During the heralded Ruthless Aggression era, the WWE Draft was an annual staple and the primary means of shaking up the RAW and SmackDown rosters.
While its inclusion has been a bit more sporadic over the last decade, Monday’s RAW After WrestleMania seemed to feature a variation of the WWE Draft.
Not only was there a slew of NXT superstar promotions, including Joe Hendry, Sol Ruca and Ethan Page, but WWE superstars Rhea Ripley and Jacob Fatu also switched brands.
Ripley, who defeated Jade Cargill to become WWE Women’s Champion at WrestleMania 42, will be transitioning from RAW to SmackDown.
“You handle your business, and I’ll go be the champion that SmackDown needs,” Ripley told Iyo Sky backstage, seemingly ending their fruitful tag team partnership.
Ripley has been a RAW superstar for months and is even in the show’s Netflix promotional graphic.
As of this writing, Ripley’s WWE bio has her listed as a RAW superstar.
After her backstage admission, though, it appears that may change soon.
Jacob Fatu and Rhea Ripley Are Switching Brands
GettyJacob Fatu is moving to RAW on Netflix
While Ripley was direct about her brand switch, Jacob Fatu’s swap was a bit more subliminal.
During a segment in which Roman Reigns reunited with Jey and Jimmy Uso, expressing his desire to “run this business for four years straight” again, as they did as a faction in the past, Jacob Fatu interrupted him with desires of his own.
Their heated back-and-forth exchange included Jacob Fatu challenging Reigns at Backlash. The OTC stated that he’ll give Fatu about a week to rethink his challenge and that he’ll see him next week “on Monday Night Raw.”
His choice of words seemed intentional and signaled that the Samoan Werewolf is joining the RAW roster.
After feuding with Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes on SmackDown, Jacob Fatu may soon be pitted against Reigns and the Uso twins on RAW.
For Ripley, her swap to SmackDown will allow her to continue her budding rivalry with Jade Cargill.
Cargill, the leader of her action with Michin and B-Fab, dropped the title to Ripley at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. She held the title for 169 days after winning it in November 2025.
NXT Stars Ascend to RAW on Netflix
GettyOba Femi seemingly retired Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42
During the story mode for WWE 2k26, Triple H mentions an NXT Mutiny, as the next wave of stars prep to take the reigns from WWE veterans.
It appears that takeover could happen on RAW, and not just the video game.
Former NXT Champion Oba Femi, who slayed the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar, at WrestleMania 42, has already taken aim at Roman Reigns.
During the WrestleMania 42 post-show, Femi said that “the establishment of a main event player” will occur in the next few weeks. He concluded by stating that “the OTC can come get some.”
The following night, during RAW After WrestleMania, Femi announced that “the ruler has arrived,” warning the roster of his imminent takeover.
Femi’s seimsic arrival could spur a large-scale NXT invasion of the main event roster.
On Monday, NXT standouts Ethan Page, Joe Hendry and Sol Ruca, were promoted to RAW.
Each fighter held gold at NXT and will look to do the same on the main roster.
Was the WWE Draft Snuck Into RAW After WrestleMania?