The 2024 WWE Draft will be kicking off on tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown, and Fightful Select has shared some details on what is planned.
As of Wednesday (April 24), the talent had not been told about how this year’s draft would work or what brand they’d be moving to. The only thing they know is their upcoming bookings that were previously set in their talent relations app.
WWE officials reportedly refused to provide any insight on if a few stars would be drafted to a specific brand, or whether a full re-draft will be taking place. It is said that talent in the Supplemental Draft would only find out the next day via WWE’s announcement on social media about where they’re going. Several talents still didn’t know which brand they’d be heading to as of this morning, but they did expect to find out this afternoon.
The report states that the recent change in the title belts was done to give WWE more flexibility than in the past. As you know by now, the women’s and tag team titles are no longer brand-specific titles. This was done to avoid awkward title trades. It is said that WWE ultimately opted for a new rule this year stating that all champions are protected to their specific brand. This means that even though the titles have already been changed, the champions won’t be moving this year. As far as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles (The Kabuki Warriors) are concerned, the women’s tag team champions can be drafted to a “home brand,” but the titles will continue to float between brands.
Several WWE NXT Superstars will be eligible for the Draft tonight and on Monday. The names of the NXT Superstars who will be eligible were intentionally kept hidden in the talent pools to offer more of a surprise factor this year. It is said that WWE will be holding a “draft party” for the fans at the WWE Performance Center this week.
Some within WWE NXT are concerned that the brand might be “picked dry” with this year’s Draft. There is also said to be concern about multiple talents not knowing if they are getting called up to the main roster. As of earlier today, no NXT Superstar was aware of their status and whether they were going to be called up. This is said to be causing another concern about talent being drafted to the main roster without a creative plan in place.
The report also addresses the possibility of talents being drafted to NXT from the main roster, since some talents might view the move as a demotion. One source said there are at least several main roster talents who would likely benefit from an NXT run.
