If the latest report is to be believed, WWE is planning to hold its next draft a little more than a week after this year's SummerSlam.
A new report courtesy of the Mat Men Podcast's Andrew Zarian has potentially revealed when WWE plans on holding its next draft. According to Zarian, the draft will begin on the August 30, 2021, edition of Raw, and conclude four days later on the September 3 episode of SmackDown. That will be a twist on what WWE has usually done since SmackDown moved to Fox.
No, It Hasn't Been A Year Already
The last draft, which took place in October 2020, started on SmackDown and ended on Raw three days later. It's unclear why WWE has decided to switch things up, if the above report does indeed come to fruition. It should also be noted that these dates fall shortly after SummerSlam. The dust from any big SummerSlam bouts will only have one Raw and one SmackDown to settle before the roster is reshuffled.
It's also rather telling that WWE is planning to pull the trigger on its next draft less than a year after the last one. Everything going on with the promotion's roster right now indicates that management doesn't really know what direction it is headed with most of its Superstars. Braun Strowman was released two weeks after competing for the WWE Title, and Aleister Black was let go after finally getting the restart he deserved.
In Serious Need Of A Shake Up
Those releases have also left what was a pretty packed roster not so long ago looking rather sparse. There are a few reasons why Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley are wrestling yet again at Hell In A Cell, and a lack of fresh opponents for the WWE Champion is one of them. The roster is in serious need of a shake-up, which is likely why this year's draft has been brought forward.
The week after SummerSlam is also a far better position on the calendar for the draft. In recent years it has fallen far too close to Survivor Series. That has resulted in Superstars who recently moved to a different brand competing against those on the show they just left. It results in matches and rivalries not being shaken up at all, and also makes it difficult to keep track of who landed where. Doing the draft right after a major show makes much more sense.