2023 WWE Draft

The 2023 WWE Draft was the 17th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the April 28 episode of Friday Night SmackDown and concluded with the May 1 episode of Monday Night Raw, with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. This was the first draft held since 2021 and the first under the creative direction of Triple H. In addition, this was the last draft before the TKO Group Holdings acquisition. Draft results went into effect beginning with the May 8 episode of Raw.

Production

Background

The WWE Draft is a 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 what they call brands and wrestlers exclusively perform for each brand's respective television show, albeit with some exceptions. The draft is used to refresh the rosters of the brand divisions, typically between the Raw and SmackDown brands, which are regarded as the main roster. Since 2016, wrestlers from WWE's developmental brand, NXT, have been eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown.
A draft was not held in 2022 and brand division enforcement became increasingly laxed, but on the April 7, 2023, episode of SmackDown, WWE executive Triple H announced the 2023 draft and stated that every WWE wrestler from Raw and SmackDown would be eligible for the draft, as well as select wrestlers from NXT. The following week, the dates for WWE's 17th draft were confirmed, with it beginning with the April 28 episode of Friday Night SmackDown and concluding with the May 1 episode of Monday Night Raw, with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. This subsequently repositioned the draft back in its traditional post-WrestleMania slot, after the last three drafts were held in October. The drafting pools for which wrestlers were eligible to be drafted each night were revealed on April 27. On Night 1 of the draft, Triple H announced that draft results would go into effect beginning with the May 8 episode of Raw, two days after the Backlash pay-per-view and livestreaming event.

Selections

Night 1: ''SmackDown'' (April 28)

There were four rounds of draft picks on Night 1 with each brand receiving two picks each round; SmackDown went first due to Night 1 taking place as that night's episode of SmackDown. Draft selections were announced by various WWE Hall of Famers, including Triple H, who announced the first-round picks. The second round picks were announced by Rob Van Dam and Michael Hayes, the third round by John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Teddy Long, and the fourth by D-Generation X.

Round	Brand pick #	Overall pick #	Wrestler	Pre-draft brand	Post-draft brand	Role
1	1	1	The Bloodline	SmackDown	SmackDown	Male tag team and male manager Undisputed WWE Universal Champion
1	1	2	Cody Rhodes	Raw	Raw	Male wrestler
1	2	3	Bianca Belair	Raw	SmackDown	Female wrestler Raw Women's Champion
1	2	4	Becky Lynch	Raw	Raw	Female wrestler
2	3	5	Street Profits	Raw	SmackDown	Male tag team
2	3	6	Imperium	SmackDown	Raw	Male stable Intercontinental Champion
2	4	7	Edge	Raw	SmackDown	Male wrestler WWE Hall of Famer
2	4	8	Matt Riddle	Raw	Raw	Male wrestler
3	5	9	Bobby Lashley	Raw	SmackDown	Male wrestler
3	5	10	Drew McIntyre	SmackDown	Raw	Male wrestler
3	6	11	The O.C.	Raw	SmackDown	Mixed stable
3	6	12	The Miz	Raw	Raw	Male wrestler
4	7	13	Damage CTRL	Raw	SmackDown	Female stable
4	7	14	Shinsuke Nakamura	SmackDown	Raw	Male wrestler
4	8	15	Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn	NXT	SmackDown	Female tag team NXT Women's Tag Team Champions
4	8	16	Indi Hartwell	NXT	Raw	Female wrestler NXT Women's Champion

Night 1 supplemental picks: ''SmackDown LowDown'' (April 29)

These wrestlers were included in the Night 1 draft pool, but were not drafted on SmackDown. Their draft selections were revealed on SmackDowns post-show, SmackDown LowDown, the next day on WWE's social media and streaming platforms.

Wrestler	Pre-draft brand	Post-draft brand	Role
Apollo Crews	NXT	Raw	Male wrestler
Candice LeRae	Raw	Raw	Female wrestler
Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville	Raw SmackDown	Raw	Female tag team
Dexter Lumis	Raw	Raw	Male wrestler
Hit Row	SmackDown	SmackDown	Mixed stable
JD McDonagh	NXT	Raw	Male wrestler
Lacey Evans	SmackDown	SmackDown	Female wrestler
Maximum Male Models	Raw	Raw	Male tag team and female manager
Natalya	SmackDown	Raw	Female wrestler
The Viking Raiders	SmackDown	Raw	Male tag team and female manager
Zoey Stark	NXT	Raw	Female wrestler

Night 2: ''Raw'' (May 1)

There were six rounds of draft picks on Night 2 with each brand receiving two picks each round; Raw went first due to Night 2 taking place as that night's episode of Raw. Draft selections were again announced by various WWE Hall of Famers, including Triple H, who again announced the first round picks; several others from Night 1 returned to announce Night 2's selections. Booker T and his wife Queen Sharmell announced the round two picks, Shawn Michaels returned to announce the round three picks, round four were by Eric Bischoff and the returning Rob Van Dam, round five by Molly Holly and the returning "Road Dogg" Jesse James, and the sixth and final round were announced by the returning John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Teddy Long. WWE official Adam Pearce was supposed to announce the round three picks with Michaels but instead had to help break up a fight between Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes.

Round	Brand pick #	Overall pick #	Wrestler	Pre-draft brand	Post-draft brand	Role
1	1	1	Rhea Ripley	Raw	Raw	Female wrestler SmackDown Women's Champion
1	1	2	Austin Theory	Raw	SmackDown	Male wrestler United States Champion
1	2	3	Seth "Freakin" Rollins	Raw	Raw	Male wrestler
1	2	4	Charlotte Flair	SmackDown	SmackDown	Female wrestler
2	3	5	Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn	Raw SmackDown	Raw	Male tag team Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions
2	3	6	The Usos	SmackDown	SmackDown	Male tag team
2	4	7	The Judgment Day	Raw	Raw	Male stable
2	4	8	Latino World Order	SmackDown	SmackDown	Mixed stable
3	5	9	Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodríguez	SmackDown	Raw	Female tag team WWE Women's Tag Team Champions
3	5	10	Asuka	Raw	SmackDown	Female wrestler
3	6	11	The New Day	SmackDown	Raw	Male tag team
3	6	12	The Brawling Brutes	SmackDown	SmackDown	Male stable
4	7	13	Trish Stratus	Raw	Raw	Female wrestler WWE Hall of Famer
4	7	14	Karrion Kross with Scarlett	SmackDown	SmackDown	Male wrestler and female manager
4	8	15	Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler	SmackDown	Raw	Female tag team
4	8	16	LA Knight	SmackDown	SmackDown	Male wrestler
5	9	17	Braun Strowman and Ricochet	SmackDown	Raw	Male tag team
5	9	18	Shotzi	SmackDown	SmackDown	Female wrestler
5	10	19	Bronson Reed	Raw	Raw	Male wrestler
5	10	20	Pretty Deadly	NXT	SmackDown	Male tag team
6	11	21	Alpha Academy	Raw	Raw	Male tag team
6	11	22	Rick Boogs	Raw	SmackDown	Male wrestler
6	12	23	Katana Chance and Kayden Carter	NXT	Raw	Female tag team
6	12	24	Cameron Grimes	NXT	SmackDown	Male wrestler