Roman Reigns wasn’t part of the WWE Draft (Picture: WWE)
Roman Reigns removed himself from from the WWE Draft pool moments into this week’s SmackDown broadcast.
The former Undisputed WWE Champion, who lost his prized title to Cody Rhodes as his 1,316 day run with the gold ended WrestleMania 40, was expected to be one of the first picks on the first night of the draft, which will conclude on Raw.
However, as the show began his Wiseman and special counsel Paul Heyman told broadcaster Kayla Braxton that plans had changed.
Heyman noted that Reigns won’t be returning ‘for the foreseeable future’, and so he had ruled himself ineligible for the roster shakeups.
The Hall of Famer said his client wanted to give SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis a challenge by coming up with a less predictable first draft pick.
Thankfully for fans of the blue brand, he did exactly that as the show got underway, with various legends and current stars helping announce the picks across four rounds.
Bianca Belair was the first pick for SmackDown (Picture: WWE)
Jey Uso is staying on Raw (Picture: WWE)
SmackDown picked first on Friday, and chose Bianca Belair, while Raw’s first choice was Jey Uso, before the blue and red brands chose Carmelo Hayes from NXT and Seth Rollins to finish round one.
In the next round, SmackDown held onto Randy Orton and brought Nia Jax into the fold, with Raw stealing Bron Breakker and nailing down Liv Morgan.
WWE Draft night 1 picks
Jey Uso to Raw
Carmelo Hayes to NXT
Seth Rollins to Raw
Randy Orton to SmackDown
Bron Breakker to Raw
Nia Jax to SmackDown
Liv Morgan to Raw
LA Knight to SmackDown
Ricochet to Raw
The Bloodline to SmackDown
Sheamus to Raw
AJ Styles to SmackDown
Alpha Academy to Raw
Andrade to SmackDown
Kiana James to Raw
The third round saw The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga) and LA Knight remain on Friday nights, while Raw held onto Ricochet and Sheamus.
And in the final round of picks shown on this first half of the draft, SmackDown picked AJ Styles and Andrade while Raw ended with Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri) and NXT’s Kiana James in the shock of the night.
The first night didn’t quite throw up the kind of shocks fans have come to expect from the WWE Draft in terms of main event talent making the move, as only Bron Breakker, Nia Jax and Andrade moved between Raw and SmackDown.
Athletic rookie Bron Breakker was one of the only stars to move between Raw and SmackDown (Picture: WWE)
However, there was still movement with Carmelo Hayes making his highly anticipated callup, and his fellow NXT star Kiana James will be a surprisingly but welcome addition to the Raw women’s division.
The likes of Teddy Long, JBL, Michelle McCool, Torrie Wilson, the Dudley Boyz and WWE boss Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque announced the picks on the evening, while some big matches were revealed for Backlash next weekend.
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Fans already knew the upcoming premium live event in Lyon will play host to Cody Rhodes’ first title defence against AJ Styles, and Damian Priest defending his newly won World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso.
Now joining them on the card is fellow WrestleMania title match winner Bayley, whose WWE Women’s Championship is on the line in a Triple Threat featuring Bayley and Tiffany Stratton.
Elsewhere, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) defend the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, and in a fierce grudge match, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens will battle Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga.
The WWE Draft continues Monday, April 29 on Raw. Tune in at 1am on TNT Sports 1.
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