With brands becoming almost obsolete during the run up to WrestleMania XXVI the 2010 Draft Lottery looked to re-establish the boundaries between Raw and Smackdown.
With ECW out of the picture for good there were significantly fewer transfers this year than fans have been used to seeing in past drafts, with only a total of 21 Superstars/Divas moving as a pose to last year's 36.
Who got Moved in the WWE Live Draft on Raw?
On the 25th of April Raw and Smackdown went head to head in a number of different matches with at least 1 draft pick on the line each time. Come the end of the show the following 8 Superstars/Divas had found a new home:
- Kelly Kelly drafted to Smackdown.
- The Big Show drafted to Smackdown.
- John Morrison drafted to Raw.
- R-Truth drafted to Raw.
- Edge drafted to Raw.
- Kofi Kingston drafted to Smackdown.
- Christian drafted to Smackdown.
- Chris Jericho drafted to Raw.
Views on the 2010 Live WWE Draft
Although an even number of Superstars and Divas ended up switching shows, it's easy to see that Raw came out of the live show in a much stronger position.
Raw came away with two former World Champions, a sure-fire future World Champion in John Morrison and fan favourite R-Truth.
Smackdown on the other hand picked up the only Diva move of the live draft and three fairly successful, if not a little under-rated mid-carders.
Unlike previous years there were no hugely shocking moments in the 2010 draft; No champions switched brands, no tag teams got torn apart and the commentary teams remained as they are.
Who Switched Brands in The 2010 WWE Supplemental Draft?
Following the live draft a further 13 Superstars were uprooted in the Supplemental draft on WWE.Com.
There were no real surprises in the follow up draft either, with the most ground breaking move coming from the Unified Tag Team Champions The Hart Dynasty, who along with Natalya made the move from Smackdown to Raw.
Amongst the other draft picks were Chris Masters and Cody Rhodes who moved to Smackdown and Ezekiel Jackson and The Great Khali who jumped to Raw.
For a full list of Superstars and Divas transferred in the Supplemental Draft Click Here.
Overall Impressions of the 2010 WWE Roster Draft
The biggest problem with this years Draft has to be the fact that for the past year, especially in the lead up to WrestleMania, so many Superstars and Divas appeared on both Raw AND Smackdown.
Because of this the news that they had been moved didn't have the impact it usually would, the prime examples being Superstars John Morrison, The Big Show and Chris Jericho who all went through a period where they were on both shows week in/week out due to cross-brand feuds and the rules surrounding the Unified Tag Team Championships.
Certain moves were pretty confusing (Goldust to Raw) while others look to give mid-carders a fresh chance to flourish on the alternate brand (Cody Rhodes) without previous allegiances and rivalries standing in the way.
For more information on the 2010 Draft, including a full list of the Supplemental draft picks Click Here.
Jay Davies - Jay Davies is a 25 year old graduate of the University of Lincoln's School of Journalism, currently residing in South Yorkshire, ...
