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For the ninth time in company history -- all since 2002 -- WWE will be holding a draft. And for the second time, WWE will be splitting its brand, which has been whole following the initial split from 2002-11.

The impetus for WWE to hold a draft and split the brand are massive changes to SmackDown, the company's No. 2 television program that has been anything but stable. It has appeared on six channels over 16 seasons and moved back and forth between Thursday and Friday nights.

WWE is rebranding the show starting July 19 during the now-named SmackDown Live, turning the taped program into a live broadcast and airing it every Tuesday night on USA Network for the first time in history. This will put five hours of WWE programming over two days on USA, necessitating distinctive rosters, storylines and writing teams to keep fans engaged and active viewers of both programs.

The draft and brand split bring up plenty of questions, including how the rosters will be constructed, what will happen to WWE's championship belts and how pay-per-views will be handled. While all the answers are not available at this time -- and trust us, we tried to get them -- here is what we know about the brand split and upcoming draft.

Brands


Raw Smackdown
Day Monday Tuesday
Length 3:05 (8-11 p.m.) 2:00 (8-10 p.m.)
Commissioner Stephanie McMahon Shane McMahon
General Manager Mick Foley Daniel Bryan
Seasons running 24 16

Draft rules

  1. Draft order: Raw will pick first, SmackDown second. Due to Raw being a longer show, it will receive three picks for every two SmackDown picks.
  2. Tag teams: Can be drafted as a single unit (two or three wrestlers) unless a commish/GM drafts one of the individual superstars first and splits up the team.
  3. NXT eligibility: There will be six call-ups from WWE's developmental brand. With Shane McMahon touting the WWE's "new era," it would make sense for SmackDown to wind up with 3-4 NXT talents.

Talent designations

  • The following groups/tag teams are listed together: Breezango, Enzo and Cass, Gallows and Anderson (not with AJ Styles), Golden Truth, Shining Stars, Social Outcasts (3), The Ascension, The Dudley Boyz, The New Day (3), The Usos, The Vaudevillains
  • The following groups/tag teams are not listed together: The Club (separately as AJ Styles, Gallows and Anderson tag team), Lucha Dragons (separately as Kalisto, Sin Cara), The Wyatt Family (separately as Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman). Charlotte and Dana Brooke are also listed separately.
  • Part-time performers: Brock Lesnar is listed as draftable, while The Undertaker is not.
  • Managers: Bob Backlund (Darren Young), Lana (Rusev) and Maryse (The Miz) are all connected to their respective wrestlers.

Storyline changes

  • New division: WWE announced at the start of Raw on Monday that a cruiserweight division -- and presumably a new title -- will be created and exist exclusively on Raw.

Unanswered questions

  • Championship belts: Title holders are up for grabs like everyone else, so does that mean their belts belong to the respective shows? Will they be contested between brands at pay-per-views? Will WWE once again split the heavyweight title so each show has a lead champion? It may have hinted at that with Raw's finish on Monday.
  • Pay-per-views: In addition to the uncertainty about the championships, will pay-per-views be co-branded or separate? If the former, will each brand have separate matches on the same show and will there be any crossover?
  • Announcers: Are the teams remaining the same or is there a chance for some shake-up either with the play-by-play leads or color commentators?
  • Women's division: There are 10 women listed as draftable not counting NXT wrestlers. Can WWE keep interest in the division on a show potentially without a champion or a fan favorite, such as Sasha Banks?