10 Most Shocking WWE Draft Moments

1. New Game

Triple H Smackdown 2009
WWE.com

After the failed first tease of Triple H going blue brand-exclusive in 2004 appeared such an indignity to the 'King of Kings', it was momentous to see the company repeat the act in 2008. More surprising still was how much 'The Game' made of his time on the second-string show.

Heartily embracing the move whilst John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista clogged up Monday Night Raw, Triple H looked to have the time of his life alongside fellow Raw refugee Jeff Hardy and Smackdown cornerstones Edge and The Undertaker.

As defending WWE Champion for the bulk of his admittedly short run on the show, Triple H quietly assembled a choice selection of cult classic matches as a souvenir of his time as the show's weekly ring general.

Mini-programmes and rivalries lead to exciting clashes with Shelton Benjamin, The Brian Kendrick, MVP and others, as well as a downright miracle against The Great Khali at Summerslam 2008.

Showing vigour in his performance but rare vulnerability in his matches, he helped elevate Jeff Hardy to the main event club during their dovetailing battles with 'The Rated-R Superstar' and 'The Deadman', and his abrupt return to Raw for his WrestleMania 25 rivalry with Randy Orton was a disappointing end to one of his best ever years.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett