We told you to prepare for the sheer excitement and unpredictability that the WWE draft brings and that's exactly what we got. Who went where then? We've got you covered.
Raw had the clear advantage from the off, with Stephanie McMahon selecting Seth Rollins as the first pick, which is testament to the performance of the former Shield man over the last couple of years.
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon opted to choose Rollins' arch-nemesis Dean Ambrose, who successfully retained his WWE Championship in the main event of Smackdown Live.
Stephanie went ahead and picked Women's Champion Charlotte, before AJ Styles was chosen as the second pick for Smackdown. Styles has been a complete and utter revelation since joining the company, but he'll have to go up another gear on the blue brand, as he won't be joined by his friends from the Club, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, who have been drafted to Raw.
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The NXT involvement had been talked about beforehand and it was Raw who took the first member of the NXT roster and what a pick it was. Finn Balor got a monstrous reaction when his name was read out by General Manager and has everything you want in a top-tier WWE superstar. Fans have been desperate to see him on the main roster and now they will.
Smackdown picked two great picks in mainstays John Cena and Randy Orton - a great move to bring some experience and credibility to the brand. But Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley weren't resting on their laurels and drafted in currently suspended Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, who is in trouble with USADA after testing positive in an in-competition drugs test prior to his UFC bout with Mark Hunt.
Much to everyone's relief, WWE Tag Team Champions the New Day were not split up and were drafted to Raw, who also brought in another popular tag team in the form of Enzo and Cass. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will continue punching the living daylights out of each other it seems, as both men will be competing on Raw - this incredible rivalry may well continue beyond Battleground.
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Depending on results at the Battleground pay-per-view, the United States Championship, currently held by Rusev is set to be on Raw, while the Intercontinental Championship will be exclusive to Smackdown, which is where holder The Miz will be for the foreseeable future.
Smackdown got a real coup when they picked Bray Wyatt, one of the most fascinating characters the WWE have in their ranks. Give him complete freedom on the two-hour show and watch him fly. The blue brand got their NXT pick when they called up American Alpha, a sensational tag team who are destined for big things.
If you want to know more about Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, check out the interview we did with them here:
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Veteran giants Kane and the Big Show are on separate brands and will probably not have as much involvement as they did in the original WWE draft in 2002.
More NXT picks came from the Women's division. Nia Jax was brought in for Raw and will look to bring her impressive power and strength to Monday nights. Another female drafted in was Alexa Bliss, who slots in on Smackdown alongside the likes of Becky Lynch and Natalya. Small in stature, Bliss has bags of charisma and is rapidly improving in the ring, making her a tidy addition to Smackdown. Carmella also made the step up from NXT to Smackdown.
The other NXT pick, Mojo Rawley was one that fans weren't particularly pleased about, particularly when established talents like Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger were not called up. He will compete on Smackdown.
There were plenty of questionable decisions and a few surprises, Smackdown has considerably less roster members but then again that's what the WWE draft is all about. Wrestling fans now have the option of watching the Raw or Smackdown product religiously, or they could watch both - though it might not bring a healthy sleeping pattern.
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Here are the rosters in full:
Raw:
- Seth Rollins
- Charlotte
- Finn Bálor
- Roman Reigns
- Brock Lesnar
- The New Day
- Sami Zayn
- Sasha Banks
- Chris Jericho
- Rusev & Lana
- Kevin Owens
- Enzo & Cass
- Gallows & Anderson
- Big Show
- Nia Jax
- Neville
- Cesaro
- Sheamus
- Golden Truth
- Titus O'Neil
- Paige
- Darren Young
- Sin Cara
- Jack Swagger
- The Dudley Boyz
- Summer Rae
- Mark Henry
- Braun Strowman
- Bo Dallas
- Shining Stars
- Alicia Fox
- Dana Brooke
- Curtis Axel
Smackdown:
- Dean Ambrose
- A.J. Styles
- John Cena
- Randy Orton
- Bray Wyatt
- Becky Lynch
- The Miz & Maryse
- Baron Corbin
- American Alpha
- Dolph Ziggler
- Natalya
- Alberto Del Rio
- The Usos
- Demon Kane
- Kalisto
- Naomi
- The Ascension
- Zack Ryder
- Apollo Crews
- Alexa Bliss
- Breezango
- Eva Marie
- The Vaudevillains
- Erick Rowan
- Mojo Rawley
- Carmella
All images via WWE
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Topics: Randy Orton, Smackdown, Raw, Seth Rollins, John Cena, WWE, Brock Lesnar
