As they have in the past, WWE used their 2021 Draft to do more than just pop a rating for Raw and SmackDown.
We can probably expect a flurry of activity on social media and YouTube in the weeks after the picks on Raw next Monday (Oct. 4) and when the new rosters go into effect on Oct. 22 as “free agents” sign with a brand and “trades” between shows are announced. For now, we got a bevy of picks announced on the latest episode of Talking Smack.
Here’s how those went:
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Raw:
- Nia Jax
- Drake Maverick (from NXT)
- Reggie
- Zelina Vega (from SmackDown)
- Akira Tozawa
- Alpha Academy (from SmackDown)
- R-Truth
- John Morrison
- Doudrop
- T-BAR
- Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez (from SmackDown)
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SmackDown:
- Aliyah (from NXT)
- Toni Storm
- Drew Gulak (from Raw)
- MACE (from Raw)
- Mustafa Ali & Mansoor (from Raw)
Not too many shocking moves here. The 24/7 title scene officially adds former champ Drake Maverick, but loses Drew Gulak - so there’s hope for folks like our friend Claire who want to see the former Cruiserweight champion return to his Philadelphia Stretcher roots.
The call-up of Aliyah’s been rumored for quite some time. She was the only Talking Smack pick to get an interview during the post-show, if you want to read anything into that. And pour one out for RETRIBUTION, as the split of EXTINCTION is another shovel of dirt on the grave of that bad idea.
Add these to the complete results from Night One, and stay tuned to see what Night Two has store for us on Monday.