# 2024 WWE Draft

The 2024 WWE Draft was the 18th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the April 26 episode of Friday Night SmackDown (in Cincinnati, Ohio) and concluded with the April 29 episode of Monday Night Raw (in Kansas City, Missouri), with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. This was the first draft held with WWE under TKO Group Holdings. Draft results went into effect beginning with the May 6 episode of Raw.

## Production
### Background

The WWE Draft is a process used by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE while a brand extension, or brand split, is in effect. The original brand extension occurred from 2002 to 2011, while the second and current brand split began in 2016. During a brand extension, the company divides its roster into what they call brands and wrestlers exclusively perform for each brand's respective television show, albeit with some exceptions. The draft is used to refresh the rosters of the brand divisions, typically between the Raw and SmackDown brands, which are regarded as the main roster. Since 2016, wrestlers from WWE's developmental brand, NXT, have been eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown.
During an appearance on WWE wrestler Logan Paul's podcast Impaulsive on April 5, 2024, WWE Chief Content Officer (CCO) Triple H revealed that the 2024 draft was imminent. Just three days later on April 8, the draft was confirmed for the April 26 and April 29 episodes of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox and Monday Night Raw on the USA Network, respectively. Draft results went into effect beginning with the May 6 episode of Raw, two days after the Backlash France pay-per-view and livestreaming event.

## Selections

The draft pools were announced on April 24, 2024. It was also announced that the reigning champions—World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest, Women's World Champion Becky Lynch, Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, and World Tag Team Champions Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) for Raw and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes, WWE Women's Champion Bayley, United States Champion Logan Paul, and WWE Tag Team Champions A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) for SmackDown—were ineligible to be drafted and would remain on their respective brands. While the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship would remain eligible to challengers from all three brands, reigning champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) were still eligible to be drafted as the brand that picked them was where they would be assigned upon loss of the title.

### Night 1: SmackDown (April 26)

There were four rounds of draft picks on Night 1 with each brand receiving two picks each round; SmackDown went first due to Night 1 taking place as that night's episode of SmackDown. Draft selections were announced by various WWE Hall of Famers, veterans, and wrestlers. In the first round, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes announced SmackDown's picks while Hall of Famer and WWE CCO Triple H announced Raw's. Round two picks were announced by women's wrestling veteran Michelle McCool for SmackDown and Hall of Famer Torrie Wilson for Raw. The third round picks were announced by Hall of Famers The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley), with Bubba announcing SmackDown's and D-Von announcing Raw's. The fourth and final round picks were announced by Hall of Famers Theodore Long for SmackDown and John "Bradshaw" Layfield for Raw.
| Round | Brand pick # | Overall pick # | Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Post-draft brand | Role |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Bianca Belair | SmackDown | SmackDown | Female wrestler |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Jey Uso | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Carmelo Hayes | NXT | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | Seth "Freakin" Rollins | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 2 | 3 | 5 | Randy Orton | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| 2 | 3 | 6 | Bron Breakker | SmackDown | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 2 | 4 | 7 | Nia Jax | Raw | SmackDown | Female wrestler |
| 2 | 4 | 8 | Liv Morgan | Raw | Raw | Female wrestler |
| 3 | 5 | 9 | LA Knight | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| 3 | 5 | 10 | Ricochet | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 3 | 6 | 11 | The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Paul Heyman) | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male tag team with manager |
| 3 | 6 | 12 | Sheamus | SmackDown | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 4 | 7 | 13 | AJ Styles | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| 4 | 7 | 14 | Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Maxxine Dupri) | Raw | Raw | Mixed stable |
| 4 | 8 | 15 | Andrade | Raw | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| 4 | 8 | 16 | Kiana James | NXT | Raw | Female wrestler |

#### Night 1 supplemental picks

These wrestlers were included in the Night 1 draft pool, but were not drafted on SmackDown. Their draft selections were revealed on WWE's social media platforms after SmackDown went off air.
| Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Post-draft brand | Role |
| Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn | SmackDown | Raw | Female tag team |
| Baron Corbin | NXT | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| Cedric Alexander and Ashante "Thee" Adonis | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male tag team |
| Ivar | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| Shayna Baszler | Raw | Raw | Female wrestler |
| The O.C. (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Michin) | SmackDown | SmackDown | Mixed stable |
| Zoey Stark | Raw | Raw | Female wrestler |

### Night 2: Raw (April 29)

There were six rounds of draft picks on Night 2 with each brand receiving two picks each round; Raw went first due to Night 2 taking place as that night's episode of Raw. Draft selections were announced by various Hall of Famers, veterans, wrestlers, as well as a celebrity. Both Raw and SmackDown's first round picks were announced by Stephanie McMahon. YouTuber and rapper iShowSpeed announced Raw's second round picks while SmackDown's were announced by United States Champion Logan Paul. Round three picks were announced by Hall of Famers John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Ron Simmons of the Acolytes Protection Agency, with Bradshaw announcing Raw's picks and Simmons announcing SmackDown's. The fourth round picks were announced by Hall of Famers Teddy Long and Alundra Blayze, with Long announcing Raw's picks and Blayze announcing SmackDown's. Hall of Famers The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) returned to announce the fifth round picks, with Bubba announcing Raw's picks and D-Von announcing SmackDown's. The sixth and final round picks were announced by the respective General Managers of Raw and SmackDown, Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis.
| Round | Brand pick # | Overall pick # | Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Post-draft brand | Role |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Imperium (Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser) | Raw | Raw | Male tag team |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Jade Cargill | SmackDown | SmackDown | Female wrestler |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Asuka, and Kairi Sane) | SmackDown | Raw | Female stable WWE Women's Tag Team Champions (Asuka and Sane) |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Owens | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| 2 | 3 | 5 | CM Punk | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 2 | 3 | 6 | The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, and B-Fab) | SmackDown | SmackDown | Mixed stable |
| 2 | 4 | 7 | Braun Strowman | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 2 | 4 | 8 | Tiffany Stratton | SmackDown | SmackDown | Female wrestler |
| 3 | 5 | 9 | Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro, Zelina Vega, and Carlito) | SmackDown | Raw | Mixed stable |
| 3 | 5 | 10 | Legado Del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto, and Elektra Lopez) | SmackDown | SmackDown | Mixed stable |
| 3 | 6 | 11 | Drew McIntyre | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 3 | 6 | 12 | Shinsuke Nakamura | Raw | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| 4 | 7 | 13 | The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh) | Raw | Raw | Male stable |
| 4 | 7 | 14 | Naomi | SmackDown | SmackDown | Female wrestler |
| 4 | 8 | 15 | Ilja Dragunov | NXT | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 4 | 8 | 16 | Chelsea Green and Piper Niven | Raw | SmackDown | Female tag team |
| 5 | 9 | 17 | The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) | Raw | Raw | Male tag team |
| 5 | 9 | 18 | Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince) | SmackDown | SmackDown | Male tag team |
| 5 | 10 | 19 | Lyra Valkyria | NXT | Raw | Female wrestler |
| 5 | 10 | 20 | Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell | Raw | SmackDown | Female tag team |
| 6 | 11 | 21 | The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, Rezar, Scarlett, and Paul Ellering) | SmackDown | Raw | Mixed stable and managers |
| 6 | 11 | 22 | #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) | Raw | SmackDown | Male tag team |
| 6 | 12 | 23 | Bronson Reed | Raw | Raw | Male wrestler |
| 6 | 12 | 24 | Blair Davenport | NXT | SmackDown | Female wrestler |

#### Night 2 supplemental picks

These wrestlers were included in the Night 2 draft pool, but were not drafted on Raw. Their draft selections were revealed on WWE's social media platforms after Raw went off air.
| Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Post-draft brand | Role |
| Apollo Crews | Raw | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| Diamond Mine (Brutus Creed, Julius Creed, and Ivy Nile) | Raw | Raw | Mixed stable |
| Giovanni Vinci | Raw | SmackDown | Male wrestler |
| Kayden Carter and Katana Chance | Raw | Raw | Female tag team |
| Natalya | Raw | Raw | Female wrestler |
| New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) | SmackDown | Raw | Male tag team |

### Wrestlers not included

The following wrestlers were not listed in either draft pool, mostly due to inactivity as a result of medical reasons.
| Wrestler(s) | Pre-draft brand | Reason for omission (if any) | Subsequent status | Date | Role | Notes |
| Brock Lesnar | Free agent | Inactive, reportedly due to being referenced in the allegations against Vince McMahon and was directly named in an amended claim in January 2025. | Free agent | May 6, 2024 | Male wrestler | Last appeared on August 5, 2023, at SummerSlam. Remained listed as a free agent following the draft. |
| Omos and MVP | Free agents | Unknown | Free agents | May 6, 2024 | Male wrestler and manager | Last appeared on the April 5, 2024, episode of SmackDown. Remained listed as free agents following the draft. MVP left WWE shortly after the draft and was signed by rival promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in September 2024. Omos subsequently began performing in the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah in December 2024 but left in January 2025 to return to WWE. |
| Rhea Ripley | Raw | Inactive due to shoulder injury | Raw | May 6, 2024 | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the April 15, 2024, episode of Raw. Remained listed on the Raw roster following the draft. Returned on the July 8, 2024, episode. |
| Sonya Deville | Raw | Inactive due to ACL injury | Raw | May 20, 2024 | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the July 28, 2023, episode of SmackDown. Returned on the May 20, 2024, episode of Raw; however, her WWE contract expired in February 2025 and was not renewed. |
| Dexter Lumis | Raw | Unknown | Raw | June 17, 2024 | Male wrestler | Last appeared on the June 1, 2023, episode of Main Event (taped on May 29). Returned on the June 17, 2024, episode of Raw. |
| Nikki Cross | Raw | Unknown | Raw | June 17, 2024 | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the February 12, 2024, episode of Raw. Returned on the June 17, 2024, episode. |
| Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy | SmackDown | Was originally inactive due to Bray Wyatt's absence, but took extended time off following Wyatt's death in August 2023. | Raw | June 17, 2024 | Male wrestler | Last appeared on the March 3, 2023, episode of SmackDown. Returned on the June 17, 2024, episode of Raw, now portraying both Howdy and his original persona of Bo Dallas. |
| Roman Reigns | SmackDown | Originally included as part of The Bloodline in the Night 1 draft pool, but his special counsel Paul Heyman withdrew Reigns from eligibility prior to draft selections being made due to the turmoil within The Bloodline. | SmackDown | August 3, 2024 | Male wrestler | Last appeared in the Night 2 main event of WrestleMania XL on April 7, 2024. Returned at SummerSlam on August 3, 2024. |
| Jimmy Uso | SmackDown | Inactive due to undisclosed injury | SmackDown | October 5, 2024 | Male wrestler | Last appeared on the April 12, 2024, episode of SmackDown. Returned at Bad Blood on October 5, 2024. |
| Raquel Rodriguez | Raw | Inactive due to mast cell activation syndrome | Raw | October 5, 2024 | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the February 26, 2024, episode of Raw. Returned at Bad Blood on October 5, 2024. |
| Erik | Raw | Inactive due to neck injury | Raw | October 7, 2024 | Male wrestler | Last appeared on the September 14, 2023, episode of Main Event (taped on September 11). Returned with Ivar as the renamed War Raiders on the October 14, 2024, episode of Raw (taped on October 7). |
| Shotzi | SmackDown | Inactive due to ACL injury | NXT | December 10, 2024 | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the February 20, 2024, episode of NXT (taped on February 13). Returned on the December 10 episode. |
| Charlotte Flair | SmackDown | Inactive due to knee injury | SmackDown | February 1, 2025 | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the December 8, 2023, episode of SmackDown. On the January 17, 2025, episode, Flair appeared in a vignette announcing that she would be returning to in-ring competition, and subsequently returned at the Royal Rumble on February 1. |
| Alexa Bliss | Raw | Inactive due to maternity leave | SmackDown | February 1, 2025 | Female wrestler | Last appeared at the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2023. Returned at the Royal Rumble on February 1, 2025, and was subsequently assigned to SmackDown on February 7. |
| Carmella | Raw | Inactive due to maternity leave | Contract Expiration | February 21, 2025 | Female wrestler | Last appeared on March 31, 2023, for the WrestleMania 39 set reveal. Her WWE contract expired in February 2025 and was not renewed. |
| Tamina | SmackDown | Unknown | | | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the March 2, 2023, episode of Main Event (taped on February 27). Removed from active roster in July 2024. |
| Valhalla | Raw | Inactive due to maternity leave | | | Female wrestler | Last appeared on the March 4, 2024, episode of Raw. |

## Aftermath
### Post-draft moves and changes

Main roster wrestlers would continue to appear in NXT with WWE president Nick Khan stating this cross-over of talent from Raw and SmackDown to NXT was intentional, as he said there was potential for NXT to become WWE's third brand again while still developing younger wrestlers. Meanwhile, WWE began a wider talent exchange with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Several TNA wrestlers would subsequently make appearances on NXT's weekly television series and livestreaming events and vice versa.
| Performer(s) | Pre-change brand | Post-change brand | Date | Role |
| Mike Rome | SmackDown | NXT | May 8, 2024 | Male ring announcer |
| Alicia Taylor | NXT | SmackDown | May 8, 2024 | Female ring announcer |
| Joe Gacy | NXT | Raw | June 17, 2024 | Male wrestler |
| Cedric Alexander | SmackDown | NXT | July 9, 2024 | Male wrestler |
| Ashante "Thee" Adonis | SmackDown | NXT | July 9, 2024 | Male wrestler |
| Lillian Garcia | Free agent | Raw | October 21, 2024 | Female ring announcer |

### Transfer window

During the December 6 episode of SmackDown, in preparation for Raw's move to Netflix on January 6, 2025, WWE announced a transfer window, wherein the general managers of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT could negotiate the transfer of wrestlers between brands. The transfer window closed during the 2025 Royal Rumble weekend, although some transfers were announced over the following week.
| Performer(s) | Pre-transfer brand | Post-transfer brand | Date | Role |
| Braun Strowman | Raw | SmackDown | December 13, 2024 | Male wrestler |
| Logan Paul | SmackDown | Raw | December 18, 2024 | Male wrestler |
| Alicia Taylor | SmackDown | Raw | January 2, 2025 | Female ring announcers |
| Lillian Garcia | Raw | SmackDown | January 2, 2025 | Female ring announcers |
| Michael Cole | SmackDown | Raw | January 6, 2025 | Play-by-play commentator |
| Corey Graves | SmackDown | NXT | January 7, 2025 | Color commentator |
| Joe Tessitore | Raw | SmackDown | January 10, 2025 | Play-by-play commentator |
| Wade Barrett | Raw | SmackDown | January 10, 2025 | Color Commentator |
| The Wyatt Sicks (Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Nikki Cross) | Raw | SmackDown | January 13, 2025 | Mixed stable |
| Bayley | SmackDown | Raw | January 20, 2025 | Female wrestler |
| The Miz | Raw | SmackDown | January 24, 2025 | Male wrestler |
| Damian Priest | Raw | SmackDown | January 24, 2025 | Male wrestler |
| A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) | SmackDown | Raw | January 24, 2025 | Male tag team |
| Zelina Vega | Raw | SmackDown | January 27, 2025 | Female wrestler |
| R-Truth | Raw | SmackDown | January 31, 2025 | Male wrestler |
| AJ Styles | SmackDown | Raw | February 3, 2025 | Male wrestler |
| Drew McIntyre | Raw | SmackDown | February 7, 2025 | Male wrestler |
| Katana Chance and Kayden Carter | Raw | SmackDown | February 7, 2025 | Female tag team |
| Alba Fyre | Raw | SmackDown | March 7, 2025 | Female wrestler |