Backstage News On When The Next WWE Draft Could Be

WWE is changing backstage, and apparently onscreen.

According to a report from Fightful Select, many WWE talent believe that there will likely be a WWE Draft in the fall. Several "WWE Raw" stars are set for the first episode of "WWE SmackDown" after Clash at the Castle on Sept. 9th, and "WWE SmackDown" stars are scheduled for both the Sept. 5th and Sept. 12th episodes of "WWE Raw." Many talent are speculating that the draft could be coming after the Clash premium live event.

Another factor lending credence to this speculation is the fact that WWE writers have noted that repackages to various talent are coming around the same time as the cross-branded shows. Max Dupri (formerly LA Knight) and T-Bar (formerly Dominik Dijakovic) are both speculated as possible candidates for repackaging. T-Bar recently wrestled a standout match against Mustafa Ali on "WWE Main Event."

The news comes as numerous changes occur to WWE's programming in the wake of Vince McMahon retiring in disgrace after the Wall Street Journal revealed a WWE board of director's investigation into hush money payments made by McMahon to former female employees alleging harassment, misconduct, and abuse. McMahon released his vise-like grip on WWE's creative direction, with Paul "Triple H" Levesque taking over and almost immediately bringing back formerly-released talent like Karrion Kross and Dakota Kai as he implements a new vision for the company. Legendary promoter Jerry Jarrett said Triple H told the locker room that they don't know how to replicate McMahon's success and will thus try a "new way."

Corrected to reflect accurate dates.