The WWE Draft is a complete reorganization of WWE programming based on having both Raw and SmackDown compete directly against each other. When WWE first announced the news that SmackDown would be going live and the brand extension would take place in July, there were so many questions about how WWE was going to pull off splitting WWE in two.
There was the question of Raw being a three-hour show and SmackDown being a two-hour show. Many within the WWE Universe wanted to know how the brand split would impact the NXT roster, and how NXT stars would come to the main roster in the future. One of the most complex questions was how WWE was planning the WWE Draft around WWE’s tag teams.
The WWE Draft is now less than 48 hours away. Until a few minutes ago, all of those questions were still relevant. WWE didn’t want the fans and personnel to go into the last Monday Night Raw episode before the WWE Draft without answers to those questions. Now, the WWE Universe understands how the WWE Draft will work on Tuesday night during SmackDown Live .
Today, WWE released an articleon WWE.comdetailing how the rules of the WWE Draft and how WWE plans to fix a lot of the issues that were questioned over the past few months of speculation. You can read the rules that WWE just released below.
“With this Tuesday’s WWE Draft on the premiere of ‘SmackDown Live’ on USA Network fast approaching, WWE.com answers the biggest questions of the WWE Universe with a breakdown of the official rules, regulations and procedures for one of the biggest nights in WWE history — including a major update that will change the face of NXT as well.
The rules for the WWE Draft are as follows:
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Raw has the first overall pick
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Since SmackDown Live is a two-hour show and Raw is three hours, for every two picks SmackDown Live receives, Raw will receive three picks
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Tag Teams count as one pick unless a Commissioner/General Manager specifically only wants one member of the team
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Six draft picks will be made from the NXT roster
Tomorrow night on Monday Night Raw , Shane and Stephanie McMahon will reveal who they have each selected as their General Managers for both Raw and SmackDown . The rumor mill may have already confirmed their choices for them, but they will be officially revealed on Raw . The only question now is who will Shane and Stephanie choose for their rosters?
The rules are defined and easy to understand, which is a great thing because a concept this huge could be quite confusing for some WWE fans. Rawhaving an extra pick for SmackDown’severy two is a clear way to deal with the additional hour of content on Raw. On paper, that puts SmackDownat a disadvantage. But, Rawdoes have to fill more content. It’s as fair as it can be.
WWE’s tag team rule is one of the smartest things about the WWE Draft rules because it will give Shane and Stephanie the option of breaking up a tag team or being able to keep one together. That opens up a lot of possibilities for Stephanie to gain heel heat by breaking up The New Day or Shane can earn more favor with the WWE Universe for keeping Enzo and Cass together.
According to the rules, there will only be six NXT talents taken from the brand, which means Raw and SmackDown will both be receiving three new talents from NXT. That is going to bring a lot of change for all three brands, but it is an opportunity for everyone to have fresh faces on TV. Tuesday’s WWE Draft is going to be a game changer. Now, the rules of the game are clear.
[Image via WWE.com]