It's time to shake things up again!
The WWE Draft on October 11 and 14th has been officially announced in a very interesting setting. during NFL on Fox broadcasts, the announcers officially confirmed that the October 11 WWE Smackdown, which is one week after the brand moves to the network on October 4th, will be hosting a WWE draft. October 11th was first reported as a tentative date for the draft by Dave Meltzer. WWE later confirmed via a press release it would continue on October 14th.
A WWE Draft has been confirmed for October 11
— THE Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) September 15, 2019
This was announced on various NFL on Fox games. I've reached out to WWE.
— THE Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) September 15, 2019
Below is the press release issued to Fightful by WWE.
WWE DRAFT SET FOR FOX AND USA NETWORK ON OCTOBER 11 AND 14
STAMFORD, Conn. - September 15, 2019 - The destiny of WWE's Superstars will be determined during a two-night draft taking place live on Friday Night SmackDown(r) on October 11 at 8 pm ET on the FOX broadcast network and Monday Night Raw(r) on October 14 at 8 pm ET on USA Network.
On both nights of the draft, Superstars from Raw and SmackDown will appear along with personalities from FOX and NBCUniversal programming who will announce select picks from each brand. The draft will determine the Superstars that compete for Raw and SmackDown, which feature distinct casts, unique storylines and dedicated writing teams.
Friday Night SmackDown on October 11 will emanate from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas while Monday Night Raw on October 14 will take place at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Raw and SmackDown are the #1 and #2 longest-running weekly episodic television shows in U.S. primetime history. The programs have aired more original episodes than The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Lassie and Monday Night Football.
Raw will continue airing on USA Network while SmackDown moves to FOX beginning Friday, October 4.
WWE has not had an official draft since the second brand split occurred in 2016. To keep things fresh, they would do yearly Superstar Shake-ups after WrestleMania, but with the Wild Card rule instituted this year, the brand divisions became muddled.
WWE presents Clash Of Champions tonight, the penultimate pay-per-view before the draft. Hell In A Cell on October 6th will be the final pay-per-view before the draft takes place.
