As expected, plenty of big names will be finding themselves on a new brand when the changes come into effect after Crown Jewel on October 21.
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The WWE Draft came to a close on Monday night, with the second half of the draft taking place throughout WWE Raw. As expected, plenty of big names will be finding themselves on a new brand when the changes come into effect after Crown Jewel on October 21. Crown Jewel also landed two new matches during Raw. Big E will now officially defend his WWE championship against former champion Drew McIntyre in McIntyre’s final match before moving to SmackDown, and Bobby Lashley and Goldberg agreed to a rematch of their SummerSlam clash, this time under no disqualification rules.
The second and final night of the WWE Draft saw more big names switching sides, including first overall pick and SmackDown women’s champion Becky Lynch moving from SmackDown to Raw. Raw picked up several big names, including Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. WWE also announced that Raw selected Olympic champion Gable Steveson, who recently signed with the promotion and still needs to be trained to be a pro wrestler.
The Steveson pick was certainly odd since WWE should be very careful and patient with his development. Despite his past controversies, Steveson is a big pickup for WWE and rushing him before he’s been properly trained for work both in the ring and in front of the camera could do far more harm than good.
Becky Lynch opened the show by announcing that she was the night’s top overall pick in the draft, meaning the SmackDown women’s champion had been drafted to Raw — just as Raw women champion Charlotte Flair had been drafted to SmackDown on Friday. Flair came to the ring to address Lynch after Lynch suggested she might need to win the Raw title as well. This drew out Bianca Belair, who wondered why she was being ignored. Lynch suggested a match between Belair and Flair as the main event, which WWE officials quickly made official.
Aw come on, @BeckyLynchWWE!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/2P6Rq6cQBH
— WWE (@WWE) October 5, 2021
After a back-and-forth match, Belair hit Flair with the Kiss of Death and seemed to have the match won but Lynch, who was on commentary, pulled Belair from the ring and attacked her. The attack continued until Sasha Banks ran in to attack Lynch, ending the show standing tall after brutalizing Lynch and Belair.
United States Championship — Damian Priest (c) defeated Jeff Hardy via pinfall to retain the title with a crucifix pin. After the match, Austin Theory came to the ring and asked to take a selfie with Hardy before attacking him.
Shayna Baszler defeated Dana Brooke via submission with an armbar. After the match, Baszler continued to attack Brooke’s arm before attempting to stomp her elbow as she has for weeks before Doudrop ran in to make the save.
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo defeated Mansoor & Mustafa Ali via pinfall after Garza pinned Ali.
Big E & Drew McIntyre defeated Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler via pinfall when McIntyre hit Ziggler with a Claymore. The match came about when Roode and Ziggler interrupted McIntyre asking for a shot at Big E’s WWE championship. Big E accepted the match for Crown Jewel after the match was over.
Women’s Tag Team Championship – Nikki A.S.H. & Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya & Tamina via pinfall to retain the titles after hitting Tamina with an assisted splash.
Bobby Lashley agreed to give Goldberg a match at Crown Jewel. Goldberg came to the ring to again claim Lashley attacking Gage Goldberg was not a misunderstanding but an intentional act. Lashley responded by demanding an apology for “character assassination” but then said he’d face Goldberg at Crown Jewel under no disqualification rules. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander jumped Goldberg from behind but Goldberg quickly took both men out to end the segment.
The New Day defeated The Hurt Business via pinfall when Xavier Woods pinned Shelton Benjamin after a rope-walk elbow drop.
