WWE SmackDown 2024 WWE Draft Night 1 Notes: Results, Full List of Night 1 Draft Picks, Roman Reigns Opts Out of Draft, Carltio Revealed as Dragon Lee Attacker, Three New Matches Set for Backlash 2024

WWE
Apr 26, 2024

WWE SmackDown 2024 WWE Draft Night 1 Results – April 26, 2024

April 26, 2024
Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center
Commentary – Corey Graves and Wade Barrett

Quick Match Results

  1. LWO (Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio) defeated Legado Del Fantasma (Angel & Berto) via Project Dragon (pinfall)
    • Lee pinned Angel after hitting the Project Dragon to secure the victory for the LWO.
    • Following the match, Legado’s Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez came out to the stage and Escobar stated that he is many things but a liar is not one of them. Escobar stated that he did not attack Lee as Mysterio has been claiming and Lopez got backstage footage revealing who was the mystery person who attacked Lee causing him to miss out on WrestleMania 40. This led to a security camera video playing on the big screen revealing Carlito attacking Lee to the shock of the rest of the LWO in the ring. As the video was still playing, Carlito attacked Lee from behind and quickly ran out of the ring and through the crowd before the rest of the LWO could get their hands on him.
  2. Bron Breakker defeated Cedric Alexander via Spear (pinfall)
  3. WWE Women’s Championship #1 Contender match – Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi went to a No Contest
    • Prior to the start of the match, WWE Women’s Champion Bayley came out to the commentary table to be the guest commentator for the match.
    • Near the end of the match, Nia Jax came out from the crowd and attacked Bayley at ringside and followed it by attacking Naomi causing the referee to call for the bell and toss the match out.
    • Following the match, Jax tossed Bayley and Naomi into the ring leading to Stratton hitting a Prettiest Moonsault Ever to both of them.
  4. Cody Rhodes defeated Carmelo Hayes via Cross Rhodes (pinfall)
    • Following the match, AJ Styles came out interrupting Rhodes’ victory celebration. Styles and Rhodes engaged in a staredown that ended with Styles offering a handshake and Rhodes accepting it in return.

Full List of WWE Draft 2024 Night 1 Draft Picks

Friday’s SmackDown show featured the first night of this year’s two-night WWE Draft special.

Following the Undisputed WWE Championship match contract signing segment between AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes, WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque came out to the stage and had Rhodes at his side at the podium to officially start this year’s WWE Draft. Levesque stated that since Night 1 is on tonight’s SmackDown show, then SmackDown will get the first pick, which he let Rhodes officially announce Bianca Belair as the top overall pick for this year’s Draft.

Round One draft picks:

  1. SmackDown – Bianca Belair
  2. RAW – Jey Uso
  3. SmackDown – Carmelo Hayes (NXT)
  4. RAW – Seth Rollins

During the show, WWE Hall of Famers Michelle McCool and Torrie Wilson made a surprise appearance as the presenters for the picks for Round Two of tonight’s WWE Draft show.

Round Two draft picks:

  1. SmackDown – Randy Orton
  2. RAW – Bron Breakker
  3. SmackDown – Nia Jax
  4. RAW – Liv Morgan

Later in the show, WWE Hall of Famers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley made a surprise appearance as the presenters for the picks for Round Three of tonight’s WWE Draft show.

Round Three draft picks:

  1. SmackDown – LA Knight
  2. RAW – Ricochet
  3. SmackDown – The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, “MFT” Tama Tonga, & Paul Heyman)
  4. RAW – Sheamus

Later in the show, WWE Hall of Famers Teddy Long and JBL made a surprise appearance as the presenters for the picks for Round Four of tonight’s WWE Draft show.

Round Four draft picks:

  1. SmackDown – AJ Styles
  2. RAW – Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa, & Maxxine Dupri)
  3. SmackDown – Andrade
  4. RAW – Kiana James (NXT)

Roman Reigns Withdraws from 2024 WWE Draft Pool

Friday’s SmackDown show also featured Paul Heyman announcing that Roman Reigns has withdrawn himself from the draft pool of this year’s WWE Draft.

During the show, Paul Heyman was seen backstage with interviewer Kayla Braxton. Heyman stated that Roman Reigns has voluntarily withdrawn himself from being eligible from the 2024 WWE Draft and stated that this is not a negative, it is a positive. Heyman stated that Reigns built SmackDown since the pandemic and claimed he is the biggest star in the industry. Heyman also stated why would Reigns hog the number one draft pick and the spotlight when he won’t be returning in the immediate future. Heyman continued stating that this is not what a real “Tribal Chief” does and the pressure is now on SmackDown GM Nick Aldis since if Reigns is not the first draft pick, then who is the first pick.

Carlito Revealed as Dragon Lee’s Attacker & Turns on LWO

Friday’s SmackDown show also featured Carlito being revealed as Dragon Lee’s mystery attacker and him turning on the LWO.

Following the LWO’s victory over Legado Del Fantasma match, Legado’s Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez came out to the stage and regrouped with Angel and Humberto. Escobar stated that he is many things but a liar is not one of them. Escobar also stated that he did not attack Lee as Mysterio has been claiming and Lopez had been doing some work and managed to get backstage footage revealing who was the real mystery person who attacked Lee causing him to miss out on WrestleMania 40.

This led to a security camera video playing on the big screen revealing Carlito attacking Lee to the shock of the rest of the LWO who were in the ring. As the video was still playing, Carlito attacked Lee from behind and quickly ran out of the ring and through the crowd before the rest of the LWO could get their hands on him.

Three New Matches Announced for WWE Backlash 2024

Friday’s SmackDown show also featured three new matches officially announced for the card of WWE Backlash 2024, which takes place on May 4th at the LDLC Arena in Lyons, France.

The first new match announced was a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match of Bianca Belair & Jade Cagrill vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) (c).

This match was setup following an interview segment involving Belair. During her interview with Kayla Braxton, Belair gave her thoughts about being the top overall pick in this year’s WWE Draft. Belair stated that she and Cargill will be officially facing off against The Kabuki Warriors for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at Backlash 2024. Belair also stated that she hopes Cargill gets drafted to SmackDown since she is the perfect person to be her partner to take down Damage CTRL. After some more words, The Kabuki Warriors came out to confront Belair leading to Cargill coming out to even the odds and the two teams engaged in a staredown.

The second new match announced was a WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat match of Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Bayley (c).

This match was initially setup following a backstage segment involving Stratton, Bayley, and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. Stratton bragged about her attack to Naomi and Bayley last week and asked for a title shot only to be rejected by Aldis. Aldis stated that she will be competing against Naomi in a #1 Contender’s match to find out who will be Bayley’s challenger. Later in the show, this match was ruled a No Contest after Nia Jax interfered and attacked both Bayley and Naomi. In a follow-up segment, SmackDown GM Aldis announced as a result of what happened earlier, Bayley will now be facing off against both Stratton and Naomi for her title at Backlash 2024.

The third new match announced was a tag team match of The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa & “MFT” Tama Tonga) vs. Kevin Owens & Randy Orton.

This match was setup following The Bloodline and Owens brawling backstage that spilled out to the ring leading to Orton running out to save Owens and clearing the ring of The Bloodline. In a follow-up segment, SmackDown GM Aldis and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long announced that as a result of what took place earlier, The Bloodline will be facing off against Owens & Orton in a tag team match at Backlash 2024.

Current card for WWE Backlash 2024:

  • Undisputed WWE Championship – AJ Styles vs. Cody Rhodes (c)
  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship match – Jey Uso vs. Damian Priest (c)
  • WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat match – Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Bayley (c)
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) (c)
  • The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa & “MFT” Tama Tonga) vs. Kevin Owens & Randy Orton
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