The WWE Draft 2024 saw several wrestlers switch brands. However, many fans have criticized the company for keeping a good portion of the current roster for their respective brands. About 15 wrestlers actually switched brands. This draft seemed disappointing to some who have become accustomed to seeing big superstars move around, as every year the WWE Draft is the only time to shake things up. This time the company didn’t do many shakeups and there are some reasons behind it.
WWE focused on not ruining current storylines
The company is aware of its past perceptions and they rarely took the draft and brand split seriously. The same fans who are ranting that not enough names were switched are often the same fans who complain when a star changes brands but is brought back again to the opposite brand in just a few weeks. This used to be called brand exemptions and had a loose rule about how a superstar could show up, but WWE never showed any consistency with it. By not shifting many names, not ruining existing storylines and not hindering active rivalries, the company does not have to go against the results of their draft selections.
An example of this was WWE’s decision to change its title belts before the draft. They protected their champions because the idea that titleholders would simply exchange their belts is horrible and funny. Just swapping out the championships to see the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Champions and acting like they meant nothing for the titles would be a joke. Now, with the brands being removed from the names, even if the champions change, the business is not complicated.
Secondly, due to the absence of many names, the stars that used to move have more meaning. WWE wanted to focus on promoting NXT stars as well and accomplished the goal of making those call-ups feel significant. Getting some names called out in the first round on each night of the draft was a big deal, especially for stars in NXT. They treated the brand as an important part and this is their strategy to grow NXT.
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Each brand’s General Manager was proud of their roster
Ultimately, the company thought it was important to show that each brand’s General manager was proud of their respective rosters. WWE made a big deal by saying that this year’s draft was as much about protecting the stars they had as it was about acquiring new names. The stamford-based promotion wants to establish stars as established on RAW and SmackDown. When it comes to television and streaming, this matters to companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
