WWE NXT Women’s Championship Vacated 

The WWE NXT Women’s Championship has been vacated.

During Tuesday night’s episode of NXT, Indi Hartwell came out during the main event segment to announce that there will be a tournament to crown a new champion now that she’s been called up to the RAW brand.

During her promo segment, Hartwell spoke about the importance of the NXT Women’s Championship, and went on to reveal that a tournament will begin next week. The finals will take place at NXT Battleground, which takes place on May 28 in Lowell, MA.

Hartwell’s title reign comes to an end at just 31 days. She is currently sidelined after suffering a high ankle sprain on last week’s episode of WWE NXT. Hartwell was also drafted to Raw during the first night of the 2023 WWE Draft this past Friday on SmackDown.

Complete 2023 WWE Draft Results – Who Switched Brands?

The 2023 WWE Draft is in the books following Monday’s episode of RAW.

Triple H came out to open RAW and announced that Brock Lesnar was exempt from the Draft and will be able to appear on all WWE brands. The storyline given is that Lesnar renegotiated his status as a free agent and was excluded from the draft.

You can check out the complete results from the 2023 WWE Draft below:

RAW:
* SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley
* WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER
* NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell
* Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
* Cody Rhodes
* Becky Lynch
* Matt Riddle
* Drew McIntyre
* The Miz
* Shinsuke Nakamura
* Seth “Freakin” Rollins
* Imperium (Luwdig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci)
* The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio)
* Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston
* Trish Stratus
* Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler
* Braun Strowman and Ricochet
* Bronson Reed
* Alpha Academy
* Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
* Dana Brooke
* Nikki Cross
* Johnny Gargano
* Los Lotharios
* Akira Tozawa
* Piper Niven
* Xia Li
* Tegan Nox
* Emma
* Riddick Moss
* Indus Sher
* Odyssey Jones
* The Viking Raiders (Erik, Ivar, and Valhalla)
* Candice LeRae
* Dexter Lumis
* The Maximum Male Models (ma.cé, mån.sôör, and Maxxine Dupri)
* Natalya
* Apollo Crews
* Chelsea Green
* Sonya Deville
* Zoey Stark
* JD McDonagh

SmackDown:
* Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Paul Heyman
* RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair
* WWE United States Champion Austin Theory
* Solo Sikoa
* The Street Profits
* Edge
* Bobby Lashley
* The OC (AJ Styles, Michin, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson)
* Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, IYO SKY)
* Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
* Charlotte Flair
* The Usos
* The LWO (Rey Mysterio, Zelina Vega, Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde)
* Asuka
* The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Butch, Ridge Holland)
* Karrion Kross and Scarlett
* LA Knight
* Shotzi
* Pretty Deadly
* Rick Boogs
* Cameron Grimes
* Tamina
* Hit Row (Top Dolla, B-Fab, Ashante Thee Adonis)
* Lacey Evans
* Grayson Waller

Free Agents:
* Brock Lesnar
* Omos & MVP
* Baron Corbin
* Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin
* Elias
* Mustafa Ali
* Dolph Ziggler
* Von Wagner
* Xyon Quinn

WWE NXT Preview 5/2/2023

WWE NXT returns on the USA Network at 8/7c this evening from the Capitol Wrestling Center inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The road to WWE Battleground.

2023 WWE Draft Night 2 Results

Round One

  • 1. Rhea Ripley, Raw
  • 2. Austin Theory, SmackDown
  • 3. Seth Rollins, Raw
  • 4. Charlotte Flair, SmackDown

Round Two

  • 5. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, Raw
  • 6. The Usos, SmackDown
  • 7. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio), Raw
  • 8. The LWO (Rey Mysterio, Cruz Del Toro, Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde & Zelina Vega), SmackDown

Round Three

  • 9. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, Raw
  • 10. Asuka, SmackDown
  • 11. New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), Raw
  • 12. Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch), SmackDown

Round Four

  • 13. Trish Stratus, Raw
  • 14. Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett), SmackDown
  • 15. Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey, Raw
  • 16. LA Knight, SmackDown

Round Five

  • 17. Braun Strowman & Ricochet, Raw
  • 18. Shotzi, SmackDown
  • 19. Bronson Reed, Raw
  • 20. Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson), SmackDown from NXT

Round Six

  • 21. Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable), Raw
  • 22. Rick Boogs, SmackDown
  • 23. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter, Raw from NXT
  • 24. Cameron Grimes, SmackDown from NXT

Supplemental Draft Picks, Raw Talk

  • Dana Brooke, Raw
  • Nikki Cross, Raw
  • Johnny Gargano, Raw
  • Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo, Raw
  • Akira Tozawa, Raw
  • Piper Niven, Raw
  • Xia Li, Raw
  • Tegan Nox, Raw
  • Emma, Raw
  • Madcap Moss, Raw
  • “Indus Sher” Jinder Mahal, Veer Mahaan & Sanga, SmackDown from NXT
  • Odyssey Jones, SmackDown from NXT
  • Tamina, SmackDown
  • Grayson Waller, SmackDown from NXT

Free Agents:
* Brock Lesnar
* Baron Corbin
* Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin
* Elias
* Mustafa Ali
* Xyon Quinn from NXT

WWE RAW Preview 5/1/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network and emanate from the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

  • The Raw go-home show for Saturday’s Backlash
  • Brock Lesnar returns
  • WWE Draft continues

The following is eligible to be drafted tonight on Raw

  • Akira Tozawa
  • Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable)
  • Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo
  • Asuka
  • Austin Theory
  • Baron Corbin
  • Braun Strowman & Ricochet
  • Brock Lesnar
  • Bronson Reed
  • Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin
  • Charlotte Flair
  • Dana Brooke
  • Elias
  • Emma
  • Johnny Gargano
  • Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio)
  • Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett)
  • Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
  • LA Knight
  • Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
  • Nikki Cross
  • Piper Niven
  • Rhea Ripley
  • Rick Boogs
  • Riddick Moss
  • Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler
  • Seth Rollins
  • Shotzi
  • Tamina
  • Tegan Nox
  • The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch)
  • The LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde & Zelina Vega)
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
  • Trish Stratus
  • Xia Li
  • Select NXT Superstars

Carmella & Corey Graves Expecting First Child Together 

WWE superstar Carmella (Leah Van Dale) and husband Corey Graves are expecting their first child together. Speaking to Good Morning America Monday morning, the former “WWE SmackDown” Women’s Champion revealed she found out the news in March. This exciting announcement follows a revelation from this past October, when she opened up to the world about a previous miscarriage as well as a potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.

Yet despite admitting to GMA that she’s been more tired than she’s ever been, Carmella couldn’t be happier, saying “But I’ve never been so happy to feel so awful.” The couple are expecting to welcome their baby around November.

Backstage News On Why Bray Wyatt & Other Notable Superstars Weren’t Included In WWE Draft

Fightful Select has provided an update on several Superstars who were not included in the WWE Draft, including two-time WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt.

Wyatt was pulled from WWE programming due to a physical issue on the Road To WrestleMania 39. As a result, his WrestleMania feud with Bobby Lashley was also nixed and the All Mighty didn’t get to wrestle at the Showcase Of Immortals this year.

According to the report, Wyatt was overcoming illness during WrestleMania weekend. He has recently been telling his friends about his excitement to return to work as soon as he can.

Additionally, Big E, Randy Orton, R-Truth, and Robert Roode are all dealing with injuries and weren’t part of the 2023 WWE Draft.

Both Truth and Roode are expected to miss most if not all of 2023. Truth tore his quad this past year and Roode recently underwent neck fusion surgery. Big E is still recovering from a broken neck and Orton has been dealing with back issues. WWE is currently uncertain about when these four Superstars can return to work.

On the other hand, certain wrestlers are simply absent because they’ve been missing from television, namely, Aliyah, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Shanky, and Uncle Howdy.

Shanky hasn’t wrestled since Triple H took over WWE Creative. Aliyah hasn’t been seen since September, following her recovery from an AC sprain and rib injury.

Alexa Bliss was shelved due to skin cancer treatment and hasn’t been included in creative plans. Uncle Howdy, played by Bo Dallas, likely won’t return until Wyatt does.

Carmella’s absence has not been explained, but she vanished ahead of WrestleMania 39.

Gable Steveson was drafted to RAW in 2022 and has been undergoing training ever since. No creative plans were in place at the time and the move was described as a publicity stunt.

Jinder Mahal is now considered to be on the NXT roster.

Finally, part-timers like Lita, Logan Paul, and Maryse were also excluded from the Draft.

Lita is out selling a storyline injury and isn’t expected to be doing much ringwork in the future. Her appearances with Becky Lynch were simply meant to advance the storyline with Trish Stratus.

Speaking of Paul, even though he was included in the official Draft graphic, he’s viewed as a free agent and will appear wherever WWE needs him to.

Maryse was also included in the graphic but went undrafted. She will just appear whenever The Miz does, and The Hollywood A-Lister was drafted to RAW.

Source: eWrestlingNews

More WWE Draft Picks Announced On SmackDown LowDown

Yesterday on “The SmackDown LowDown,” WWE announced even more picks, and here’s who’s headed where.

Drafted to “Raw” are the trio of The Viking Raiders and Valhalla, Dexter Lumis, Candice LeRae, Natalya, “WWE NXT” call-ups Zoey Stark and JD McDonagh, Apollo Crews, the team of Sonya DeVille and Chelsea Green, and the Maximum Male Models with Maxxine Dupri. Headed to “SmackDown” are the Hit Row trio of Top Dolla, Ashante Adonis, and B-Fab, as well as Lacey Evans. Interestingly, that puts all four members of former “NXT” stable The Way on the “Raw” roster, although Johnny Gargano may possibly be drafted to “SmackDown” when more picks are made official on Monday night.

In a surprising move, “The SmackDown Lowdown” also confirmed that a few WWE stars in the first draft pool are set to be free agents, able to appear on either show, at least for now. In that category are Omos with manager MVP, Mustafa Ali, Dolph Ziggler, and “NXT” call-up Von Wagner. In Omos’ case, the onscreen explanation for his free agency is that MVP negotiated him into that position. However, it remains unclear why exactly Ali, Ziggler, and Wagner weren’t drafted to a specific brand.

WWE SmackDown:

  • Hit Row (Top Dolla & Ashante “Thee” Adonis w/ B-Fab)
  • Lacey Evans

WWE RAW:

  • Maximum Male Models (ma.cé, mån.sôör & Maxxine Dupri)
  • Dexter Lumis
  • Candice LeRae
  • Natalya
  • Apollo Crews
  • Chelsea Green
  • Sonya Deville
  • Zoey Stark
  • JD McDonagh

Omos & MVP, Mustafa Ali, Dolph Ziggler, and NXT’s Von Wagner are free agents. NXT’s Zoey Stark, JD McDonagh, and Apollo Crews were also called up. 

WWE Draft Night 1 Results, AJ Styles Returned

ROUND 1:

  • SmackDown No. 1: The Bloodline (Undisputed Universal World Champion Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa & Paul Heyman); the World Heavyweight Championship thereby exclusive to Raw
  • RAW No. 1: Cody Rhodes
  • SmackDown: Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair
  • RAW: Becky Lynch

ROUND 2:

  • SmackDown: The Street Profits
  • RAW: Imperium (Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
  • SmackDown: Edge
  • RAW: Matt Riddle

ROUND 3: 

  • SmackDown: Bobby Lashley
  • RAW: Drew McIntyre
  • SmackDown: The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson & Michin)
  • RAW: The Miz

ROUND 4:

  • SmackDown: Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky
  • RAW: Shinsuke Nakamura
  • SmackDown: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn (NXT Women’s Tag-Team Champions)
  • RAW: Indi Hartwell (NXT Women’s Champion)

Undrafted superstars: 

  • Candice LeRae
  • Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green 
  • Omos
  • Hit Row
  • Maximum Male Models
  • Dolph Ziggler
  • Dexter Lumis
  • Natalya
  • Mustafa Ali
  • Viking Raiders
  • Lacey Evans

Additional picks will be announced on today’s edition of “The SmackDown LowDown”.

AJ Styles returned from injury last night after he was drafted along with the rest of The O.C. Styles has been off TV since suffering a broken ankle at a live event in December.

The O.C. was interrupted by the Viking Raiders, but Styles had The OC “handle their business” and the group made short work of their opposition.

WWE SmackDown Preview 4/28/2023

WWE SmackDown airs live tonight on FOX and will emanate from the American Bank Center Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas.