The 2019 WWE Draft was the fourteenth WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brands. Returning to its original name (the "WWE Draft") and a traditional draft format, it was the second draft of 2019, following April's Superstar Shake-up. The draft began on the October 11 episode of Friday Night SmackDown (in Paradise, Nevada) and concluded on the October 14 episode of Monday Night Raw (in Denver, Colorado), with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. It was the first draft in which the brand's television networks were presented as having an influence over WWE's drafting decisions.
2019 was the first year in which WWE held two drafts during the same calendar year. This was because of the issues of the Wild Card Rule introduced with April's Superstar Shake-up and also because of SmackDowns move to Fox in October—Raw and SmackDown were both previously on the USA Network. Over 70 wrestlers (both singles competitors and tag teams) from the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and 205 Live rosters were eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown, including all Raw and SmackDown champions. Most draft picks were announced on the live broadcasts of SmackDown and Raw, while supplemental picks were announced afterwards via WWE's website. In storyline, wrestlers who were not drafted to either brand became free agents and could sign with the brand of their choosing. The Wild Card Rule also ended with this draft, although a similar but stricter interbrand rule, the Brand-to-Brand Invitation, was implemented in May 2020.
Production Background The WWE Draft is an annual process used by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE while a brand extension, or brand split, is in effect. The original brand extension occurred from 2002 to 2011, while the second and current brand split began in 2016. During a brand extension, the company divides its roster into brands where the wrestlers exclusively perform for each brand's respective television show, and the draft is used to refresh the rosters of the brand divisions, typically between the Raw and SmackDown brands.
In April 2019, WWE held the Superstar Shake-up, which was the promotion's 13th draft which had a nontraditional format in which drafting decisions were made behind the scenes rather than on-screen. Shortly after the Shake-up, WWE's chairman and chief executive officer Vince McMahon introduced the Wild Card Rule, in which up to four wrestlers would be allowed to appear on the opposing brand's show by invitation for one night only with unsanctioned appearances penalized. Following this, however, the Wild Card Rule's stipulations were not enforced; the rules were immediately broken, with numerous wrestlers freely appearing on both shows weekly without any penalties, blurring the lines between the Raw and SmackDown brands. With SmackDowns move to Fox in October and Raw remaining on the USA Network (part of Comcast's NBCUniversal), WWE decided to hold a second draft for 2019 to definitively split the two brands. The draft was announced to occur on the October 11 and 14 episodes of SmackDown and Raw, respectively. Returning to its original name (the "WWE Draft") and a traditional draft format, personalities from Fox and NBCUniversal were scheduled to appear; the first time that television networks were presented as having an influence over WWE's drafting decisions. The Wild Card Rule also ended with this draft.
The picks were presented by personalities associated with Fox Sports and NBCUniversal properties, including Fox MLB analyst Alex Rodriguez, Saturday Night Lives Michael Che and Colin Jost (who both performed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35 earlier in 2019), Mr. Robots Christian Slater, Fox NFL lead commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Mad Money host Jim Cramer, Fox MLB analysts Kevin Burkhardt and Frank Thomas, Fox NFL Sundays Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, and Tony Gonzalez, NFL analysts Ronde Barber, Charles Davis, Chris Spielman, and Daryl Johnston, Fox NFL Kickoffs Charissa Thompson, Michael Vick, and Peter Schrager, Big Noon Kickoffs Rob Stone (a former WWE 24/7 Champion), Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Urban Meyer, Fox College Football analyst Joel Klatt, Dulé Hill from USA's Psych and Suits, James Roday from Psych, Marcus Lemonis from CNBC's The Profit, Margaret Josephs and Melissa Gorga from Bravo's The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Rodney Harrison and Chris Simms from NBC's Football Night in America, and Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Mustoe, and Kyle Martino from Premier League Live.
2019 draft rules The rules of the draft were posted on WWE's website on October 10. The list of eligible wrestlers was posted the same day. Over 70 wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and 205 Live rosters, as well as tag teams, were eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown, including all Raw and SmackDown champions (although holders of the 24/7 Championship and WWE Women's Tag Team Championship were eligible to be drafted, they could appear on any brand until they lost their respective titles).
The rules of the draft were the following: Up to 30 picks were allotted on the October 11 SmackDown, while up to 41 picks were allotted on the October 14 Raw. For every two draft picks for SmackDown, Raw received three picks (due to SmackDown being a two-hour show, while Raw is three hours). Tag teams counted as one pick unless FOX or USA specifically only wanted a single member from the team as their pick. Any undrafted wrestlers became free agents and could sign with the brand of their choosing.
Selections The drafting pool was divided between the broadcasts of both shows, with up to 30 picks allotted on SmackDown and 41 on Raw. Any remaining picks from the respective draft pools were announced on WWE's website. Undrafted wrestlers (those not selected on the shows or announced via WWE.com) immediately became free agents and could sign with the brand of their choosing.
SmackDown (October 11) There were four rounds of draft picks during Night 1 of the 2019 draft. WWE's Chief Brand Officer (CBO) Stephanie McMahon announced the draft picks for each round. Representing Raw, Universal Champion Seth Rollins' disqualification win over SmackDown's representative, Roman Reigns, earned Raw the first draft pick of the night.
Rnd.Pick #Wrestler(s)Pre-draft brandPost-draft brandRoleBrand pick #11Becky LynchRawRawFemale wrestlerRaw Women's Champion112Roman ReignsSmackDownSmackDownMale wrestler113The O.C.RawRawMale stable214"The Fiend" Bray WyattRawSmackDownMale wrestler215Drew McIntyreRawRawMale wrestler326Randy OrtonSmackDownRawMale wrestler427Sasha BanksRawSmackDownFemale wrestler328RicochetRawRawMale wrestler529Braun StrowmanRawSmackDownMale wrestler4210Bobby LashleyRawRawMale wrestler6311Alexa BlissRawRawFemale wrestler 7312Lacey EvansRawSmackDownFemale wrestler5313Kevin OwensSmackDownRawMale wrestler8314The RevivalRawSmackDownMale tag team6315NatalyaRawRawFemale wrestler9416The Viking RaidersRawRawMale tag team10417Lucha House PartyRawSmackDownMale stable7418Nikki CrossRawRawFemale wrestler 11419Heavy Machinery SmackDownSmackDownMale tag team8420Street ProfitsNXTRawMale tag team12
Night 1 supplementary picks Eight additional picks were announced on WWE's website on October 13. Except for Apollo Crews, who was slated to be a part of the Night 2 pool, all wrestlers selected had initially gone undrafted during Night 1. Wrestler(s)Pre-draft brandRolePost-draft brandApollo CrewsSmackDownMale wrestlerSmackDownThe B-TeamSmackDownMale tag teamSmackDownDrew Gulak205 LiveMale wrestlerSmackDownEC3RawMale wrestlerRaw Eric YoungRawMale wrestlerRawHeath SlaterRawMale wrestlerSmackDownSin CaraSmackDownMale wrestlerRaw TaminaRawFemale wrestlerSmackDown
Raw (October 14) There were six rounds of draft picks during Night 2 of the 2019 draft. WWE's CBO Stephanie McMahon again announced the draft picks for each round. Number one Raw draft pick and Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch defeated SmackDown representative Charlotte Flair, who replaced SmackDown draftee Sasha Banks (who was not medically cleared to compete), to earn Raw the first draft pick of the night.
Rnd.Pick #Wrestler(s)Pre-draft brandPost-draft brandRoleBrand pick #11Seth RollinsRawRawMale wrestlerUniversal Champion112RawSmackDownMale wrestler and managerWWE Champion (Lesnar)113Charlotte FlairSmackDownRawFemale wrestler214The New DaySmackDownSmackDownMale stable215Andrade with Zelina VegaSmackDownRawMale wrestler and female manager326The Kabuki WarriorsSmackDownRaw Female tag teamWomen's Tag Team Champions427Daniel BryanSmackDownSmackDownMale wrestler328RusevSmackDownRawMale wrestler529BayleySmackDownSmackDownFemale wrestlerSmackDown Women's Champion4210Aleister BlackSmackDownRawMale wrestler6311Cedric AlexanderRawRawMale wrestler7312SmackDown (Nakamura)SmackDown5Raw (Zayn)313Humberto Carrillo1205 LiveRawMale wrestler8314AliSmackDownSmackDownMale wrestler6315Erick RowanSmackDownRaw Male wrestler9416Buddy MurphySmackDownRawMale wrestler10417SmackDown (Ziggler)SmackDownMale tag team27Raw (Roode)418Jinder MahalSmackDownRawMale wrestler11419CarmellaSmackDownSmackDownFemale wrestler8420R-TruthSmackDownRawMale wrestler24/7 Champion12521Samoa JoeRawRawMale wrestler13522The MizRawSmackDownMale wrestler9523Akira Tozawa1205 LiveRawMale wrestler14524King CorbinRawSmackDownMale wrestler10525Shelton BenjaminSmackDownRawMale wrestler15626Rey MysterioRawRawMale wrestler16627Shorty Gable1SmackDownSmackDownMale wrestler11628Titus O'NeilRawRawMale wrestler17629EliasSmackDownSmackDownMale wrestler12630Liv MorganSmackDownRawFemale wrestler18
1 – Carrillo, Tozawa, and Gable originally went undrafted on Night 1, but were drafted during Night 2. 2 – Ziggler and Roode were Raw Tag Team Champions going into the event, but they lost the titles to Raw draftees The Viking Raiders prior to being drafted to SmackDown.
Night 2 supplementary picks Ten additional picks were announced on WWE The Bump and via WWE's website on October 16. With the exception of Cesaro, who was slated to be a part of the Night 1 pool, all wrestlers selected had initially gone undrafted during Night 2.
Wrestler(s)Pre-draft brandRolePost-draft brandCesaroRawMale wrestlerSmackDownRawMale tag teamRawDana BrookeRawFemale wrestlerSmackDownDrake Maverick205 LiveMale wrestler205 Live General ManagerSmackDown Fire and DesireSmackDownFemale tag teamSmackDownThe IIconicsSmackDownFemale tag teamRawLuke HarperSmackDown Male wrestlerSmackDown Mojo RawleyRawMale wrestlerRawNo Way JoséRawMale wrestlerRawSarah LoganRawFemale wrestlerRaw
Post-draft trades Following Night 2 on the premiere episode of Backstage on October 15, WWE's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Triple H announced a trade between Raw and SmackDown. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were traded to SmackDown in exchange for future draft pick considerations. Some more trades were made the following year.