Most notable among those who switched brands was Charlotte Flair, who was drafted to SmackDown despite being the current Raw women's champion.
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On Friday night, WWE began the annual WWE Draft on SmackDown. As expected, there were plenty of big names drafted, with some of those big names changing to new brands. Most notable among those who switched brands was Charlotte Flair, who was drafted to SmackDown despite being the current Raw women’s champion. SmackDown’s women’s champion was not among those eligible to be drafted on Friday night, leaving it to Monday to see if SmackDown will end up with two women’s champs on the roster.
The first picks of the WWE Draft kicked off the show, with Raw and SmackDown each getting two picks per round rather than Raw getting an extra pick due to their three-hour structure. While both brands started by retaining their men’s champions – SmackDown taking Roman Reigns and Raw Big E – SmackDown made the first big move of the night, drafting Raw women’s champion Charlotte Flair.
Other big moves included Drew McIntyre moving to SmackDown and New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods again being moved away from Big E as the team went to Raw. The first NXT group to be drafted was Hit Row, with the entire stable drafted to SmackDown.
Reigns came to the ring after the initial draft picks, celebrating his status as the top overall draft pick and his Extreme Rules win over Finn Balor. After Reigns and Paul Heyman turned their attention to Crown Jewel and the challenge of Brock Lesnar, Lesnar made his way to the ring, brawling with the universal champion before destroying The Usos and hitting both with F-5s as Reigns was forced to stand by and watch.
Later in the show, Lesnar interrupted a backstage interview with Jeff Hardy — who had just been drafted to SmackDown. Lesnar announced that he would do whatever he wants because he is now a free agent. Backstage, Reigns asked Heyman if he was, in fact, “good friends” with Lesnar. Reigns yelled at Heyman because the Usos had not been drafted on the first night despite the planned roster split. Reigns told Heyman to go to Raw on Monday and make sure the draft played out correctly, then told The Usos to go with and “leave him for dead” if Heyman failed.
Where do @HeymanHustle‘s loyalties lie? #SmackDown @WWERomanReigns @WWEUsos @BrockLesnar pic.twitter.com/L3vVQzWYeS
— WWE (@WWE) October 2, 2021
Happy Corbin defeated Kevin Owens via pinfall after End of Days.
Seth Rollins broke into Edge’s house. Edge was in the ring to address Rollins’ threats from the previous week when Rollins appeared on the Tron at Edge’s home, letting himself in the house and eating Edge’s food and exploring the house. Edge called his wife and told her to not return home as she was out getting groceries with their children.
The New Day & The Street Profits defeated Chad Gable, Otis, Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler via pinfall.
Sasha Banks defeated Bianca Belair via pinfall with a roll-up after Becky Lynch pulled Belair’s braid. After the match, Charlotte Flair ran in to attack both women before posing in the ring with her Raw women’s championship. Becky Lynch, who was on commentary, posed outside the ring with her SmackDown women’s title.
