From the recent SmackDown Live, WWE kickstarted the 2023 edition of its famous Draft. The event is set to conclude on the May 1 episode of Monday Night RAW. The two-day event used to be a huge hit between the early 2000s and 2010s. And when it comes to WWE Draft, every superstar wishes to be chosen as the first pick.
Well, the history of the fan-favorite affair goes all the way to 2002 when the first-ever event has held. Since then, the wrestling juggernaut has conducted a Draft 17 times in total.
Here’s the list of every first pick that has been made during a WWE Draft:
1) The Rock in 2002 (Drafted to SmackDown):
The first-ever WWE Draft took place on the March 25, 2002, episode of Monday Night RAW. This means The People’s Champ is the first draft pick in the history of WWE. The Rock was drafted to SmackDown by none other than the ex-WWE Owner Vince McMahon.
2) Rene Dupree in 2004 (Drafted to SmackDown):
For those who don’t know, the first pick of the WWE Draft goes to the brand that gets to choose first. Back then, Paul Heyman was the General Manager of the blue brand who chose Rene Dupree as his first pick.
3) John Cena in 2005 (Drafted to RAW):
The Cenation Leader made his debut on SmackDown where he worked for the next three years. In 2005, during the annual WWE Draft, he was moved to the red brand as the first pick.
4) The Great Khali in 2007 (Drafted to SmackDown):
2007 was the first time WWE held a full-fledged Draft involving three brands (brands, Raw, SmackDown, and ECW). The event took place on the June 11, episode of RAW that year. And the first pick of the WWE Draft in 2007 was “The Great Khali”.
5) Rey Mysterio in 2008 (Drafted to RAW):
Draft choices in the 2007 WWE Draft were made randomly by a computer displayed on the Titantron on RAW. It was the last draft of the Ruthless Aggression Era and saw Rey Mysterio becoming the first pick.
6) MVP in 2009 (Drafted to RAW):
That year, fans saw ECW being included in the annual draft for the last time. The then-US Champion MVP was the first pick who was moved to RAW for the first time.
7) Kelly Kelly in 2010 (Drafted to SmackDown):
That year, SmackDown made the first selection and for the first time in WWE history, a female superstar was chosen as the first pick. It was none other than the former WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly.
8) John Cena in 2011 (Drafted to SmackDown):
The 2011 WWE Draft began with a shocker when John Cena became the first pick and was moved to SmackDown. However, by the end of the event, The Cenation Leader was drafted back to the red brand.
10) Seth Rollins in 2016 (Drafted to RAW):
WWE took a 5-year break and didn’t host the draft until 2016. However, when the event has held, it also included talents from NXT. Moreover, that year, Shane McMahon served as SmackDown commissioner and his sister Stephanie McMahon as Raw commissioner. The event took place on June 11, 2016, RAW and saw Seth Rollins becoming the first Draft pick.
11) Apollo Crews in 2017 (Drafted to RAW):
In 2017, NXT was not included and instead of WWE Draft, the event was called “Superstar Shake-up”. One-time US and IC champion Apollo Crew was the first pick of that year’s WWE Draft.
12) Jinder Mahal in 2018 (Drafted to RAW):
In 2018, WWE dropped its traditional way to draft the superstars. Instead, Commissioners and GMs of both brands did the trade. Anyway, Jinder Mahal became, who was holding the US Title back then, became the first pick of the WWE Draft 2018.
13) The Miz and Becky Lynch in 2019 (Drafted to RAW):
2019 is the only year when WWE held its Draft twice in a year thanks to the Wild Card Rule back then. However, the first Draft took place in April which saw The Miz as the first pick. Becky Lynch was chosen first during the second one in October.
14) Drew McIntyre in 2020 (Drafted to RAW):
The two-day event that year took place on the October 9 SmackDown and October 12 RAW. A total of 60 superstars were included out of which, Drew McIntyre was selected as the first pick.
15) Roman Reigns in 2021 (Drafted to SmackDown):
The 16th WWE Draft was a special one for the blue brand. It saw “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns being moved to SmackDown as the first pick.
16) Roman Reigns, alongside Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa in 2023 (Drafted to SmackDown):
And finally, the latest one, the first pick of the WWE Draft 2023 was Roman Reigns again. The Tribal Chief, alongside his Wise Man and Solo Sikoa, was chosen by the blue brand.
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