WWE Draft is expected to begin later this week with Friday’s episode of SmackDown. It will conclude with next Monday’s episode of Raw.
Dave Meltzer talked about the Draft on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. He reported that both Fox and USA Network have already been informed of the ‘key people’ who will be switching brands.
He also confirmed the previous reports about NXT superstars being included in the Draft. Meltzer said that it’s an effort from the official to freshen up the rosters. Though it was mentioned that the plans can change at any time.
There is no word on which stars are expected to be moved. Local advertisements have been promoting a Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre match for this week’s SmackDown suggesting that McIntyre may show up on the blue brand.
Although since the bout is advertised as a Universal championship match, it’s very likely that it will end up being a dark match. It’s even possible that it may not take place on the night at all.
A number of NXT stars have been working dark matches in recent times. The names include Austin Theory, Kacy Catanzaro, Xia Li, Aliyah, and Dakota Kai.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. also worked some dark matches over the Summer. Now it would be interesting to see if any of these stars get assigned to a brand during Draft.
