WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: WWE Draft Night 1 wraps up as most superstars stay put

Apr 26, 2024 at 10:25 pm ET • 1 min read

Night 1 of the WWE Draft has concluded. WWE SmackDown hosted the first of two draft nights, which will conclude on Monday Night Raw. 

This year's event was light on surprises as the two brands often opted to draft their existing rosters and lock them in place. Nearly every champion was ineligible to be drafted except for the WWE women's tag team champs. Bianca Belair was surprisingly the No. 1 overall draft pick and big things are in store for NXT superstar Carmelo Hayes after also being drafted in Round 1.

SmackDown also hosted a contract signing between undisputed WWE universal champion Cody Rhodes and No. 1 contender AJ Styles. Rhodes makes his first world title defense at Backlash France on May 4. It was a mostly cordial contract signing built on the first meeting between two workhorse Georgia boys who graduated from independent darlings to WWE champions.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

WWE Draft Night 1 results

The Bloodline's wiseman Paul Heyman announced at the top of the show that Roman Reigns had withdrawn his eligibility for the draft. Heyman claimed Reigns did not want to hog the No. 1 pick with no timeline for his return.

Belair and Jey Uso were the first two superstars drafted, remaining on SmackDown and Raw, respectively. Rounding out the first-round picks was NXT superstar Hayes to SmackDown and former world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins staying on Raw.

Sikoa showed up halfway through the evening, angered that The Bloodline had yet to be drafted. Heyman explained that Reigns withdrawing and Sikoa adding new members to the group made drafting the group early a risky proposition. Sikoa wasn't satisfied with that explanation. Kevin Owens attacked Sikoa and Tama Tonga before the conversation went further. WWE officials quickly separated the superstars. The fighting later spilled out into the ring. WWE officials once again intervened but were taken out one by one by Tonga. Orton was ultimately the difference maker, hitting the ring and taking out both members of The Bloodline.

Later in the evening, former SmackDown general manager Teddy Long announced that Owens and Orton would take on The Bloodline in a tag team match at Backlash.

Various WWE legends were in the house to announce the draft picks: Paul Levesque, Michelle McCool, Torrie Wilson, The Dudley Boyz, Long and John Bradshaw Layfield.

Take a look at the Night 1 draft results below. You will find the superstars eligible for drafting below the table.

1

Bianca Belair

Jey Uso

2

Randy Orton

Bron Breakker

3

LA Knight

Ricochet

Friday's available draft pool

• AJ Styles
• Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn
• Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri)
• Andrade
• Bianca Belair
• Bron Breakker
• Cedric Alexander and Ashante "Thee" Adonis
• Ivar
• Jey Uso
• LA Knight
• Liv Morgan
• Nia Jax
• Randy Orton
• Ricochet
• Seth Rollins
• Shayna Baszler
• Sheamus
• The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, "MFT" Tama Tonga and Paul Heyman)
• The O.C. (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Michin)
• Zoey Stark

* NXT Superstars were eligible to be drafted.

The draft was mostly logical but a little underwhelming. Perhaps it was to be expected with so many heavy hitters being saved for Monday's pool. Hayes getting drafted in Round 1 and main eventing against Rhodes -- more on that below -- bodes well for his future. The real head-scratcher was Styles being drafted so late despite challenging for the undisputed WWE universal title next week. It makes sense that brands would try and lock their superstars in place but it makes for a somewhat deflating experience. It was a responsible long-term choice to keep champions out of the pool but that further limited main event draft picks. The Bloodline taking a hit due to Reigns' withdrawal and Sikoa's craziness was a nice touch. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• Rhodes and Styles signed a contract for their undisputed WWE universal title match at Backlash.
• LWO (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee) def. Legado del Fantasma (Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo) via pinfall after Mysterio hit a 619 and Lee finished put away Garza with Operation: Dragon.
  
  
• Santos Escobar revealed security footage that Carlito attacked Dragon Lee before WrestleMania 40, forcing Lee out of a tag team match with Mysterio. Carlio responded by attacking both Lee and Mysterio.
• Bron Breakker def. Cedric Alexander via pinfall after snapping him in two with a quick spear.
• Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill challenged The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) to a WWE women's tag team title match at Backlash.
• Naomi def. Tiffany Stratton via disqualification after Jax hit Naomi during a brawl with Bayley.
  
  
• The Final Testament attacked the New Catch Republic backstage.
• WWE women's champion Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton was announced for Backlash, according to SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis.
• Cody Rhodes def. Carmelo Hayes via pinfall after hitting him with Cross Rhodes.