Photo credit: WWE.com

WWE Draft 2021: Becky Lynch Moves to Raw, Sasha Banks Remains on SmackDown

Joseph Zucker

The Man is coming to Monday nights.

Becky Lynch spoiled her change of scenery to open Raw, and it was subsequently made official. The SmackDown women's champion was Raw's first pick on the second night of the WWE draft:

Looking to solidify its women's division, SmackDown at least retained Sasha Banks:

Here's how the rest of the draft played out, with Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson winding up with Raw:

Here's a full look at the rosters:

The results of this year's draft won't be reflected on the two shows until Oct. 22, one night after the Crown Jewel pay-per-view. That lends some unpredictability for how the Saudi Arabia-based event will shake out.

Still, Lynch's move didn't come as a big surprise after Raw women's champion Charlotte Flair was a Round 1 selection for SmackDown last Friday. That left WWE's flagship program in need of a women's singles champion.

Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast (via Wrestling Inc's Marc Middleton) also reported in August that USA Network executives weren't happy with what they thought were imbalanced rosters on Raw and SmackDown.

Lynch was cited in the report after having originally been on Raw but getting put on SmackDown after returning to the ring at SummerSlam following her pregnancy.

   

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