2005 WWE Draft Lottery

WWE's intra-brand draft
2005 WWE draft lottery
John Cena, the first draftee in the 2005 WWE draft.
General information
SportProfessional wrestling
Date(s)June 6–30, 2005
Overview
LeagueWorld Wrestling Entertainment
TeamsRaw
Heat (mid-card only)
SmackDown!
Velocity (mid-card only)
← 2004
2006 →

The 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft lottery, the third WWE draft, took place over a four-week period from June 6–30.

Every wrestler from Raw, Heat, SmackDown! and Velocity was eligible to be drafted, including announcers, commentators, and general managers.[1] There were ten draft picks and an eleven-person trade conducted between the promotion's two main brands: Raw and SmackDown!, where twenty-two wrestlers were drafted and traded overall.[2] Draft picks were drawn at (kayfabe) random on WWE's two-hour main television programs, each Monday on Raw (on Spike TV) and each Thursday on SmackDown! (on UPN).[1] Post-draft trades were revealed on WWE's official website, wwe.com.[2][3]

Background

On the April 18, 2005, episode of Raw, WWE chairman Mr. McMahon scheduled a draft lottery for the following month in May.[4] However, on the May 16 episode of Raw, McMahon postponed the draft to June.[5] He noted that there were no exceptions from the draft, including the injured and the champions.[5]

Selections

Draft lottery

Pick No. Brand (to) Wrestler
(Real name)
Role Brand (from) Day of selection
1 Raw John Cena (then-WWE Champion) Male wrestler SmackDown! June 6 (Raw)
2 SmackDown! Chris Benoit Male wrestler Raw June 9 (SmackDown!)
3 Raw Kurt Angle Male wrestler SmackDown! June 13 (Raw)
4 SmackDown! Randy Orton Male wrestler Raw June 16 (SmackDown!)
5 Raw Carlito
(Carlos Colón, Jr.)
Male wrestler SmackDown! June 20 (Raw)
6 SmackDown! Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari
(Mark Copani and Shawn Daivari)
Male wrestlers Raw June 23 (SmackDown!)
7 Raw Big Show
(Paul Wight)
Male wrestler SmackDown! June 27 (Raw)
8 Raw Rob Van Dam
(Robert Szatkowski)
Male wrestler SmackDown!
9 SmackDown! Christian
(William Reso)
Male wrestler Raw June 30 (SmackDown!)
10 SmackDown! Batista
(David Bautista) (then-World Heavyweight Champion)
Male wrestler Raw

Post-draft trades

Pick No. Brand (to) Wrestler
(Real name)
Role Brand (from)
1 Raw Male/female wrestlers SmackDown!
SmackDown! Male/female wrestlers Raw

Later-on (and other) supplementals & later-on (and other) trades

Pick No. Brand (to) Wrestler
(Real name)
Role Brand (from) Notes
1 Raw Torrie Wilson
(Torrie Anne Wilson)
Female wrestler SmackDown! Was traded to Raw for the first time in her career after the release of her long time Smackdown brand rivals Dawn Marie and then Raw branded Nidia (Nidia was released before Torrie was traded to Raw.). Also while on SmackDown Torrie and Candice Michelle feuded with Melina and Jillian Hall.
2 SmackDown! Christy Hemme
(Christy Lee Hemme)
Female wrestler Raw Feuded on-and-off with Melina (with Jillian Hall as Melina's ally and Stacy Kiebler as Hemme's ally) after traded and after Stacy along with her was traded and was later on released after.
3 Raw Johnny Nitro
(John Randall Hennigan)
Male wrestler SmackDown! Was later on traded to Raw early 2006 after he and Joey Mercury lost the WWE Tag Team Championships as MNM to Londrick at Judgement Day of year 2006.
4 SmackDown! Stacy Kiebler
(Stacy Ann-Marie Kiebler)
Female wrestler Raw She and Christy Hemme were traded to SmackDown in exchange for Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle. She was later on released after losing to Jillian Hall on an episode of WWE Velocity in a singles match.
5 Raw Melina
(Melina Nava Perez)
Female wrestler SmackDown! Was traded to Raw early 2006 after losing to longtime SmackDown Diva ally Jillian Hall at WWE Judgement Day of year 2006 and the fall apart of MNM. Also won the WWE Women's Championship against Mickie James after traded to Raw.
6 SmackDown! Ashley Massaro
(Ashley Marie Massaro)
Female wrestler Raw Was traded to SmackDown early 2006 after losing to Mickie James at WWE Royal Rumble of year 2006 as Trish Stratus was Special Guest Referee, she and Trish Stratus also feuded against Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Victoria while on Raw. Also while on SmackDown was a part of and managed tag team stable Londrick and also stepped in the ring with the lights of Kristal Marshall, Michelle McCool, Jillian Hall and 2006 Diva Search winner Layla El.
7 Raw Candice Michelle
(Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich)
Female wrestler SmackDown! She was traded back to Raw to feud against Trish Stratus & Ashley Massaro alongside her buddies Torrie Wilson and Victoria, Vince's Devils. Also won the WWE Women's Championship against Melina at Vengeance: Night of Champions of year 2007 after traded back to Raw.
  • 1 – Jindrak made only one appearance on Raw.
  • 2 – These people were released from their contracts prior to their debut on Raw.
  • 3 – Guerrero made his return on the July 4 edition of Raw repackaged as Kerwin White. The gimmick was later abandoned in November 2005 after the death of Eddie Guerrero.

Aftermath

This was the first draft in which champions brought their titles to their new show if they were selected. After John Cena was drafted to Raw, along with the WWE Championship, SmackDown! was left without a world title for the remainder of the month of June.[6] As a result, on the June 23, 2005 episode, General Manager, Theodore Long, announced the creation of new world title, called the SmackDown! Championship.[6][7] The new champion would have been determined in a six-man elimination match between The Undertaker, Muhammad Hassan, Christian, Booker T, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Chris Benoit, which Layfield won on the June 30, 2005 episode of SmackDown!.[8][9] After Layfield won the match, Long declared that the SmackDown! Championship was not needed because the then-World Heavyweight Champion, Batista, had been drafted to SmackDown!.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "2005 WWE Draft Lottery". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2005-06-13. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  2. ^ a b Waldman, Jon. "WWE announces trade to finish Draft Lottery". Canoe: SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  3. ^ "RAW and SmackDown! agree to a 11-person deal". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2005-06-30. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  4. ^ "WWE Raw (April 18, 2005) Results". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  5. ^ a b "WWE Raw (May 16, 2005) Results". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  6. ^ a b "WWE SmackDown! (June 23, 2005) Results". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  7. ^ "SmackDown!". PWWEW.net. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  8. ^ a b "WWE SmackDown! (June 30, 2005) Results". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  9. ^ a b "6 Man Elimination match for the vacant WWE Championship". PWWEW.net. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
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