Part One of WWE Draft wraps with more NXT call-ups, several free agents
The WWE Draft takes place over two episodes of television, but the company doesn’t want their TV partners getting all the attention. They also save some selections for other outlets.
SmackDown LowDown, which streams in full on WWE Network/Peacock with highlights on YouTube and other platforms, got to finish out the first part of the 2023 Draft. Scott Stanford and Matt Camp revealed where the folks who weren’t selected from the Night One pool on SmackDown last night are headed... well, most of them anyway.
A handful will be free agents, who can appear on either show with their permanent landing spot presumably determined at a future date. That includes Omos, who we were informed had his free agent status negotiated by MVP.
One of the free agents, Von Wagner, is an NXT wrestler who wasn’t in the pool. Three other surprises from the developmental brand also made the jump in this round of the Draft — JD McDonagh, Zoey Stark and, returning to the main roster, former United States champion Apollo Crews. They all went to Raw. In fact, Team Red got the vast majority of the talent selected today
Which you can see in this rundown of all the picks announced on the SmackDown post-show this morning (April 29):
Raw
Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar w/ Valhalla)
Dexter Lumis
Candice LeRae
Maximum Male Models (ma.cé, mån.sôör & Maxxine Dupri)
Natalya
Apollo Crews
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
Zoey Stark
JD McDonagh
SmackDown
Hit Row (Top Dolla & Ashante “Thee” Adonis w/ B-Fab)
Lacey Evans
Free Agents
Omos (with MVP)
Mustafa Ali
Dolph Ziggler
Von Wagner (no mention of his NXT manager Mr. Stone)
You have to think several of those free agents will end up on Friday nights. But maybe WWE has a lot of time set aside for Lacey Evans’ latest push and figure they can get away with a lighter blue crew.
We shall see. We’ll also see what else the Draft has in store for us when it continues on the Mon., May 1 Raw.
You can find the rest of the Night One results here.
Source: Cageside Seats
