WWE Draft announced for Oct. 9 Smackdown and Oct. 12 Raw

WWE announces 2020 draft will take place over two shows on Oct. 9 and Oct. 12.

The WWE Draft is back, the wrestling promotion confirmed during its Clash of Champions event, and it will take place over a two-day period in an effort once again to shake up the rosters of its Raw and SmackDown brands.

The first night of the 2020 WWE Draft will take place on the Oct. 9 episode of Friday Night Smackdown on FOX. Night two will take place three days later on the Oct. 12 episode of Monday Night Raw on USA Network.

2020 WWE Draft announced for Oct. 9 Smackdown and Oct. 12 Raw

A two-day draft format was in use during last year’s WWE Draft, which took place to re-solidify the brand split following Smackdown’s move to FOX, as well as the fallout of the confusing and negatively-received “Wild Card” rule following the post-WrestleMania 35 Superstar Shakeup.

No explanation of the 2020 WWE Draft’s rules were given during the video promo that aired during Clash of Champions.

The 2019 WWE Draft saw 30 picks announced on Smackdown, while 41 picks were announced on Raw. In addition, for every two picks Smackdown had, Raw had three due to its longer timeslot. Furthermore, tag teams were counted as one pick (unless the network representatives wanted just one member of a team) and any undrafted talents were free agents who could sign with any brand.

Last year’s draft was also the first time such an event was labeled as a draft since the original brand split’s end in 2011.

Night one of the 2019 Draft saw then-Raw women’s champion Becky Lynch selected first overall, while night two’s top overall pick saw Raw select then-universal champion Seth Rollins.

The very first brand split and WWE Draft took place in 2002, following WrestleMania X8 and the WWE roster growing in size after the Monday Night War. The draft, in one form or another, was held every year between 2004 and 2011.

When the WWE’s version of ECW was launched in 2006, that year’s “draft” saw the brand able to select one talent each from Raw and Smackdown (Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle, respectively). ECW then took part in the draft from 2007 through 2009, with the brand closed just a couple of months before the 2010 edition.

Following the brand split and WWE Draft’s reformations in 2016, a “Superstar Shakeup” was held annually not long after WrestleMania from 2017 through 2019.