The WWE Draft got underway on Friday night with The Bloodline – specifically Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman – staying on the blue brand, while The Usos aren’t eligible to be picked until Monday Night Raw this coming week.
At the top of the show, the twins admitted the Tribal Chief hasn’t been in touch since their loss at WrestleMania, while KO and Sami vowed to beat them in the main event and retain the Undisputed Tag Team Titles.
During the night, there was clearly a plan in place as Heyman delivered a secret message of sorts to Solo, who started to tape up his thumb – the same he uses to deliver the Samoan Spike – unbeknownst to his older brothers.
Then, during the main event itself, the Wiseman got a phone call from Roman and told the rising star that it was his time, but the plan was scuppered by an ambush from Matt Riddle.
It meant Solo couldn’t get involved in the epic WrestleMania rematch, which saw Sami and Kevin continued their fairy tale by holding onto the gold after a Stunner and Helluva Kick combo.
However, the real drama here is with The Bloodline, who still don’t know if they’ll be on Raw or SmackDown by this time next week – or how Roman will react to their loss.
WWE Draft gets underway with Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Indi Hartwell and more
The night started with Triple H coming out to announce the first round of draft picks, with The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman) heading to SmackDown along with Bianca Belair, and Cody Rhodes and Becky Lynch staying on Raw.
In the first match of the evening, LA Knight – who is getting a great, organic reaction from fans – beat Butch after some really strong action.
Rob Van Dam and Michael Hayes came out to announce the second round of the draft as the Street Profits and Edge were selected for SmackDown, while Imperium and Matt Riddle were chosen for Raw.
In a fun, fast paced Triple Threat, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins started their blue brand return with a win over the LWO and the team of Braun Strowman and Ricochet.
In the third round of the draft, JBL and Teddy Long revealed that SmackDown is getting Bobby Lashley and The O.C., with Raw landing Drew McIntyre and The Miz.
In a brief match, Zelina Vega built some momentum with a strong win over Sonya Deville, who had Chelsea Green at ringside.
Her celebration was short lived as SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley appeared and laid out her Backlash opponent (and Sonya), but Zelina reversed a Riptide to make an escape.
The O.C. came out with AJ Styles looking to address the crowd, but they got interrupted by The Viking Raiders and Valhalla, leading to Gallows, Anderson and Michin laying out the trio.
The final round of picks – announced by D-X members Road Dogg and Shawn Michaels – confirmed Damage CTRL and NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn for SmackDown.
Meanwhile, Raw picked up Shinsuke Nakamura and the current NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell.
Backstage, Shinsuke was asked about his move to the red brand when he got laid out by Karrion Kross.
SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1. The WWE Draft continues on Monday night’s episode of Raw, also at 1am on BT Sport 1.
WWE SmackDown results and grades – April 28, 2023
- LA Knight pinned Butch (B)
- Street Profits beat the LWO and Braun Strowman/Ricochet (B+)
- Zelina Vega pinned Sonya Deville (B-)
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (c) defeated The Usos (A-)
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