Numerous Backstage Details On 2024 WWE Draft Kicking Off On This Week's WWE SmackDown
It's that time of year again — the time when WWE puts all of its wrestlers in a box, shakes it around, and throws them all back out to see where they land for another 12 months. That's right, it's the 2024 WWE Draft, which begins tonight on "WWE Smackdown" at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it seems that, much like the fans tuning in on Fox and those who have bought a ticket to attend live, even the wrestlers don't know what's in store.
According to Fightful Select, WWE talent has been kept in the dark about most details when it comes to this year's draft. Outside of upcoming bookings sent to them on their talent relations app, no one knows how the draft will work, whether it will be a full re-draft or just a few people switching shows, or where they themselves will end up. The roster reportedly found out what pool they would be in like the fans did — via social media — and details were still being kept from them as of Friday morning. However, at the time of writing, that may have changed.
The recent decision to switch up the designs and names of both sets of tag team championships has also been taken into consideration when it comes to the draft. Much like the women's championships, the Tag Team Championships are no longer referred to as "Raw" or "Smackdown" titles and are no longer red and blue to indicate which brand they belong to, meaning that if a champion does get drafted, there will be no need for any of the awkward belt-switching that has taken place in the past. However, it has been confirmed that champions (aside from the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions) are not eligible to be drafted.
It could be a big night for WWE NXT
The 2024 WWE Draft could reportedly be monumental for "NXT," as WWE has considered giving the developmental show a renewed focus in order to make it feel more like a third main roster brand. However, there is some trepidation amongst those at the WWE Performance Center, where there is reportedly a "draft party" being held for the fans.
According to Fightful Select's Corey Brennan, several talent and other sources within "NXT" are worried that the brand will be heavily raided via this year's draft. "NXT" names have been intentionally hidden from the draft pools to create a sense of surprise, but the fact that many of the talent don't know if they will be called up has led to people within the company being worried that they are getting called up without a plan, similar to the ill-fated Vince McMahon drafts of the past.
One of the ways WWE is planning on putting a renewed focus on "NXT" is by having the ability of sending wrestlers from "Raw" and "Smackdown" to "NXT." The idea of people being "called up to the main roster" has led to some reservations about how some people may see the move to Tuesday nights as a demotion, but most people within WWE reportedly believe that some performers would actually benefit from a run in "NXT," and are expecting some major star power to be added to the brand ahead of its move to The CW later this year.