ARTICLE AD
BY Derek Stoughton – ON April 25, 2024
Photo Courtesy of WWEYou have to know how to play the game. WWE has posted a list of the rules for the upcoming 2024 WWE Draft, which is scheduled to begin this Friday night on Smackdown.
You can see the rules below:
Champions on each brand will be protected and are not eligible to be drafted. As a result, Damian Priest, Becky Lynch, Awesome Truth and Sami Zayn will remain on Raw. Cody Rhodes, Bayley, A-Town Down Under and Logan Paul will remain on SmackDown.Even though their status as champions allows them to go to both brands, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane are eligible to be drafted. They will be assigned to that brand if they lose the titles.
Friday’s SmackDown will feature four rounds of draft picks being announced. Each round will consist of the brands making two picks apiece for a total of 16 picks being announced (8 for SmackDown and 8 for Raw).
Monday’s Raw will feature six rounds of draft picks being announced. Each round will consist of the brands making two picks apiece for a total of 24 picks (12 for Raw and 12 for SmackDown).
SmackDown will have the first pick on Friday, and Raw will have first pick on Monday.
Rosters will go into effect on Monday, May 6, two days after Backlash France.
The following superstars are eligible to be drafted:
Smackdown:
AJ Styles
Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn
Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri)
Andrade
Bianca Belair
Bron Breakker
Cedric Alexander and Ashante “Thee” Adonis
Ivar
Jey Uso
LA Knight
Liv Morgan
Nia Jax
Randy Orton
Ricochet
Seth Rollins
Shayna Baszler
Sheamus
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, “MFT” Tama Tonga and Paul Heyman)
The O.C. (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Michin)
Zoey Stark
* NXT Superstars will be eligible to be drafted.
Raw:
#DIY
Apollo Crews
Braun Strowman
Bronson Reed
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
CM Punk
The Creed Brothers (Julius Creed, Brutus Creed and Ivy Nile)
Damage CTRL (IYO SKY, Dakota Kai and Kabuki Warriors)
Drew McIntyre
Final Testament (Karrion Kross, AOP, Scarlett and Paul Ellering)
Giovanni Vinci
Imperium (Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser)
Jade Cargill
Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh)
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
Kevin Owens
Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto and Elektra Lopez)
LWO (Rey Mysterio, Carlito, Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde and Zelina Vega)
Naomi
Natalya
New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate)
New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)
Odyssey Jones
Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson)
Shinsuke Nakamura
Tegan Nox
The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Street Profits and B-Fab)
Tiffany Stratton
* NXT Superstars will be eligible to be drafted.
Editor’s Opinion:
I love this time of year. The draft is especially poignant this year, as this will truly give us a vision of how HHH thinks about his WWE. We’re going to get some new and fresh storylines, interesting pairings, and a wide spectrum of possibilities. I can’t wait!