Plans for the WWE Draft nearly took an unexpected turn in 2025, as ESPN reportedly showed interest in hosting the event on its platform — an idea that ultimately never materialized.
According to TC of WrestleVotes, who discussed the situation during a recent Q&A, ESPN explored the possibility of featuring the WWE Draft this year. However, differences in presentation style and WWE’s current creative format reportedly caused the concept to stall before gaining traction.
“I know ESPN definitely wanted to have the draft on their platform, but it doesn’t really work in a PLE setting,” TC said. “It’s more of a Raw and SmackDown thing.”
TC went on to explain that WWE’s current structure simply didn’t align with ESPN’s expectations for broadcast presentation, making the logistics difficult to reconcile. He also suggested that the company may be quietly shifting away from the Draft concept altogether.
With WWE’s evolving approach to roster movement — particularly the streamlined process of calling talent up from NXT — the Draft may no longer be viewed as essential to long-term creative planning.
Historically, the WWE Draft has served as a major annual reset, reshuffling rosters and laying the groundwork for new storylines. Its absence in 2025 did not go unnoticed by fans, and this latest insight offers a clearer explanation as to why the event was left off the calendar this year.
