WWE Draft 2023: 10 Roster Trades That MUST Happen

These Raw, SmackDown and NXT moves in WWE's upcoming 2023 Draft would be HUGE.

WWE SmackDown Cody Rhodes
WWE

Wrestling fans everywhere are begging WWE to deliver here.

The Draft routine is thus: WWE wheels out an authority figure (Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H etc) to make bold declarations about how the thing will change Raw and SmackDown > Draft happens > Several Raw/SmackDown workers get announced for the same show they're already on > A few notable changes do occur > WWE forgets about the whole thing within months, if not weeks.

That cannot be the case with this year's version. 2021's Draft was, without mincing words, sh*te - it'd suck if 2023's was the same boring procession of lazy announcements that failed to "shake up" anything at all. Basically, this Draft must be huge and show marked differences from current roster sheets.

It's unlikely that anybody will be sent to NXT on the 20 April Raw or 1 May SmackDown, but a few developmental workers are candidates for promotion. Meanwhile, others on the top two shows badly need a change of scenery. Their moves would also help liven things up for those staying put.

Here are 10 big time trades that must go down.

10. Bron Breakker (NXT > Raw)

WWE SmackDown Cody Rhodes
WWE

Bron Breakker's time on NXT is up.

The two-time champ has done all he can do in developmental, and it's time to see what he has to offer the main roster. Bron will only stagnate if he stays any longer on NXT anyway, so it'd make sense to pluck him from the brand following a recent heel turn and pop him on the flagship.

Yep, the pitch here is that Breakker heads to Raw and becomes one of the brand's new focal points as a midcard heel. It'd be silly of WWE to scrap the promising heel persona in favour of turning him back into a vanilla babyface, so they definitely need to steer clear of that.

A few wins over babyfaces like Johnny Gargano, Mustafa Ali and Rick Boogs would prepare Bron for bigger and better things on WWE's top TV show. Just imagine what he'd be capable of opposite Chad Gable too. What a match that'd be!

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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.