8 Puzzling Things About The Original WWE Draft
6. Rikishi Picked 13th Overall
The expected names went early on, such as The Rock, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan, Rob Van Dam, and others. There wasn't a true head-scratcher until the thirteenth pick, which was Smackdown's seventh choice. After the likes of mainstay upper-carders like Booker T, Edge, and Big Show went off the board, Rikishi was taken thirteenth.
With only ten selections per brand on the draft show, Rikishi was an odd choice. For the previous year or so, he'd only been a factor on sparing occasion, and his star wattage had diminished immensely from his near-main event run in 2000.
While others went undrafted altogether (we'll get to this later), Rikishi was treated like he was still a top guy. He still held novel appeal (depending on what hated villain's face he was sitting on), but he just wasn't a pick-guy at the time.