5 forgotten opening WWE Draft picks
The 2021 WWE Draft kicks off this Friday Night during SmackDown on FOX.
As has been the case with the past several draft events, the 2021 WWE Draft will take place across two nights, airing on an episode of SmackDown and RAW respectively.
Some of the biggest Superstars in WWE history have had their careers altered during past drafts. Names such as John Cena, Triple H, The Undertaker, Batista and more have switched from RAW to SmackDown or vice versa during the event.
The opening pick in any year of the draft is a significant spot for a WWE Superstar. It usually signifies that the company has major plans for the star that has the honor of being the first name drafted.
Huge names such as Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Drew McIntyre, John Cena and The Rock have all had the distinction of being opening picks in WWE Drafts throughout the years.
However, some opening draft picks are certainly more surprising, and often forgotten, than others.
Let's take a closer look at five forgotten opening draft picks in WWE history.
#5 Rob Van Dam - drafted to ECW (2006 WWE Draft)
The 2006 WWE Draft is often seen by the WWE Universe as "the forgotten draft" in WWE's history.
This is because it is the only one in the promotion's history that did not involve any Superstars moving to RAW or SmackDown. Rather, it involved two names moving away from the red and blue brand respectively.
In 2006, WWE revived Extreme Championship Wrestling. The company announced that ECW would be a fully fledged third brand comparable to Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown.
Former ECW owner Paul Heyman was tasked with writing the show behind the scenes and also served as an on-screen authority figure for WWE's ECW brand.
During the May 29 edition of Monday Night RAW, Heyman revealed that he had received two draft picks ahead of ECW's launch on the Sci-Fi network.
The ECW representative announced that the land of the extreme had drafted Rob Van Dam from Monday Night RAW as its first selection in the 2006 WWE Draft.
RVD is an ECW original who was scheduled to face John Cena for the WWE Championship at One Night Stand after cashing in his Money in the Bank contract.
The future Hall of Famer famously defeated Cena at the event to win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career whilst simultaneously becoming the ECW World Heavyweight Champion for the first time, too.