WWE Draft, Smackdown News (Patreon)

Night one of the WWE Draft is complete.

As Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported throughout the week, talent did not know until the day of the WWE Draft where they were headed, and many didn't find out until the show was on the air. As of Saturday, the talent in the Raw Draft Pool still weren't given any indication. Most had a pretty good idea Carmelo Hayes was heading to Smackdown, as he was on the travel list for that day and on internal rundowns throughout the afternoon.

We asked about the Friday process of barely having anyone switch brands, and we're told that the notion put forth on TV of retaining familiar talent was important. However, there are expected to be more swaps on Monday. We were also told to expect more NXT talent picked up that day.

Baron Corbin was drafted, as Fightful Select's Corey Brennan reported he would be last week. Both Sapp and Brennan heard that Corbin and Bron Breakker were drafted to separate brands because WWE sees a major singles star in Breakker. In addition, Sapp was told that Corbin is likely to get a renewed look on Smackdown after not being pushed on the main roster since 2022. Brennan reported that Corbin was not at the WWE PC.

CM Punk was advertised for the show locally, and did a live promo for the crowd. He also watched the main event from the crowd.

Speaking of the main event, we reached out to Cody Rhodes to ask if he was okay, and he said "always," but that isn't exactly a definitive update. Rhodes had a signing at Kroger in Newport, Kentucky Friday that saw a turnout of thousands and resulted in the line having to be stopped.

Wendy Choo has been out of action for quite some time, but was at the WWE Performance Center. Those Corey Brennan spoke to were hopeful for a return soon.

Kiana James was genuinely surprised by her callup, as she was not told what brand she would end up on post the Draft. James' video package was prepared earlier this week, per Brennan. One talent in NXT noted James was previously one of the best in ring workers on NXT's women's roster.