Report: Cliffhanger Originally Planned For WWE Draft

WWE scrapped plans for a cliffhanger ahead of the 2021 Draft, according to a new report.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider noted that Bobby Lashley was originally scheduled to be the first draft pick for Monday Night Raw on Friday's episode of SmackDown. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston would have still been drafted to SmackDown on the show, with the cliffhanger over the weekend being that fans didn't know which brand WWE Champion Big E would be drafted to until Monday.

The cliffhanger plan was ultimately dropped over the course of Friday and Big E ended up being selected as Raw's top draft pick during SmackDown. Lashley was drafted as Raw's third pick during last night's edition of the Monday night show. The New Day were still split up, though, and Kingston and Woods will be on SmackDown while Big E will be WWE Champion on Raw.

Other high-profile names moved during the WWE Draft include Edge, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. The updated WWE rosters can be found here. The draft will take effect from October 22.