2016 WWE draft
The 2016 WWE draft was the tenth draft, and first since 2011, produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. It took place on July 19 during the live premiere of SmackDown on the USA Network in the United States broadcasting from the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Background
On the July 11 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon appointed Shane McMahon as the commissioner of SmackDown and Stephanie McMahon as the commissioner of Raw.[1] The following week on the July 18 episode of Raw, the commissioners introduced Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan as the general managers of Raw and SmackDown, respectively.[2]
The rules of the draft were posted to WWE's website on July 17.[3][4] They were the following:
- Raw received the first overall draft pick.
- For every two draft picks for SmackDown, Raw received three picks (due to Raw being a three hour show, while SmackDown is two hours).
- Tag teams counted as one pick (unless a commissioner/general manager specifically only wanted a single member from the team as their pick).
- Six draft picks had to be made from the NXT roster.
Selection
SmackDown Live
The following is the list of wrestlers who were drafted on SmackDown Live.[5]
| Rnd. | Pick # | Brand | Brand pick # | Superstar (Real name) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Raw | 1 | Seth Rollins (Colby Lopez) |
|
| 1 | 2 | SmackDown | 1 | Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) |
WWE Champion |
| 1 | 3 | Raw | 2 | Charlotte (Ashley Fliehr) |
WWE Women's Champion |
| 1 | 4 | SmackDown | 2 | AJ Styles (Allen Jones) |
|
| 1 | 5 | Raw | 3 | Finn Bálor (Fergal Devitt) |
Drafted from NXT |
| 2 | 6 | Raw | 4 | Roman Reigns (Leati Anoa'i) |
|
| 2 | 7 | SmackDown | 3 | John Cena | |
| 2 | 8 | Raw | 5 | Brock Lesnar | |
| 2 | 9 | SmackDown | 4 | Randy Orton | |
| 2 | 10 | Raw | 6 | The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) (Ettore Ewen, Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah and Austin Watson) |
WWE Tag Team Champions |
| 3 | 11 | Raw | 7 | Sami Zayn (Rami Sebei) |
|
| 3 | 12 | SmackDown | 5 | Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) |
|
| 3 | 13 | Raw | 8 | Sasha Banks (Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado) |
|
| 3 | 14 | SmackDown | 6 | Becky Lynch (Rebecca Quin) |
|
| 3 | 15 | Raw | 9 | Chris Jericho (Christopher Irvine) |
|
| 4 | 16 | Raw | 10 | Rusev with Lana (Miroslav Barnyashev with Catherine Perry) |
United States Champion |
| 4 | 17 | SmackDown | 7 | The Miz with Maryse (Michael Mizanin with Maryse Mizanin) |
Intercontinental Champion |
| 4 | 18 | Raw | 11 | Kevin Owens (Kevin Steen) |
|
| 4 | 19 | SmackDown | 8 | Baron Corbin (Thomas Pestock) |
|
| 4 | 20 | Raw | 12 | Enzo and Cass (Enzo Amore and Big Cass) (Eric Arndt and William Morrissey) |
|
| 5 | 21 | Raw | 13 | Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (Andrew Hankinson and Chad Allegra) |
|
| 5 | 22 | SmackDown | 9 | American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) (Nathan Everhart and Charles Betts) |
Drafted from NXT |
| 5 | 23 | Raw | 14 | Big Show (Paul Wight Jr.) |
|
| 5 | 24 | SmackDown | 10 | Dolph Ziggler (Nicholas Nemeth) |
|
| 5 | 25 | Raw | 15 | Nia Jax (Savelina Fanene) |
Drafted from NXT |
| 6 | 26 | Raw | 16 | Neville (Benjamin Satterley) |
|
| 6 | 27 | SmackDown | 11 | Natalya (Natalie Neidhart) |
|
| 6 | 28 | Raw | 17 | Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) |
|
| 6 | 29 | SmackDown | 12 | Alberto Del Rio (José Rodriguez) |
|
| 6 | 30 | Raw | 18 | Sheamus (Stephen Farrelly) |
WWE Network
The following is the list of wrestlers who were drafted on the "DraftCenter Live" special on the WWE Network.[5]
| Rnd. | Pick # | Brand | Brand pick # | Employee (Real name) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 31 | Raw | 19 | Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth) (Dustin Runnels and Ronnie Killings) |
|
| 7 | 32 | SmackDown | 13 | The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (Jonathan Fatu and Joshua Fatu) |
|
| 7 | 33 | Raw | 20 | Titus O'Neil (Thaddeus Bullard Sr.) |
|
| 7 | 34 | SmackDown | 14 | Kane (Glenn Jacobs) |
|
| 7 | 35 | Raw | 21 | Paige (Saraya-Jade Bevis) |
|
| 8 | 36 | Raw | 22 | Darren Young with Bob Backlund (Frederick Rosser III with Robert Backlund) |
|
| 8 | 37 | Smackdown | 15 | Kalisto (Emanuel Rodriguez) |
|
| 8 | 38 | Raw | 23 | Sin Cara (Jorge Arias) |
|
| 8 | 39 | SmackDown | 16 | Naomi (Trinity Fatu) |
|
| 8 | 40 | Raw | 24 | Jack Swagger (Donald Hager Jr.) |
|
| 8 | 41 | SmackDown | 17 | The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) (Ryan Parmeter and Eric Thompson) |
|
| 9 | 42 | Raw | 25 | The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) (Mark LoMonaco and Devon Hughes) |
|
| 9 | 43 | SmackDown | 18 | Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona) |
|
| 9 | 44 | Raw | 26 | Summer Rae (Danielle Moinet) |
|
| 9 | 45 | SmackDown | 19 | Apollo Crews (Sesugh Uhaa) |
|
| 9 | 46 | Raw | 27 | Mark Henry | |
| 9 | 47 | SmackDown | 20 | Alexa Bliss (Alexis Kaufman) |
Drafted from NXT |
| 10 | 48 | Raw | 28 | Braun Strowman (Adam Scherr) |
|
| 10 | 49 | SmackDown | 21 | Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) (Mattias Clement and Curtis Hussey) |
|
| 10 | 50 | Raw | 29 | Bo Dallas (Taylor Rotunda) |
|
| 10 | 51 | SmackDown | 22 | Eva Marie (Natalie Coyle) |
|
| 10 | 52 | Raw | 30 | The Shining Stars (Primo and Epico) (Edwin Colón and Orlando Colón) |
|
| 10 | 53 | SmackDown | 23 | The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) (Matthew Rehwoldt and John Smith) |
|
| 11 | 54 | Raw | 31 | Alicia Fox (Victoria Crawford) |
|
| 11 | 55 | SmackDown | 24 | Erick Rowan (Joseph Rudd) |
|
| 11 | 56 | Raw | 32 | Dana Brooke (Ashley Sebera) |
|
| 11 | 57 | SmackDown | 25 | Mojo Rawley (Dean Muhtadi) |
Drafted from NXT |
| 11 | 58 | Raw | 33 | Curtis Axel (Joseph Hennig) |
|
| 11 | 59 | SmackDown | 26 | Carmella (Leah Van Dale) |
Drafted from NXT |
Undrafted
Several wrestlers remained undrafted mainly due to injury or inactivity, most of which eventually went to a brand. The chart is organized by date.[5]
| Employee (Real name) |
Reason for not being drafted | Subsequent status | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryback (Ryan Reeves) |
Contract dispute | Released | August 8, 2016 | Ryback was released from WWE due to the contract dispute. |
| Nikki Bella (Stephanie Garcia-Colace) |
Neck injury | SmackDown | August 21, 2016 | Returned at SummerSlam, replacing the suspended Eva Marie, in a SmackDown match teaming with Natalya and Alexa Bliss to defeat Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Carmella. |
| Triple H (Paul Levesque) |
Executive status (storyline COO) | Raw | August 29, 2016 | Returned to help Kevin Owens win the vacant WWE Universal Championship on Raw. |
| Heath Slater (Heath Miller III) |
Only full time/healthy wrestler to not be drafted. | SmackDown | September 13, 2016 | Won the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship tournament with Rhyno at Backlash, thereby earning a SmackDown contract and signed the contract two days later on SmackDown Live. |
| Luke Harper (Jon Huber) |
Knee injury | SmackDown | October 9, 2016 | Returned at No Mercy to help Bray Wyatt defeat Randy Orton. |
| The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) |
Semi-active | SmackDown | November 15, 2016 | Returned at SmackDown's 900th episode. |
| Emma (Tenille Dashwood) |
Back injury | Raw | - | Will return to the Raw brand as "Emmalina". |
| The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) |
Inactive | Undrafted | - | Only makes sporadic appearances. Last appearance was at WrestleMania 32. |
| Rosa Mendes (Milena Roucka) |
Maternity leave | Undrafted | - | |
| Tamina (Sarona Snuka-Polamalu) |
Knee injury | Undrafted | - | |
| Tyson Kidd (Theodore Wilson) |
Neck injury | Undrafted | - |
Notes
- Tag teams/stables broken up as a result of the draft were The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper (initially undrafted, returned at No Mercy) to SmackDown; Braun Strowman to Raw), The Club (AJ Styles to SmackDown, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to Raw), and The Social Outcasts (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel to Raw, Heath Slater who went undrafted but has since been signed by SmackDown).
- Of the six NXT draft picks, two were made by Raw (Finn Bálor and Nia Jax), the other four were made by SmackDown (American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable), Alexa Bliss, Mojo Rawley, and Carmella).
- After the results at Battleground, Raw was the home of three WWE titles (WWE Women's Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship, and United States Championship), while SmackDown was the home of two WWE titles (WWE Championship and Intercontinental Championship). The WWE Universal Championship was introduced for Raw on July 25, 2016; the WWE Championship was subsequently renamed to WWE World Championship. The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship and WWE SmackDown Women's Championship were unveiled on August 23, 2016; Raw's Women's and Tag Team titles were subsequently renamed to reflect their exclusivity to Raw. The new WWE Cruiserweight Championship was then unveiled for Raw on September 14, 2016.
Response and aftermath
Following the brand extension draft, former WWE wrestlers made their return to WWE and sided with either Raw or SmackDown. Shelton Benjamin was supposed to return to SmackDown, but his return was put on hiatus due to a torn rotator cuff, which required surgery.[6] Jinder Mahal and Brian Kendrick (a part of Cruiserweight Classic) joined Raw, while Rhyno & Curt Hawkins joined SmackDown. Raw draftee Jack Swagger moved to SmackDown after his "Raw contract" was about to expire. SmackDown draftee Alberto Del Rio was released by WWE during his suspension. Raw tag team draftees The Dudley Boyz left WWE. Various competitors from Cruiserweight Classic signed contract to Raw due a part of Cruiserweight division. Former NXT Women's Champion Bayley joined Raw after her final match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II. Kenny and Mikey of The Spirit Squad joined SmackDown before No Mercy feuding with former member Nicky (Dolph Ziggler). Former WCW & WWE wrestler Goldberg returned to Raw to answer Paul Heyman's challenge to wrestle Brock Lesnar in a rematch from WrestleMania XX.
As a result of the reintroduction of the brand extension, the July 19 Draft episode (and the first live episode) of SmackDown on Tuesdays gained a viewership by 2.2 rating with 3.17 million viewers (compare to Raw's rating with 3.04 million viewers on the previous night), and was SmackDown's highest rated episode since December 2010.[7][8][9]
References
- ↑ Caldwell, James. "7/11 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (July 18, 2016). "7/18 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- ↑ Pappolla, Ryan. "Draft rules revealed: Everything you need to know about the WWE Draft". WWE. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ↑ Caldwell, James. "WWE Draft Details – Draft process, NXT call-ups, Brock & other part-timers, Ryback not included, Reigns's status, injured stars left off, Tag Teams". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- 1 2 3 "2016 WWE Draft results: WWE officially ushers in New Era". WWE. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Shelton Benjamin undergoing shoulder surgery, WWE return put on hold". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- ↑ WWE’s Live ‘SmackDown’ Debut Locks Up Show’s Top Rating Since 2010
- ↑ WWE Draft Scores Highest WWE SmackDown Rating In Years, When Was The Last Time SmackDown Beat RAW?
- ↑ WWE Raw ratings (July 18, 2016): Viewers down the night before the draft