2008 WWE draft

The 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft, the sixth WWE draft, took place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on June 23.[1] The draft took place live for three hours on Raw.[2] Every WWE wrestler, announcer, commentator, and general manager were eligible to be drafted.[3] Similar to the 2007 WWE draft, wrestlers from each brand competed in matches to win a random draft pick for their brand. Draft picks were kayfabe selected at random via a computer that was shown on the Raw titantron.[4] Like the previous year, a supplemental draft took place on June 25, where draft selections were randomly conducted.[5] The Draft featured the Raw brand randomly drafting ECW Champion Kane from the ECW brand. It also featured the ECW brand drafting WWE United States Champion Matt Hardy from the SmackDown brand. The final selection in the draft was conducted by the SmackDown brand, and they drafted WWE Champion Triple H from the Raw brand. Per pre-draft stipulations, all the three champions brought their respective titles to the brand to which they were drafted. The 2008 Draft was the last to take place in the Ruthless Aggression Era, as the era ended after the SummerSlam PPV.

2008 WWE draft
The WWE Draft logo used from 2007–2011.
General information
SportProfessional wrestling
Date(s)June 23 and 25, 2008
LocationSan Antonio, Texas
Overview
LeagueWorld Wrestling Entertainment
TeamsRaw
SmackDown
ECW

Background

The draft was announced by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on the May 26, 2008 episode of Raw.[6] During the announcement, he stated that every WWE performer from all three brands, Raw, ECW, and SmackDown, were eligible to be drafted.[7] On the June 16 episode of Raw, McMahon announced that his McMahon's Million Dollar Mania contest would take place on the same night as the WWE draft. During the contest, McMahon gave away one million dollars to WWE fans. McMahon telephoned fans, who had registered for the contest, at their homes and asked them for a password, which was revealed at the opening of the Raw broadcast. If their answer was correct, he awarded the fan a portion of one million dollars.[8]

On June 24, WWE announced on its website that a supplemental draft would take place on June 25 at noon ET.[5] The supplemental draft, like the previous year, was conducted randomly, with each brand receiving random draft selections.[9] Wrestlers affected by the televised draft were exempt from the supplemental draft.[10] Because professional wrestling is scripted, outcomes are usually predetermined. Unlike years past, during this draft, many employees in WWE were not told whether they were scripted to change brands.[11]

Aside from the Million Dollar Mania contest, the draft was announced to help increase the television ratings of Raw, which had been declining since WrestleMania XXIV.[12] Though the draft helps increase ratings, it is also used as a way to refresh the rosters and create new storylines.[13]

Selections

There were 28 selections conducted in the draft overall. 11 selections were conducted on television, while 17 selections occurred during the supplemental draft. The Raw brand earned five televised selections through their representatives winning five different matches, while they received six supplemental selections. In total, the Raw brand drafted 11 representatives: five on television and six through the supplemental draft. The SmackDown brand earned five television selections through their representatives winning five different matches, while they received seven supplemental selections. In total, the SmackDown brand drafted 12 representatives: five on television and seven through the supplemental draft. The ECW brand earned one televised selection through their representative winning one match, while they received four supplemental selections. In total, the ECW brand drafted five representatives: one on television and four through the supplemental draft. The 28 included two commentators, two Divas, and 24 male wrestlers (two inactive wrestlers and 22 active wrestlers).

Matches

During the program, representatives from the Raw, ECW and SmackDown brands were involved in matches that determined which brand received a draft pick. Overall, there were 9 matches, in which Raw won four, ECW won one, SmackDown won three and one resulted in no winner.

No.ResultsStipulations
1Triple H (Raw) defeated Mark Henry (SmackDown)Singles match for 1 draft pick
2Finlay and Hornswoggle (SmackDown) defeated Carlito and Santino Marella (Raw)Tag team match for 1 draft pick
3Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes (Raw) defeated Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely (ECW)Tag team match for 1 draft pick
4John Morrison and The Miz (ECW) defeated The Hardys (Matt and Jeff[lower-alpha 1]) (SmackDown)Tag team match for 1 draft pick
5Melina and Mickie James (Raw) vs. Natalya and Victoria (SmackDown) ended in disqualification[lower-alpha 2]Tag team match for 1 announcer-only draft pick
6John Cena (Raw) defeated Edge (SmackDown)Singles match for 1 draft pick
7Montel Vontavious Porter (SmackDown) defeated Tommy Dreamer (ECW)Singles match for 1 draft pick
8John "Bradshaw" Layfield (Raw) defeated Kofi Kingston (ECW)Singles match for 1 draft pick
9Edge (SmackDown) won by lastly eliminating John Cena (Raw)[lower-alpha 3]Tri-branded 15-man Battle royal for 2 draft picks

Selections
Pick No. Brand (to) Superstar
(Real name)[lower-alpha 4]		 Role Brand (from) Notes
1 Raw Rey Mysterio
(Oscar Gutierrez)		 Male wrestler SmackDown
2 SmackDown Jeff Hardy Male wrestler Raw
3 Raw CM Punk
(Phil Brooks)		 Male wrestler ECW Money in the Bank contract holder
4 ECW Matt Hardy Male wrestler SmackDown WWE United States Champion
Re-signed with the SmackDown brand in 2009, following his kayfabe release from ECW.
5 SmackDown[lower-alpha 2] Jim Ross Commentator Raw
6 Raw[lower-alpha 2] Michael Cole
(Michael Coulthard)		 Commentator SmackDown
7 Raw Batista
(David Bautista)		 Male wrestler SmackDown
8 SmackDown Umaga
(Eddie Fatu)		 Male wrestler Raw
9 Raw Kane
(Glenn Jacobs)		 Male wrestler ECW ECW Champion
10 SmackDown Mr. Kennedy
(Ken Anderson)		 Male wrestler Raw
11 SmackDown Triple H
(Paul Levesque)		 Male wrestler Raw WWE Champion

Supplemental draft
Mark Henry was the 12th pick in the 2008 WWE Draft
Kofi Kingston was the final, 28th overall, draft pick in the 2008 WWE Draft
Pick No. Brand (to) Employee
(Real name)[lower-alpha 4]		 Role Brand (from) Notes
12 ECW Mark Henry Male wrestler SmackDown
13 Raw Jamie Noble
(James Gibson)		 Male wrestler SmackDown
14 SmackDown Trevor Murdoch
(William Mueller)		 Male wrestler Raw Never appeared on this brand as he was released from his contract
15 SmackDown Big Daddy V
(Nelson Frazier, Jr.)		 Male wrestler ECW Never appeared on this brand as he was released from his contract
16 Raw Deuce
(Jimmy Reiher, Jr.)		 Male wrestler SmackDown
17 SmackDown DH Smith
(Harry Smith)		 Male wrestler Raw Never appeared on this brand as he returned to FCW and was later drafted to ECW the following year without appearing on SmackDown
18 ECW Hornswoggle
(Dylan Postl)		 Male wrestler SmackDown Alliance with Finlay
19 ECW Super Crazy
(Francisco Islas)		 Male wrestler Raw
20 Raw Chuck Palumbo Male wrestler SmackDown Never appeared on this brand as he was released from his contract
21 SmackDown Brian Kendrick Male wrestler Raw Split of Paul London and Brian Kendrick
22 Raw Matt Striker
(Matthew Kaye)		 Male wrestler ECW
23 SmackDown Maria
(Maria Kanellis)		 Female wrestler Raw
24 SmackDown Shelton Benjamin Male wrestler ECW
25 ECW Finlay
(Dave Finlay)		 Male wrestler SmackDown Alliance with Hornswoggle
26 SmackDown Carlito
(Carly Colón)		 Male wrestler Raw
27 Raw Layla
(Layla El)		 Female wrestler ECW
28 Raw Kofi Kingston
(Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah)		 Male wrestler ECW

Aftermath

Jim Ross, one of the draftees, was unaware he was to switch brands during the draft. After the draft, Ross was on the verge of quitting his job as a commentator for WWE, as he was angry at the fact he was leaving the Raw brand, where he had commentated for over ten years. Ross stated on his official blog that he was about to quit WWE, but he decided to continue to work for the company and make the best of working on SmackDown.[14] After the Draft, the ECW brand was left without a world championship, after the ECW Champion Kane was drafted to Raw. As a result of pre-draft stipulations, champions took their championships to their new brand and made them property of that brand. SmackDown, however, lost their secondary championship, after United States Champion Matt Hardy was drafted to the ECW brand, in the process making the title ECW property, but gained another top-tier championship when WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to the SmackDown brand, in the process making the title SmackDown exclusive for the first time since 2005. The result of Triple H being drafted was the loss of the Raw brand's world championship.[15] After the draft, the ECW Championship moved back to ECW when Mark Henry defeated Kane and Big Show in a Triple Threat match at Night of Champions, leaving Raw without any top-tier championships.[16] On the June 30, 2008 episode of Raw, the Raw brand regained a world championship, after Money in the Bank contract holder, CM Punk, cashed in his contract and defeated the World Heavyweight Champion, Edge.[17] Lastly, the United States Championship returned to SmackDown after Shelton Benjamin defeated Matt Hardy at The Great American Bash pay-per-view on July 20.[18] Trevor Murdoch and Big Daddy V were both later released from WWE prior to their first appearances on SmackDown after being drafted.[19][20] Chuck Palumbo was also later released from the WWE prior to his first appearance on Raw after being drafted. Umaga died in 2009 from an accidental drug overdose, while Big Daddy V died in 2014 of heart failure.

The draft helped increased the television ratings of Raw, which was one of the main purposes of the draft. The television rating for the three hours was 3.40 TVR, as it earned 2.78 TVR for the first hour, 3.46 TVR for the second hour, and 3.95 TVR for the final hour. In its regular time slot, the show would have garnered a 3.7 rating.[21] Both ratings were higher than the week's previous rating of a 3.3 TVR.[22]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Jeff Hardy, originally on the Raw brand, was drafted to SmackDown before this match took place.
  2. Picks No. 5 and 6 went to SmackDown and Raw, respectively, after the match resulted in a double-disqualification.
  3. Other participants included: Raw; Triple H, Batista, CM Punk and Kane. SmackDown; Big Show, The Great Khali, MVP and Jeff Hardy. ECW; Matt Hardy, John Morrison and The Miz, Chavo Guerrero and Shelton Benjamin.
  4. Not all employees use their real name when performing, their real name is listed underneath their stage name. Performers whose real name is not listed in parentheses indicates that they use their real name when performing.

References
General
  • Sitterson, Aubrey (2008-06-23). "A Draft Disaster (Televised draft and match results)". WWE. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  • Vermillion, James (2008-06-25). "Supplemental Changes (Supplemental draft results)". WWE. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
Specific
  1. "WWE presents Monday Night RAW - June 23, 2008". WWE. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
  2. "Monday June 23, 2008 (All times are US/Eastern)". USA Network. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  3. Burdick, Michael (2008-06-19). "Demolition Draftin'". WWE. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  4. Sitterson, Aubrey (2008-06-23). "A Draft disaster". WWE. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  5. "WWE Supplemental Draft". WWE. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  6. DiFino, Lennie (2008-05-26). "One last stand". WWE. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  7. Greg, Adkins. "It's all about the Mon-ey!". WWE. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  8. "Preview:2008 WWE Draft". WWE. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  9. Clayton, Corey (2008-06-25). "WWE Supplemental Draft Live Blog". WWE. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-03. The only information we have from Draft HQ is that the picks are completely random.
  10. Clayton, Corey (2008-06-25). "WWE Supplemental Draft Live Blog". WWE. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-03. Also, we've learned from Draft HQ that all Superstars drafted on Monday are exempt from today's proceedings. So there will be NO draft-backs, so to speak.
  11. Ross, Jim. "It's nice to be back in Oklahoma after a whirlwind few days". J.R.'s BBQ. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-04-12. I have read that I knew that I was leaving Monday Night Raw prior to the draft. Wrong. I had no clue as to the move….had no travel booked to go to Houston, including no hotel room there booked prior to Tuesday nor did I take an extra suit to wear Tuesday night as I thought I was coming home, as usual.
  12. "WWE ratings still lead the pack". WWE. 2008-06-03. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  13. "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands". WWE. 2002-05-27. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-26. The creation of two distinct television shows provides the opportunity to create and promote new Superstars and more exciting storylines.
  14. Ross, Jim. "J.R's Post Draft Thoughts". Jim Ross BBQ. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  15. Vermillion, James (2008-06-25). "Supplemental Changes". WWE. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-26. Also, with many of the champions changing brands, will the titles find themselves in their new homes permanently after Night of Champions?
  16. Rote, Andrew (2008-06-29). "Worlds Strongest Extreme Champion". WWE. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  17. Sitterson, Aubrey (2008-06-23). "A Draft Disaster". WWE. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  18. DiFino, Lennie (2008-07-20). "The Great American Bash: Midas Touch". WWE. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  19. "Trevor Murdoch Released". WWE. 2008-07-03. Archived from the original on 7 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  20. "WWE releases six Superstars, referee Nick Patrick". WWE. 2008-08-08. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  21. Martin, Adam (2008-06-25). "More on 6/23 Monday Night Raw rating". WrestleView.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  22. Martin, Adam (2008-06-17). "Final 6/16 Monday Night Raw rating". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2008-06-26.

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