WWE Draft

The WWE Draft, alternatively called the WWE Superstar Shake-up from 2017 to 2019, is a process used by the

In 2002, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) introduced the brand extension, splitting its roster into two "brands", Raw and SmackDown, represented by the shows of the same name where their talent would exclusively perform. Only then Undisputed Champion Triple H and Women's Champion Jazz were ineligible to be drafted, as the holders of those titles defended them on both brands; the other champions, however, could be drafted.

The first half of the

There was no Raw and SmackDown draft in 2006, however, ECW became a third brand. ECW representative Paul Heyman received two total draft picks from the existing SmackDown and Raw rosters for the newly created ECW brand, which shortly after revived the ECW World Heavyweight Championship as the brand's only title.^[15][16]

The first half of the

In the following years, the draft was revamped as the Superstar Shake-up, in which changes between the brands were made behind the scenes, with moving wrestlers simply appearing on a brand's show or announced via WWE's website or social medias. The 2017 Superstar Shake-up occurred on the April 10 and 11 episodes of Raw and SmackDown, respectively. Raw drafted Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and SmackDown drafted United States Champion Kevin Owens; Owens then lost the title to Raw's Chris Jericho, but instead of the title switching brands, Jericho moved to SmackDown. On-screen WWE employees were eligible to be drafted. Although wrestlers from NXT debuted on Raw and SmackDown during the 2017 Shake-up, these were not considered part of the Shake-up.^{[4][35][36][37]}

The 2018 Superstar Shake-up occurred on the April 16 and 17 episodes of Raw and SmackDown, respectively. The United States Championship switched brands twice. On the April 16 episode of Raw, reigning champion Jinder Mahal moved to the Raw brand and lost the title to Jeff Hardy that same night, who then took the title back to SmackDown as he moved to that brand the following night on SmackDown. NXT wrestlers were also eligible to be drafted. Shortly after the 2018 Shake-up, 205 Live became its own separate brand from Raw and the Cruiserweight Championship became exclusive to 205 Live. NXT UK also became a brand later that year with its own set of championships. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was later established and shared between the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands.

The

The 2020 draft occurred on the October 9 and 12 episodes of SmackDown and Raw, respectively, between the Raw and SmackDown brands. The rules were the same as the previous draft.^[48] During a media call for NXT TakeOver XXX on August 19, Triple H had said that this draft would also involve the NXT brand,^[49] but the official announcement that occurred during the Clash of Champions pay-per-view on September 27 stated that this draft would only be between Raw and SmackDown.^[48] NXT later established their own women's tag team championship, the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, thus the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became only available to Raw and SmackDown.

The 2021 draft was held during the October 1 and 4 episodes of SmackDown and Raw, respectively, between the Raw and SmackDown brands.^[50] The rules were mostly the same as the previous two drafts, with the exception that both brands received two picks each round instead of Raw making three and SmackDown only making two. Additionally, wrestlers from NXT were eligible to be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown. Unlike previous drafts, the results did not immediately go into effect and instead became effective beginning with the October 22 episode of SmackDown, the day after the Crown Jewel pay-per-view.^[51][52]

A draft was not held in 2022 and brand division became increasingly unclear. At

On the April 7, 2023, episode of SmackDown, with unclear roster division, WWE executive Triple H announced the