).
- One tag team was split up as a result of the draft: Otis remained on SmackDown while his Heavy Machinery tag team partner, Tucker, was drafted to Raw during the supplemental draft on Talking Smack the following day.
Supplemental picks: Talking Smack (October 10)
A supplemental draft took place on Talking Smack with wrestlers who were not drafted on Night 1.[10]
Rnd. | Pick # | Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Post-draft brand | Role | Brand pick # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 21 | Humberto Carrillo | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler | 13 |
5 | 22 | Murphy | Raw | SmackDown | Male wrestler | 9 |
5 | 23 | Drew Gulak | SmackDown | Raw | Male wrestler | 14 |
5 | 24 | Kalisto | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male wrestler | 10 |
5 | 25 | Tucker | SmackDown | Raw | Male wrestler | 15 |
- Notes
- One stable was split up as a result of the supplemental draft: Kalisto remained on SmackDown while his Lucha House Party stablemates, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado, were drafted to Raw.
Night 2: Raw (October 12)
There were six rounds of draft picks during Night Two of the 2020 draft. WWE's CBO Stephanie McMahon again announced the draft picks for each.[11]
Supplemental picks: Raw Talk (October 12)
A supplemental draft took place on Raw Talk with wrestlers who were not drafted on Night 2.
Rnd. | Pick # | Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Post-draft brand | Role | Brand pick # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | 31 | Lana | Raw | Raw | Female wrestler | 19 |
7 | 32 | Natalya | Raw | SmackDown | Female wrestler | 13 |
7 | 33 | Riddick Moss | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler | 20 |
7 | 34 | The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan) |
Raw | SmackDown | Female tag team | 14 |
7 | 35 | Arturo Ruas | NXT[lower-alpha 9] | Raw | Male wrestler | 21 |
Free agents
Several wrestlers were made free agents due to injury, inactivity, or not being drafted during their draft pool. The chart is organized by date.
Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Reason for not being drafted | Subsequent status | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retaliation | Raw[lower-alpha 10] | Was removed from Retribution and the draft pool (Night 2). | NXT | October 9, 2020[12] | Was quietly moved back to NXT under her previous name of "Mercedes Martinez." Martinez formally returned on the December 23, 2020 episode of NXT by attacking NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai. |
Shorty G | SmackDown | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 1). | SmackDown | October 12, 2020[13] | Shorty G's signing was announced on WWE's social media platforms. He returned to using his original ring name "Chad Gable" on the October 23, 2020 episode of SmackDown. |
Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado) |
SmackDown | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 1). | Raw | October 12, 2020[14] | Lucha House Party's signing was announced during WWE's Monday Night Raw Watch Along special. |
Billie Kay | Raw | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 2). | SmackDown | October 13, 2020[15] | Kay's signing was announced on WWE's social media platforms. |
Erik | Raw | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 2). | Raw | October 13, 2020[15] | Erik's signing was announced on WWE's social media platforms. |
Tamina | SmackDown | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 2). | SmackDown | October 13, 2020[15] | Tamina's signing was announced on WWE's social media platforms. |
Zelina Vega | Raw | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 2). | SmackDown | October 13, 2020[15] | On November 13, 2020, WWE announced Vega's release from her contract over her opposition to the company "requiring talents to acquiesce control" of their accounts on third-party platforms.[16] |
Jimmy Uso | SmackDown | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | SmackDown | October 23, 2020 | Inactive from performing due to a knee injury. Returned to the SmackDown brand during the October 23, 2020 episode of SmackDown as part of a storyline involving his brother Jey Uso and cousin Roman Reigns, though has only appeared a couple of times since, and has not yet been cleared to compete. |
The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) |
SmackDown | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | SmackDown | December 4, 2020 | The group was taken off television in June 2020 after Jaxson Ryker tweeted his support for U.S. President Donald Trump during the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd protests. On the December 4, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Blake and Cutler, without Ryker, made their return where they accompanied King Corbin to the ring helping him defeat Murphy. They subsequently became known as "The Knights of the Lone Wolf". On the February 4, 2021, Cutler was released from his WWE contract, disbanding "The Knights of the Lone Wolf". |
Jaxson Ryker | SmackDown | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Raw | December 7, 2020 | The Forgotten Sons, the group which Jaxson Ryker was apart of, was taken off television in June 2020 after Ryker tweeted his support for U.S. President Donald Trump during the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd protests. Ryker returned as part of the Raw brand without his partners on the December 7, 2020 tapings of Main Event during a segment aligning himself with Elias. |
Sonya Deville | Free agent | Storyline fired | SmackDown | January 1, 2021 | Had been inactive since her loss at SummerSlam in August 2020 in which she was forced to leave WWE (in reality, she was given time off due to a legal battle with a stalker that had broken into her home). On the January 1, 2021 episode of SmackDown, Deville was seen walking backstage with commentator Corey Graves confirming that she had been re-instated on the SmackDown brand. She then took on an assistant role to WWE official Adam Pearce. |
Big Show | Raw | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Raw | January 4, 2021 | Makes sporadic appearances. Appeared on the special "Legends Night" episode of Raw on January 4, 2021. |
Mickie James | Raw | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 1). | Raw | January 4, 2021 | Returned during the special "Legends Night" episode of Raw on January 4, 2021. |
Jinder Mahal | Raw | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Currently unknown | January 22, 2021 | Was inactive due to knee injury. Returned at Superstar Spectacle (aired January 26) where he teamed with The Bollywood Boyz (Samir Singh and Sunil Singh) in a losing effort against WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and The Indus Sher (Rinku and Saurav) in a six-man tag team match. Mahal's brand status has not yet been revealed. |
Andrade | Raw | Undrafted during their draft pool (Night 2). | |||
Becky Lynch | Raw | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Inactive due to maternity leave. | ||
Bo Dallas | SmackDown | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Last appeared on the November 15, 2019 episode of SmackDown. | ||
Ivar | Raw | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Inactive due to neck injury. | ||
Maryse | SmackDown | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Last appeared on the December 13, 2019 episode of SmackDown. | ||
Mojo Rawley | SmackDown | Was not included in either of the draft pools. | Last appeared on the June 19, 2020 episode of SmackDown. | ||
Aftermath
During Night 1 of the draft, The New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Immediately after their win, they were drafted to Raw, splitting Big E from The New Day as Big E remained on SmackDown; this also resulted in Kingston and Woods taking SmackDown's tag titles to Raw.[8] However, on Night 2 of the draft, Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) were drafted to SmackDown. Later that night, WWE official Adam Pearce had the two teams trade titles to keep the branded championships on their respective brands, thus New Day became the Raw Tag Team Champions and Street Profits became the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.[11]
For several months prior to the draft, Seth Rollins and his disciple Murphy had been feuding with the Mysterios (Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio). After Rollins was drafted to SmackDown, he had thought that was the end of their feud; however, the Mysterios, as well as Murphy, were also drafted to SmackDown.[8] The feud continued over the following month, which also saw Rey's daughter Aalyah get involved romantically with Murphy, who turned on Rollins to join with the Mysterios.[17]
In early September, The Miz and John Morrison began a feud with Otis over Otis' Money in the Bank contract.[18] Although drafted to separate brands,[8] the feud continued and Otis was scheduled to defend the contract against The Miz at Hell in a Cell on October 25, where Miz defeated Otis to win the Money in the Bank contract.[19]
For a couple of months prior to the draft, then-SmackDown wrestler Drew Gulak got involved in segments over the 24/7 Championship on pay-per-view as well as episodes of Raw, where he won the title a couple of times. After Gulak was drafted to Raw, he continued pursuing the 24/7 Championship.[20] Shortly after his drafting to Raw, Matt Riddle's ring name was shortened to Riddle.[21] Just the same on SmackDown, Shorty G returned to using his original ring name, Chad Gable.[22] Also, despite being drafted to Raw, Arturo Ruas made no post-draft appearances on Raw and was returned to NXT the following month.[23]
During Night 2 of the draft, after both Elias and Jeff Hardy had been drafted to Raw, Elias made his first on-screen appearance in five months and attacked Hardy, as Elias believed it was Hardy who caused him to miss the previous five months.[11] Back in May, Hardy was involved in a feud with Sheamus, who tried exploiting Hardy's past issues with alcohol. During one segment, Elias was hit with a car outside of the WWE Performance Center, which Sheamus tried to frame on Hardy.[24] Upon Elias' return during the draft, he believed that Hardy was not framed and did in fact hit him with the car. The two then feuded over the next few weeks.[25]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in less work for wrestlers as WWE was now only doing television and pay-per-view and ceased touring, many talent took to third-party platforms such as Twitch, Cameo, and YouTube to earn supplemental income. In September, WWE issued a statement to their talent that they could no longer use these platforms, and gave the talent 30 days to close down their accounts or face fines, suspension, or termination; it was later clarified that talent could not use their ring names or characters for these other platforms, but they must get permission from WWE in order to use the platforms.[26][27] Some talent, such as Paige and Zelina Vega, took opposition to this, and expressed their support of a wrestler's union. Vega was then released by WWE on November 13, allegedly because of her opposition to the company's policy on using third-party platforms and her support of unionization.[28]
Notes
- Although WWE claims the draft picks are conducted by officials of the FOX and USA networks, the results are predetermined by WWE as the draft is a storyline.[7]
- The Women's Tag Team Championship is defended across the Raw, SmackDown and NXT brands regardless of the brand that the champions are drafted to.
- Kingston and the returning Woods won the titles from Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura just before being drafted.
- While T-Bar, Slapjack, Mace, and Reckoning were still listed as members of the NXT roster by WWE.com, it was revealed on the September 21, 2020 episode of Raw that they had received Raw contracts.
- Sullivan was initially not included in either draft pool but was added after returning to WWE on the October 9, 2020 episode of SmackDown moments after Jeff Hardy and Matt Riddle defeated The Miz and John Morrison.
- Despite going undrafted in the October 2019 Draft and being declared a free agent, Sullivan was listed by WWE.com as a SmackDown wrestler.
- The 24/7 Championship is defended across all five WWE brands regardless of the home brand of the champion.
- Kato had been appearing on Raw Underground as a free agent since August 2020.
- Despite being assigned to the NXT brand, Ruas had been appearing on Raw Underground since August 2020.
- While not listed as a member of the Raw roster by WWE.com, it was revealed on the September 21, 2020 episode of Raw that Retaliation received a Raw contract.
References
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- Lambert, Jeremy (August 19, 2020). "Triple H Confirms WWE Draft For Later In 2020". Fightful. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- @SeanRossSapp (September 30, 2020). "HHH says he doesn't even know how the NXT brand will be integrated into the Draft" (Tweet). Retrieved September 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
- WWE.com Staff (October 3, 2020). "WWE Draft to take place on Oct. 9 & 12 on SmackDown and Raw". WWE. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- Satin, Ryan (October 8, 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: 2020 WWE DRAFT POOL AND RULES". Fox Sports. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- WWE.com Staff (October 8, 2020). "WWE Draft rules and Superstar pools set for 2020 edition". WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- "WWE's Monday Night RAW Scores Huge Ratings Jump". WWE Corporate. World Wrestling Entertainment. 2005-06-25. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
'RAW is building ratings momentum,' said Kurt Schneider, Executive Vice President, Marketing. Our fans are now connecting in a big way with some of our newer Superstars, and we continue to feature classic storylines, unpredictable plot twists, such as through our WWE Draft Lottery
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- WWE.com Staff (October 9, 2020). "See all the results from the 2020 Draft". WWE. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- WWE.com Staff (October 10, 2020). "Five Superstars drafted on a special edition of WWE Talking Smack". WWE. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- Powell, Jason. "10/12 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of the 2020 WWE Draft night two, Dual-Brand Battle Royal for a shot at the Raw Women's Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Aleister Black in a No DQ match, Seth Rollins says farewell to Raw, Mustafa Ali's first promo as Retribution's leader". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- Johnson, Mike (October 9, 2020). "WWE STAR REMOVED FROM RAW ROSTER". PWInsider. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- "@sarahschreib has BREAKING NEWS regarding Shorty G's status in the 2020 #WWEDraft. @WWEGable #WWERaw". October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- "BREAKING: As just announced on #WWEWatchAlong, @WWEGranMetalik & @LuchadorLD have been drafted to #WWERaw! #WWEDraft". October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- "EXCLUSIVE: #WWERaw & #SmackDown have just signed some Free Agents!🔵 @BillieKayWWE 🔴 @Erik_WWE 🔵 @TaminaSnuka 🔵 @Zelina_VegaWWE Presented by @Skittles". October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- "What Led To Today's Surprising WWE Release". November 13, 2020.
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- Powell, Jason (September 4, 2020). "9/4 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman addressing the fans, Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus vs. King Corbin vs. Jey Uso for a shot at the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women's Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- Powell, Jason (October 25, 2020). "WWE Hell in a Cell results: Powell's review of Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso in an I Quit Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Universal Championship, Bayley vs. Sasha Banks in a Hell in a Cell match for the Smackdown Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
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- Moore, John (November 18, 2020). "11/18 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Title, Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Title, Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes in a blindfold match, NXT Champion Finn Balor returns". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Barnett, Jake (May 29, 2020). "5/29 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles vs. Elias in Intercontinental Title tournament semifinal matches, Sonya Deville vs. Lacey Evans, New Day on A Moment of Bliss". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- Powell, Jason (November 2, 2020). "11/02 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Jeff Hardy vs. Elias in a Guitar on a Pole Match, Raw Tag Champs Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin in a non-title match, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke for the WWE Women's Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- Thomas, Jeremy (September 7, 2020). "WWE Clarifies Third Party Platform Usage Rules With Talent Before Raw". 411mania. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Lee, Joseph (September 11, 2020). "More Details On WWE's New Policy Against Third Party Platforms". 411mania. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Selbe, Nick (November 13, 2020). "WWE Releases Zelina Vega". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 21, 2020.