New Era Officially Begins After 2024 WWE Draft Concludes
After debatably the greatest WrestleMania of all time, a new era is upon us in the WWE. The 2024 WWE Draft concluded Monday night after Monday Night Raw in Kansas City. Fresh new faces have entered the field and superstars are coming and going between Raw and SmackDown. The WWE Drafts in the past have been known as some of the biggest shake-ups in the history of WWE because of brand changes for multiple superstars and the new faces that step up to the current champions. Both Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis are very pleased with their draft selections as they made their respective brands better than ever.
Night One of the 2024 WWE Draft started off with a bang this past Friday night on SmackDown. The Chief Content Officer, Triple H, came out to announce the first four picks of the draft. SmackDown selected both Bianca Belair and the former NXT champion Carmelo Hayes, while Raw selected Jey Uso and Seth “Freakin” Rollins. Round Two began with SmackDown selecting Randy Orton and Nia Jax, while Raw selected Bron Breakker and Liv Morgan. Round Three came along real quickly with SmackDown selecting 2024 Breakout Superstar of the Year LA Knight as well as The Bloodline including Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and WWE Hall of Famer, “The Wiseman” Paul Heyman. Raw then selected Ricochet and the returning “Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, after being sidelined for nine months with a shoulder injury. Rounding out the fourth and final round of Night One, SmackDown selected AJ Styles and Andrade, while Raw selected Alpha Academy members Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Maxxine Dupri, as well as the first NXT call-up Kiana James.
Three days later in Kansas City for Night Two of the Draft, Raw started the first round strong by selecting Imperium members Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser, as well as Damage CTRL members Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Asuka, and Kairi Sane. SmackDown selected Jade Cargill and Kevin Owens immediately following. Raw started off Round Two by selecting CM Punk and Braun Strowman, who’d been sidelined a year due to neck surgery. In the Third-Round, Raw selected LWO members Rey Mysterio, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde, Zelina Vega, Dragon Lee, and Carlito, as well as Drew McIntyre. SmackDown then selected Legado del Fantasma members Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto, and Elektra Lopez, as well as Shinsuke Nakamura. In the Fourth-Round, Raw selected Judgment Day members Finn Bálor, Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh, then the second NXT call-up Ilja Dragunov. SmackDown continued then to select Naomi and the team of Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. During the Fifth-Round, Raw selected New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, as well as another NXT call-up Lyra Valkyria, while SmackDown selected Pretty Deadly members Elton Prince and Kit Wilson, as well as the team of Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell. Night Two of the WWE Draft concluded with Raw selecting The Final Testament members Karrion Kross, Akam and Rezar, Paul Ellering, and Scarlett, as well as “Big” Bronson Reed. SmackDown ended the draft by selecting DIY members Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, as well as the final NXT call-up of the draft Blair Davenport.
With the 2024 WWE Draft now concluded, who knows what will happen with the whole new landscape of superstars and what they will bring to the table? WWE’s first Premium Live Event, Backlash, is coming up this Saturday in France with a match card full of matches you certainly don’t want to miss. It is a new era in WWE, and I guarantee things are about to change, hopefully for the better.
