SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The WWE Draft will begin next week on Smackdown and a batch of NXT talents have been pitched for a main roster call-up.
PWInsider is reporting that Pretty Deadly, Ilja Dragunov, Cameron Grimes, and Zoey Stark all have been pitched for main roster runs with Dragunov slated for Smackdown and Pretty Deadly slated for WWE Raw. The report doesn’t indicate where Grimes and Stark may end up.
Per the draft rules announced by Triple H, all talent in the company are eligible to be drafted to different brands, regardless of where they currently work. Grimes has been away from NXT for all of 2023. Zoey Stark lost a match to Roxanne Perez on this week’s episode of the show. Ilja Dragunov has been embroiled in a feud with JD McDonagh and most recently with Dijak.
The WWE Draft will take place beginning on next week’s episode of Smackdown and then will shift to finish up on the May 1 edition of Monday Night Raw.
WWE has not announced which brand would be able to pick first and how NXT talent may be incorporated into the draft.
All are ready for primetime, especially Ilja.