A couple of weeks ago, WWE officially announced the dates for this year’s Draft. It was revealed that the event will start on April 28th, on SmackDown, and end on May 1st, on RAW. And believing what WWE’s Chief Content Officer Triple H said, it’s going to be a game changer. Unfortunately, John Cena won’t be partaking in the WWE Draft 2023. However, this year, someone else might go through what he went through in the 2011 Draft.
NEXT WEEK on #SmackDown:
It’s the first night of the #WWEDraft! Every Superstar is eligible. Will titles change brands? Will teams be split up?👀
Find out FRIDAY at 8/7c on @FOXTV pic.twitter.com/LNuQ2LcmQy
— WWE (@WWE) April 22, 2023
In about 72 hours, SmackDown Live will kickstart the 2023 edition of WWE Draft. Somehow so far, the management has kept a tight lid on its plans for the event. However, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from spreading potential spoilers.
As per a recent report, the 2023 Draft might see WWE pulling off something similar to what they once did with John Cena.
WWE might move a star to SmackDown and then, back to RAW, just like John Cena in 2011
During his time as a full-time superstar, John Cena used to be a big part of the WWE Draft. In fact, the 2011 edition kicked off with him being moved to SmackDown. However, by the end, The Cenation Leader was drafted back to the red brand.
In the WWE Draft 2023, John Cena may not be an active player, but something similar to what happened to him back then might happen to another superstar. As per the sources that spoke to WrestlingBlog, WWE has had small talks of repeating the same thing this year.
The report noted that the plan is to first draft someone to the blue brand and then bring him back to RAW. Though nothing has been mentioned about who that superstar might be.
“One of my source has mentioned that there’s been small talks of potentially doing something similar with a certain wrestler this upcoming draft like they did with John cena on 2011 that he was drafted to SmackDown and then drafted back to RAW” WrestlingBlog wrote.
One of my source has mentioned that there’s been small talks of potentially doing something similar with a certain wrestler this upcoming draft like they did with John cena on 2011 that he was drafted to SmackDown and then drafted back to RAW pic.twitter.com/EZYsnSiUXD
— The Wrestling Blog (@WrestlingBlog_) April 26, 2023
Why hasn’t WWE included the 16-time World Champion to this year’s edition?
Well, it’s not just John Cena, WWE Draft 2023 has also omitted part-timers like Logan Paul, and injured superstars like Randy Orton. The reason behind WWE not including unfit stars is pretty obvious. The idea is to keep their brand a secret until they return.
However, as to names like Cena and Logan, they are part-timers which is why WWE often treats them as free agents. This gives the company the liberty to use them on any brand according to their needs. That’s why The Ceantion Leader’s name has been kept out.
Nevertheless, there are reports that WWE will take the brand split seriously after this year’s Draft. In fact, rumors claim Brand Specific pay-per-views are also returning. It will be interesting to see on which brand the Big Match John appears when he returns.
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