WWE announces the draft rules and celebrity appearances

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE issued the following press release to announce details regarding the WWE Draft that will begin on Friday Night Smackdown and conclude on Monday’s Raw.

The stars will be out for the WWE Draft.

Fourteen-time MLB All-Star and FOX analyst Alex Rodriguez, “Saturday Night Live’s” Michael Che and Colin Jost of “Weekend Update” segments, “Mr. Robot’s” Christian Slater, “NFL on FOX’s” Joe Buck and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, and “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer are among the celebrities set to take part.

The WWE Draft will determine the rosters of Raw and SmackDown. It begins tomorrow on Friday Night SmackDown at 8 ET/5 PT on FOX and continues Monday on Raw at 8/7 C on USA Network.

Additional personalities scheduled to appear include:

• Kevin Burkhardt and Frank Thomas — FOX MLB analysts
• Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Tony Gonzalez — FOX NFL Sunday
• Ronde Barber, Charles Davis, Chris Spielman and Daryl Johnston — FOX NFL analysts
• Charissa Thompson, Michael Vick and Peter Schrager — FOX NFL Kickoff
• Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Urban Meyer — Big Noon Kickoff
• Joel Klatt — FOX College Football analyst
• Dulé Hill of USA’s “Psych” and “Suits”
• James Roday of “Psych”
• Marcus Lemonis of “The Profit”
• Margaret Josephs and Melissa Gorga of “Real Housewives of New Jersey”
• Rodney Harrison and Chris Simms — Football Night in America
• Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Mustoe and Kyle Martino — Premier League Live

Below is the full list of WWE Draft rules:

• Over 70 Superstars, as well as tag teams, are eligible for selection in this year’s WWE Draft
• SmackDown will draft 30 Superstars, and Raw will select another 41 Superstars
• Since SmackDown is a two-hour show and Raw is a three-hour show, for every two picks SmackDown makes, Raw will receive three
• Tag teams will count as one pick unless FOX or USA Network specifically wants to pick only one Superstar from the team
• Any undrafted Superstars will immediately be declared free agents and able to sign with the brand of their choosing

Powell’s POV: The celebrity appearances don’t do much for me personally, but I’m sure they will help give the show a big time feel while also playing into the idea that Fox and USA Network are drafting the talent. It is nice to see that there are actual rules for the draft. It will be interesting to see how they can keep the Raw show interesting given that the top names will be selected on Smackdown. It will also be interesting to see if any of the undrafted talented “chooses” to move to NXT.