Bengaluru, September 8: Earlier reports indicated that the Draft is likely to find its way back to the WWE programme, later this year. Primary speculation was that it might happen during this month, following Clash of Champions PPV event, to freshen up the Raw & SmackDown roster before the latter show moves to a new network. Smackdown is set to move to the FOX Sports Network from October 4th and will take the prime slot of Friday nights.
Updated reports from a reliable source have claimed that WWE Draft is locked on for the new platform of the blue brand after the big switch happens. A tentative date is set which is yet to be confirmed by the WWE. But Dave Meltzer reported on F4Wonline.com that WWE Draft will start from the SmackDown episode at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, October 11th.
It will be a two-night affair as always which must continue through the very next episode of Monday Night Raw on October 14th in Denver, Colorado. A long-time trend will be changed once this happens as SmackDown gets to pick the superstars, first. In earlier occasions, Raw always got the priority to choose the talents and thereby secure the marquee names. This indicates how much Smackdown will be given importance, moving forward.