Who was the first pick in every WWE draft in history?

The 2023 draft is underway

WWE Draft has always been a crucial part of the pro-wrestling giants' huge success allowing them to move their biggest superstars in the Red and Blue brand every once in a while. The 2023 WWE draft is the forthcoming 17th WWE draft.

The two-night event will begin with the April 28 edition of Friday Night SmackDown (in Corpus Christi, Texas) and finish with the May 1 program of Monday Night Raw (in Fort Worth, Texas), with SmackDown broadcasting on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. Following Vince McMahon's retirement in July 2022, this will be the first draft conducted since 2021 and the first under the creative control of Triple H.

Let’s look back at all the no. 1 draft picks in the WWE draft 

The Rock (SmackDown, 2002)

The People’s Champ might not be anywhere around WWE, but being one of the biggest superstars of all time, it doesn’t come as a surprise that The Rock was the first ever man to get drafted during WWE Draft. He was chosen by Vince McMahon who draw “The Brahma Bull” as the first draft in the very first WWE Draft.

Also Read: What is the WWE Draft – What should we expect?

Rene Dupree (SmackDown, 2004)

During the draft lottery, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff and SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman stood on opposite sides of the Raw set, where they drew six wrestlers at random using two machines. Paul Heyman got the first pick and he chose Rene Dupree as the first pick for SmackDow in WWE's second Draft.

John Cena (RAW, 2005)

The promotion's two brands, Raw and SmackDown!, engaged in ten draft picks and an eleven-person exchange, resulting in the selection and trade of twenty-two wrestlers total. On the June 6 edition of Raw, John Cena was drafted to the Raw brand, becoming the first wrestler chosen in the annual draft lottery. At that time John Cena was the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion as he defeated JBL at WrestleMania 21 to win his first World Championship.

The Great Khali (SmackDown, 2007)

Between the promotion's three brands, Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW, there were twenty-three draft choices, with twenty-seven wrestlers picked in total. As part of the 2007 WWE draft, The Great Khali was drafted to the SmackDown! brand as the brand's first draft choice on the 11 June edition of Raw.

Rey Mysterio (RAW, 2008)

Wrestlers from each brand participated in matches to earn a random Draft choice for their brand, similar to the 2007 WWE Draft. Draft choices were chosen at random by a computer that was displayed on the Raw Titantron. After a brief break, Mysterio returned to Raw on June 23, 2008, as the first wrestler selected in the 2008 WWE Draft from the SmackDown brand to the Raw brand. The 2008 Draft was the last event of the Ruthless Aggression Era, which finished with the SummerSlam PPV.

MVP (RAW, 2009)

The Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands were included in the WWE Draft for the third time in 2009. In all, 36 Draft picks were made, the highest since the 2002 Draft. By winning the first bout, Raw secured the first overall selection in the Draft, resulting in the acquisition of the then-United States Champion MVP from SmackDown. He moved the WWE United States Championship to Raw for the first time in history since he was the reigning WWE United States Champion.

Kelly Kelly (SmackDown, 2010)

 Overall, 21 employees were picked from the company's roster in 19 picks, the fewest in a single night of show since 2004. SmackDown won the first Draft selection by winning the opening bout, resulting in the acquisition of Kelly Kelly, the only selected female wrestler on television. She is one time WWE Divas Champion.

Also Read: Top 10 longest reigning WWE Champions of all time

John Cena (SmackDown, 2011)

In total, 29 wrestlers were picked in 30 picks. On broadcast, eight picks were made (four from each brand), with seven draftees; the online Draft had 22 options (13 from Raw and nine from SmackDown). Only five of the 29 picked characters were female. By winning the first match, SmackDown got the first Draft selection, which resulted in the acquisition of John Cena. Cena is the second person in Draft history to switch brands twice other than “The Game” Triple H.

Seth Rollins (RAW, 2016)

WWE opted to revive the brand split with a Draft in mid-2016, with a larger roster of wrestlers, owing in part to WWE's developmental brand NXT. WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon selected Shane McMahon as SmackDown commissioner and Stephanie McMahon as Raw commissioner on the July 11 broadcast of Monday Night Raw. The following week, the commissioners presented Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan as Raw and SmackDown general managers, respectively. On July 19, 2016, Rollins was selected as Raw's first Draft pick in the 2016 WWE Draft.

Apollo Crews (RAW, 2017)

The 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up was the eleventh WWE Draft, and the first to be marketed as the Superstar Shake-up. Crews were the first to be moved to the Raw brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up. Crews is a one-time United States and Intercontinental Champion.

Jinder Mahal (RAW, 2018)

WWE relaunched the Draft as the Superstar Shake-up in 2017 to replace the company's customary Draft from 2016. WWE announced another Superstar Shake-up for the April 16 and 17 episodes of Raw and SmackDown on the April 9, 2018 broadcast of Monday Night Raw. Instead of a typical Draft, Raw and SmackDown commissioners and general managers arranged trades. Jinder Mahal was the first pick to be moved back to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake-up on April 16, carrying the United States Championship with him. On the same night, though, he lost the belt against Jeff Hardy, bringing his reign to an end after only 8 days.

The Miz and Becky Lynch (RAW, 2019)

WWE staged two Drafts in 2019 for the first time. This was due to the problems with the Wild Card Rule, which was implemented with the April Superstar Shake-up, as well as SmackDown's transfer to Fox in October—Raw and SmackDown were both formerly on the USA Network. Over 70 wrestlers (including singles and tag teams) from the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and 205 Live rosters were eligible to be recruited to either Raw or SmackDown, including all Raw and SmackDown titles.  

The promotion staged two drafts in 2019, one in April and one in October. The Miz was the first-round pick in April and The Man Becky Lynch was the first-round pick in October.

As part of the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, The Miz was selected as the first choice for Raw. On the same night, The Miz would smash Shane McMahon with a steel chair to get his revenge against Shane as he beats down his father after their loss against The Usos at WWE Fastlane, 2019. Becky Lynch was drafted as the first pick for RAW during the second draft in 2019. Shortly after getting drafted into RAW, she got into a feud with Lacey Evans.

Also Read: Top 10 wrestlers with most WWE World Championships in history

Drew McIntyre (RAW, 2020)

The 2020 Draft was officially announced on September 27 during the Clash of Champions pay-per-view, and it was planned to take place on the October 9 and October 12 episodes of SmackDown and Raw, respectively. Over 60 male and female wrestlers, as well as individual tag teams and stables, including existing champions, were drafted in 2020. Drew McIntyre, the former WWE Champion, was the overall No. 1 choice for this year, and he was picked up by Monday Night RAW.

Roman Reigns (SmackDown, 2021)

WWE held its 16th Draft in 2021. The two-night event began on October 1 with a Friday Night SmackDown episode (in Baltimore, Maryland) and ended on October 4 with a Monday Night Raw episode (in Nashville, Tennessee), with SmackDown showing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. Roman Reigns, the undisputed Universal Champion, was selected as the first-round pick for SmackDown. He's been going strong ever since reigning over the whole WWE in the process.

Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman (SmackDown, 2023)

The tribal chief and the undisputed WWE Universal champion was the first pick of the 2023 Draft to SmackDown. 3/5th of the bloodline was drafted to SmackDown.