– WWE has announced the official rules and talent pools for this year’s WWE Draft. Of Note, champions specific to each brand will now be protected. Typically, all the champions were up for grabs during the Draft, which could make things very confusing considering there were Raw and SmackDown Tag Team and Women’s Titles, making the WWE Draft a convoluted mess at times.
That no longer seems to be an issue now with the new rules, as the champions will finally be protected during the draft, save for the Women’s Tag Team Titles, which have been able to move between brands since they started. Per WWE, Damian Priest, Becky Lynch, Awesome Truth and Sami Zayn will remain on Raw. Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes, Bayley, A-Town Down Under and Logan Paul will remain on SmackDown. Here are the newly announced rules for this year’s Draft:
* On SmackDown there will be four rounds, with 16 total picks
* On Raw there will be six rounds, with 24 total picks
* Champions on each brand are protected
* Women’s Tag Team Champions are eligible
* SmackDown will pick first on Friday (April 26)
* Raw will pick first on Monday (April 29)
* Rosters lock on Monday, May 6
Here is the first talent pool available for the draft on Friday, April 26 for SmackDown:
AJ Styles
Alba Fyre
Isla Dawn
Otis
Chad Gable
Maxxine Dupri
Akira Tozawa
Bianca Belair
Ricochet
Randy Orton
Nia Jax
Liv Morgan
LA Knight
Jey Uso
Ivar
Cedric Alexander
Ashante ‘Thee’ Adonis
Bron Breakker
Seth Rollins
Shayna Baszler
Sheamus
Roman Reigns
Solo Sikoa
Tama Tonga
Paul Heyman
Karl Anderson
Luke Gallows
Michin
Zoey Stark
Plus NXT Superstars
And here is the talent pool for WWE Raw on Monday, April 29:
Braun Strowman
Johnny Gargano
Tommaso Ciampa
Apollo Crews
Bronson Reed
Candice LeRae
Indi Hartwell
Chelsea Green
Piper Niven
CM Punk
Brutus Creed
Julius Creed
Ivy Nile
Gunther
Ludwig Kaiser
Giovanni Vinci
Paul Ellering
Scarlett
Akam
Rezar
Karrion Kross
Drew McIntyre
Kairi Sane
Auska
IYO SKY
Dakota Kai
Finn Balor
JD McDonagh
Dominik Mysterio
Kayden Carter
Katana Chance
Kevin Owens
Santos Escobar
Angel
Berto
Elektra Lopez
Naomi
Natalya
B-Fab
Montez Ford
Angelo Dawkins
Bobby Lashley
Tegan Nox
Shinsuke Nakamura
Kit Wilson
Elton Prince
Odyssey Jones
Xavier Woods
Kofi Kingston
Pete Dunne
Tyler Bate
Tiffany Stratton
Rey Mysterio
Carlito
Dragon Lee
Joaquin Wilde
Cruz Del Toro
Zelina Vega
Jade Cargill
Plus NXT Superstars
🚨BREAKING NEWS 🚨
The official #WWEDraft rules are here!
NIGHT 1 THIS FRIDAY on #SmackDown!
NIGHT 2 MONDAY, APRIL 29 on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/ROLIad5XGF— WWE (@WWE) April 24, 2024
These WWE Superstars are eligible to be drafted in the 2024 #WWEDraft MONDAY, APRIL 29TH on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/WSkFvzkDwd
— WWE (@WWE) April 24, 2024
These WWE Superstars are eligible to be drafted in the 2024 #WWEDraft THIS FRIDAY on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/5yKyOpLBgc
— WWE (@WWE) April 24, 2024
