Will there be a 2017 WWE Draft?
By Carl Gac
With WWE’s WrestleMania events in full swing, we wonder if there’s likely to be a WWE Draft in 2017.
This week has seen hundreds of thousands of wrestling fans descend on Orlando, Florida, for the full lineup of events revolving around WrestleMania. Many fans will be wondering whether we are likely to see WWE present their annual Draft any time soon, as some of the stars on both RAW and SmackDown Live, could do with a shake-up.
Whilst no date has officially been announced for any WWE Draft this year, it can only be a matter of time before we see some movement on the subject by WWE. 2016 saw the WWE Draft return for the first time since 2011. The Brand Split saw the stars of the WWE main roster divided between Raw and SmackDown Live.
The 2016 Draft took place on July 19, with the show also being the first live airing of SmackDown on that same Tuesday night. The number one picks were Seth Rollins for RAW, and Dean Ambrose for SmackDown Live. Some of the biggest stars of NXT were also called up as part of the Draft, with Finn Balor, American Alpha and Nia Jax all finding themselves elevated to the main roster.
One thing that could point to an imminent Draft in 2017 is the recent firing of Mick Foley as the GM of RAW. His boss, Commissioner Stephanie McMahon, has not yet pointed to the fact that she is looking to appoint anyone else to the role that Foley fulfilled. There’s a possibility someone like Kurt Angle could fill his shoes, but that could lead to a Draft to freshen things up for the new man, or woman, to come in to a whole different roster to the one that Foley left behind.
It has been rumoured in recent weeks that Vince McMahon may be looking to shuffle the deck of his superstars. Men like Roman Reigns and AJ Styles have been suggested for potential trades, whilst Sami Zayn was threatened with firing by Stephanie McMahon on the WrestleMania go home episode of RAW.
With several big storylines coming to an end, the weeks following WrestleMania could be the perfect time to carry out the 2017 Draft.