15 WWE Stars Change Brands During SmackDown's Draft

WWE split up some stables, switched some tag-teams and moved major players on SmackDown.

by Jamie Kennedy
WWE Draft 2021 Big E
WWE.com

WWE switched no less than 15 wrestlers from one brand to another during the opening night of the 2021 Draft on Friday's episode of SmackDown.

Big E, Bianca Belair, Edge, and the team of Rey and Dominik Mysterio traded SmackDown life for Raw. NXT worker Austin Theory also went to the Monday night flagship - he wasn't the biggest draft pick from WWE's new NXT 2.0 show though.

Hit Row's four members (Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Ashante Adonis, Top Dolla and B-Fab) all went to SmackDown. They've been joined by now ex-Raw stars like Charlotte Flair, Drew McIntyre, New Day members Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, and Jeff Hardy in moving to the blue brand.

Advertisement

Other notable (but totally pointless) picks included Roman Reigns, Naomi and the team of Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss staying on SmackDown. Meanwhile, Raw held onto RK-Bro, Nikki A.S.H, Rhea Ripley and Keith Lee during the Draft's opening night.

It's worth noting that New Day have switched sides; E, who was on SmackDown, is now on Raw. His pals Kofi and Xavier, who were on Mondays, will now work Fridays.

Advertisement

The 2021 Draft continues on Monday's edition of Raw.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.