10 Most Shocking WWE Draft Moments

3. The Champ Is Here

Kurt Angle ECW
WWE.com

More than just being the first time an active WWE Champion had switched rosters, the arrival of John Cena on Raw as the inaugural 'random' selection of the 2005 Draft officially anointed the 'Doctor of Thuganomics' as WWE's biggest and brightest new star.

Cena had won the WWE Title at WrestleMania 21 in a double main event that also saw Batista achieve World Heavyweight Title supremacy in the show-closing encounter with Triple H.

The two had stereo ascensions up the card on separate brands in 2004 and ended up as the final two in January 2005's Royal Rumble match, but the 'Show of Shows' would prove the final high profile occasion Cena would be positioned underneath 'The Animal' in stature.

As well as both had done in their follow up programmes with JBL and Triple H, the switch was a public acknowledgment that John Cena was going to be the standout performer on Monday Night Raw, as the company grossly over-stacked the 'A' show with talent at the blue brand's expense.

The weeks-long format saw one superstar per show per week make a surprise entrance on their brand new stage, and Cena's Raw arrival was a mammoth way to promote the layout. Fittingly, Batista was the very last revelation during Smackdown's final draft night later that month.

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