The 2011 WWE Draft will take place April 25 on WWE RAW. The change in plans is a reaction to the sudden retirement of Edge and the need to boost the SmackDown roster. A V.P. from the USA Network confirmed the news on Twitter.
Ted Linhart, the VP of Program Research at USA Network tweeted on Monday afternoon, “Note the WWE DRAFT will be next Monday 4/25 on RAW.” The tweet scooped the WWE’s own website which had nothing in regards to the news as of this writing.
[adinserter block=”2″]The news about next Monday’s WWE Draft conflicts with original reports that penned the draft in June. The draft has bounced around to various months over the course of its history, but for the second year in a row the draft will take place less than a month after WrestleMania. I’d expect lots of changes for the 2011 WWE Draft.
It is also real interesting that the WWE would have their annual draft take place a week before their next pay per view. The results of the draft could make the matchups at Extreme Rules 2011 inconsequential, thus killing potential interest in the show. Although the WWE has done this before, last year’s draft took place the day after Extreme Rules in order to avoid these same kinds of conflicts.
I will have a full draft preview up on the site next week so I won’t go too much into the draft. The draft really isn’t so much a draft as it is more of a draft lottery system. WWE superstars from SmackDown and RAW wrestle each other throughout the show with the winner of each match earning a lottery pick for their brand. After the match a computerized “random” lottery system than selects a WWE superstar who will then be drafted. All talent is eligible including announcers and managers.
[adinserter block=”1″]Without giving a full preview I would expect huge shakeups next Monday on the draft. SmackDown is desperately in need of a top star with Edge leaving the brand. With The Undertaker on a very part-time schedule, there is no true megastar on the brand to carry the main-events. This would theoretically put someone like Randy Orton, Triple H, or even The Miz in play for that top spot.
While RAW could also use a big shakeup, I’d expect to see most of the big switches leaning in SmackDown’s favor.
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I don't think Triple H will be doing much wrestling these days.