2022 WWE Draft

= 2022 WWE Draft =
The 2022 WWE Draft was the 16th WWE Draftproduced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Rawand SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the October 1 episode of Friday Night SmackDown (in Baltimore, Maryland) and concluded with the October 4 episode of Monday Night Raw (in Nashville, Tennessee), with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. Unlike previous drafts, in which results took effect immediately, the results of the 2021 draft did not go into effect until the October 22 episode of SmackDown.
	2022 WWE Draft 	2022 WWE Draft
	Promotional poster featuring King Nakamura, Charlotte Flair, Damian Priest, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns, and Bobby Lashley	Promotional poster featuring King Nakamura, Charlotte Flair, Damian Priest, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns, and Bobby Lashley
	General information 	General information
	Sport 	Professional wrestling
	Date(s) 	October 11–15, 2022
	Location 	
* Royal Farms Arena(Oct. 1)
* Bridgestone Arena(Oct. 4)
	Overview 	Overview
	League 	WWE
	Teams 	RawSmackDownNXT (outgoing only)
	← 2020 	← 2020
== Production ==
=== Background ===
=== 2022 draft rules ===
The rules of the 2022 draft were revealed by WWE correspondent Megan Morant on Twitter during the day before the first night of the draft on October 1. Over 60 wrestlers (including tag teams) were eligible to be drafted across the two nights, with half being eligible the first night and the other half eligible the second night; however, no draft pools were revealed for which wrestlers were eligible for each night. Tag teams were counted as one pick unless Fox or USA Network officials (who were promoted as draft decision makers)specifically only wanted one member of the team. Wrestlers from NXT were also eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown, while any non-NXT wrestlers who were not drafted became (kayfabe) free agents and could sign with the brand of their choice. Unlike previous drafts, in which results took effect immediately, results of the 2021 draft did not become effective until the October 22 episode of SmackDown, the night after the Crown Jewelpay-per-view and livestreaming event.
== Draft Pool ==
=== Monday Night Raw ===
Number.	Wrestler(s) 	Brand	Role
1 	Brock Lesnar 	Raw 	Male wrestler
WWE Champion
2 	Edge 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Hall of Famer
United States Champion
3 	The Street Profits(Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) 	Raw 	Male tag team
Raw Tag Team Champions
4 	Reggie 	Raw 	Male wrestler
24/7 Champion
5 	Becky Lynch 	Raw 	Female wrestler
Raw Women's Champion
6 	Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux 	Raw 	Male wrestler and Female manager
2022 Men’s Royal Rumble Winner
7 	Bianca Belair 	Raw 	Female wrestler
2022 Women’s Royal Rumble Winner
8 	AJ Styles 	Raw 	Male wrestler
9 	Austin Theory 	Raw 	Male wrestler
10 	Akira Tozawa 	Raw 	Male wrestler
11 	Big E 	Raw 	Male wrestler
12 	Bobby Lashley 	Raw 	Male wrestler
13 	Damian Priest 	Raw 	Male wrestler
14 	Drake Maverick 	Raw 	Male wrestler
15 	Finn Bálor 	Raw 	Male wrestler
16 	Gable Steveson 	Raw 	Male wrestler
17 	Kevin Owens 	Raw 	Male wrestler
18 	John Morrison 	Raw 	Male wrestler
19 	R-Truth 	Raw 	Male wrestler
20 	Veer 	Raw 	Male wrestler
21 	Seth Rollins 	Raw 	Male wrestler
22 	T-Bar 	Raw 	Male wrestler
23 	The Miz 	Raw 	Male wrestler
24 	Alpha Academy(Chad Gable and Otis) 	Raw 	Male tag team
25 	Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez 	Raw 	Male tag team
26 	The Dirty Dawgs(Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode) 	Raw 	Male tag team
27 	The Hurt Business(MVP and Omos) 	Raw 	Male tag team
28 	The Hurt Business(Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin)	Raw 	Male tag team
29 	The Mysterio Dystany (Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio)	Raw 	Male tag team
30 	RK-Bro(Randy Orton and Riddle) 	Raw 	Male tag team
31 	Alexa Bliss 	Raw 	Female wrestler
32 	Carmella 	Raw 	Female wrestler
33 	Dana Brooke 	Raw 	Female wrestler
34 	Doudrop 	Raw 	Female wrestler
35 	Liv Morgan 	Raw 	Female wrestler
36 	Mia Yim 	Raw 	Female wrestler
37 	Nikki A. S. H. 	Raw 	Female wrestler
38 	Tamina 	Raw 	Female wrestler
39 	Nia Jax 	Raw 	Female wrestler
40 	Rhea Ripley 	Raw 	Female wrestler
=== Friday Night SmackDown ===
Number.	Wrestler(s) 	Brand 	Role 	 	 		
1 	Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman 	SmackDown	Male wrestler and manager
Universal Champion(Reigns)	 	 		
2 	Ricochet 	SmackDown	Male wrestlerIntercontinental Champion	 	 		
3 	The Usos(Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) 	SmackDown	SmackDown 	Male tag team
SmackDown Tag Team Champions	 		
4 	Charlotte Flair 	SmackDown	Female wrestler
SmackDown Women's Champion	 	 		
5 	The Boss N Glow (Sasha Banks and Naomi) 	SmackDown	Female tag team 
Women's Tag Team Champions	 	 		
6 	Cesaro 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
7 	Drew McIntyre 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
8
M 	 	 	 	 	 		
9 	Drew Gulak 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
10 	Jeff Hardy 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
11 	Mansoor 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
12 	Mace 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
13 	Mustafa Ali 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
14 	King Nakamura 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
15 	Rick Boogs 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
16 	Sami Zayn 	SmackDown	Male wrestler 	 	 		
17 	The Fight Club( Sheamus and Ridge Holland) 	SmackDown	Male tag team 	 	 		
18 	[[The Happy Folks (Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss) 	SmackDown	Male tag team 	 	 		
19 	The New Day(Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) 	SmackDown	Male tag team 	 	 		
20 	The Viking Raiders(Erik and Ivar) 	SmackDown	Male tag team 	 	 		
21 	Jinder Mahal and Shanky 	SmackDown	Male tag team 	 	 		
22 	Los Lotharios (Angel Garza, Humberto Carrillo and Zelina Vega)	SmackDown	Intergender trio 	 	 		
23 	Keith Lee (wrestler) and B-Fab) 	SmackDown	Intergender stable 	 	 		
24 	Aliyah 	SmackDown	Female wrestler 	 	 		
25
Natalya
SmackDown	Female wrestler 	 	 	 	 		
26 	Toni Storm 	SmackDown	Female wrestler 	 	 		
27 	Ronda Rousey 	SmackDown	Female wrestler
Royal Rumble in the women's Royal Rumble match	 	 		
28 	Shayna Baszler 	SmackDown	Female Wrestler 	 	 		
29 	Xia Li 	NXT 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler	30	The Ballys Sister (Shotzi and Tegan Nox)
SmackDown	Female tag team
; Notes
# One stable was split up as a result of the supplemental draft: Veer stayed on Raw while his stablemates, Jinder Mahal and Shanky, were drafted to SmackDown.
# Two tag teams were split up as a result of the supplemental draft: Tegan Nox was drafted to Raw while her tag team partner Shotzi stayed on SmackDown, and Taminawas drafted to Raw while her tag team partner Natalya stayed on SmackDown.
== Selections ==
=== Night 1: Raw (April 11) ===
There were team rounds of draft picks during night 1 of the 2022 draft. six rounds of draft picks on raw. Four rounds were on raw talk. Like the first night, both brands had two picks each round. WWE officials Adam Pearce again announced the draft picks.
Rnd.	Pick #	Wrestler(s) 	Pre-draft brand	Post-draft brand	Role 	Brand pick #
1 	1 	 	Raw 	 	1 	
1 	2 	 	SmackDown 	 	 	1
1 	3 	 	Raw 	 	 	2
1 	4 	 	SmackDown 	 	 	2
2 	5 	Seth Rollins 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male wrestler 	3
2 	6 	King Nakamura and Rick Boogs 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Male tag team
Intercontinental Champion(Nakamura)	3
2 	7 	Damian Priest 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
United States Champion	4
2 	8 	Sheamus 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler 	4
3 	9 	AJ Styles and Omos 	Raw 	Raw 	Male tag team 	5
3 	10 	Shayna Baszler 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Female Wrestler	
3 	11 	Kevin Owens 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male wrestler 	6
3 	12 	Xia Li 	NXT 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler	6
4 	13 	Street Profits(Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford)	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male tag team 	7
4 	14 	The Viking Raiders(Erik and Ivar) 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male tag team 	7
4 	15 	Finn Bálor 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male wrestler 	8
4 	16 	Ricochet 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler 	8
5 	17 	Karrion Kross 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler 	9
5 	18 	Angel Garzaand Humberto Carrillo 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male tag team 	9
5 	19 	Alexa Bliss 	Raw 	Raw 	Female wrestler	10
5 	20 	Cesaro 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler 	10
6 	21 	Carmella 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Female wrestler	11
6 	22 	Ridge Holland 	NXT 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler 	11
6 	23 	Gable Steveson 	Free agent 	Raw 	Male wrestler 	12
6 	24 	Sami Zayn 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler 	12
; Notes
# One stable was split up as a result of the second night: Xia Li was drafted to SmackDown while her Tian Sha stablemates, Boa and Mei Ying, remained on NXT.
# One tag team was split up as a result of the second night: Ridge Holland was drafted to SmackDown while his tag team partner Pete Dunne remained on NXT.
==== Night 1 supplemental picks (April 15) ====
These picks were announced on the October 4 episode of Raw Talk.
Wrestler(s) 	Pre-draft brand	Post-draft brand	Role
Dana Brooke 	Raw 	Raw 	Female wrestler
The Dirty Dawgs(Dolph Zigglerand Robert Roode) 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male tag team
The Hurt Business(Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin)	Raw 	Raw 	Male tag team
Jaxson Ryker 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Jinder Mahaland Shanky 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male tag team
Liv Morgan 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Female wrestler
Mia Yim 	Raw 	Raw 	Female wrestler
The Miz 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Natalya 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler
Shotzi 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler
Tamina 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Female wrestler
Tegan Nox 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Female wrestler
Veer 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
; Notes
# One stable was split up as a result of the supplemental draft: Veer stayed on Raw while his stablemates, Jinder Mahal and Shanky, were drafted to SmackDown.
# Two tag teams were split up as a result of the supplemental draft: Tegan Nox was drafted to Raw while her tag team partner Shotzi stayed on SmackDown, and Taminawas drafted to Raw while her tag team partner Natalya stayed on SmackDown.
=== Night 2: SmackDown (April 15) ===
There were eight rounds of draft picks during night 2 of the 2022 draft. There were four rounds on smackdown. There were four rounds on taking smackdown. Unlike previous drafts in which Raw received three picks and SmackDown only received two, both brands had two picks each round. WWE officials Adam Pearce announced the draft picks.
Rnd.	Pick #	Wrestler(s) 	Pre-draft brand	Post-draft brand	Role 	Brand pick #
1 	1 	Roman Reignswith Paul Heyman 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler and manager
Universal Champion(Reigns)	1
1 	2 	Big E 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
WWE Champion	1
1 	3 	Charlotte Flair 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler
Raw Women's Champion	2
1 	4 	Bianca Belair 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Female wrestler 	2
2 	5 	Drew McIntyre 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler 	3
2 	6 	RK-Bro(Randy Ortonand Riddle) 	Raw 	Raw 	Male tag team
Raw Tag Team Champions	3
2 	7 	The New Day(Kofi Kingstonand Xavier Woods) 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male tag team 	4
2 	8 	Edge 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Hall of Famer	4
3 	9 	Happy Corbinand Madcap Moss 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Male tag team 	5
3 	10 	Nikki A. S. H.and Rhea Ripley 	Raw 	Raw 	Female tag team
Women's Tag Team Champions	5
3 	11 	Hit Row(Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Ashante "Thee" Adonis, Top Dolla, and B-Fab)	NXT 	SmackDown 	Intergender stable	6
3 	12 	Keith "Bearcat" Lee 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler 	6
4 	13 	Naomi 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler 	7
4 	14 	Rey Mysterioand Dominik Mysterio 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male tag team 	7
4 	15 	Jeff Hardy 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler 	8
4 	16 	Austin Theory 	NXT 	Raw 	Male wrestler 	8
; Notes
# One stable was split up as a result of the first night: Austin Theory was drafted to Raw while his Way stablemates, Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis, Candice LeRae, and Indi Hartwell, remained on NXT.
==== Night 2 supplemental picks (April 1–16) ====
These picks were announced on October 1 via WWE's social media accounts and on the October 2 episode of Talking Smack.
Wrestler(s) 	Pre-draft brand	Post-draft brand	Role
Akira Tozawa 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Aliyah 	NXT 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler
Alpha Academy(Chad Gable and Otis)	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male tag team
Apollo Crewsand Commander Azeez 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Male tag team
Doudrop 	Raw 	Raw 	Female wrestler
Drake Maverick 	NXT 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Drew Gulak 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler
John Morrison 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Mace 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler
Mansoor 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler
Mustafa Ali 	Raw 	SmackDown 	Male wrestler
Nia Jax 	Raw 	Raw 	Female wrestler
R-Truth 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Reggie 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
24/7 Champion
T-Bar 	Raw 	Raw 	Male wrestler
Toni Storm 	SmackDown 	SmackDown 	Female wrestler
Zelina Vega 	SmackDown 	Raw 	Female wrestler
; Notes
# One tag team was split up as a result of the supplemental draft: Mace was drafted to SmackDown while his tag team partner T-Bar remained on Raw.
=== Free agents ===
Several wrestlers were made free agents due to injury, inactivity, or simply not being drafted despite being an active member of the rosters. Free agents can (kayfabe) sign with the brand of their choosing. The chart is organized by date.
Wrestler(s) 	Pre-draft brand	Reason for not being drafted
(if any)	Subsequent status 	Date 	Notes
Brock Lesnar 	Raw 	Contractual provision 	Free agent 	October 1, 2021 	During night 1 of the draft, Lesnar announced that he was a free agent (implying it was due to a deal arranged by Paul Heyman), thus is eligible to appear on any brand.
Lucha House Party(Gran Metalikand Lince Dorado)	Raw 	Were not drafted on either night	Released 	November 4, 2021 	Last appeared on the September 13, 2021, episode of Main Event. On November 4, both Dorado and Metalik were released from their WWE contracts.
Eva Marie 	Raw 	Was not drafted on either night 	Released 	November 4, 2021 	Last appeared on the September 27, 2021, episode of Raw. On November 4, Marie was released from her WWE contract.
Shane Thorne 	SmackDown 	Was not drafted on either night 	Released 	November 18, 2021	Last wrestled a dark matchon the September 24, 2021, episode of SmackDown. On November 18, Thorne was released from his WWE contract.
Maryse 	Raw 	Was not drafted on either night 	Raw 	November 29, 2021	Last appeared on the April 12, 2021, episode of Raw. Returned alongside her husband, The Miz, who was also returning after participating in Dancing with the Stars.
Elias 	Raw 	Was not drafted on either night 	Raw 	April 4, 2022 	Last appeared in a pre-taped vignette on the August 23, 2021 episode of Raw. Returned with a new gimmick, that of Elias' younger brother, Ezekiel , but returned as Elias in October 2022.
Lacey Evans 	Raw 	Inactive due to maternity leave 	SmackDown 	April 8, 2022 	Last appeared on the February 15, 2021, episode of Raw. Returned in a pre-taped vignette on SmackDown.
Asuka 	Raw 	Inactive due to a hand injury 	Raw 	April 25, 2022 	Last appeared at Money in the Bank. Returned and interrupted Becky Lynch, who was also making her return.
Titus O'Neil 	Raw 	Was not drafted on either night 	WWE Global Ambassador	July 18, 2022 	Last appeared at Wrestlemania 37 on April 10, 2021. Returned on the July 18, 2022, episode of Raw and announced he was a WWE Global Ambassador.
Bayley 	SmackDown 	Inactive due to torn ACL 	Raw 	July 30, 2022 	Last appeared on the June 25, 2021, episode of SmackDown. Returned at the 2022 SummerSlamand aligned with Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky (making their main roster debuts) to from a stable called Damage Control. They confronted Raw Women's ChampionBianca Belairafter she had successfully retained her title against Becky Lynch.
== Aftermath ==
== Notes ==
== References ==