WWE Draft 2020: Updated Rosters and Most Important Stars Still on the Board

The WWE draft kicked off Friday night on Fox, and while top stars such as Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Asuka and Sasha Banks all found out their landing spots, there are still some notable Superstars who have yet to hear their names called.

That's not because they aren't as big of stars but rather because WWE has to spread the amount of talent out over the course of two broadcasts.

Who are the men and women awaiting their fate come 8 p.m. Monday night on WWE Raw on the USA Network?

Let's take a look.

WWE Raw Roster

Credit: WWE.com

WWE champion: Drew McIntyre

Raw women's champion: Asuka

United States champion: Bobby Lashley

Raw tag team champions: The Street Profits

SmackDown tag team champions: Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods

Women's tag team champions: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler

24/7 champion: R-Truth

• AJ Styles

• Akira Tozawa

• Aleister Black

• Andrade

• Angel Garza

• Angelo Dawkins

• Apollo Crews

• Becky Lynch

• Big Show

• Billie Kay

• Brock Lesnar

• Cedric Alexander

• Charlotte Flair

• Dana Brooke

• Dolph Ziggler

• Erik

• Humberto Carrillo

• Ivar

• Jinder Mahal

• John Morrison

• Keith Lee

• Kevin Owens

• Lana

• Liv Morgan

• Mace

• Mandy Rose

• Mickie James

• Montez Ford

• Mustafa Ali

• MVP

• Naomi

• Natalya

• Peyton Royce

• Randy Orton

• Reckoning

• Ricochet

• Riddick Moss

• Robert Roode

• Ruby Riott

• Samoa Joe

• Shelton Benjamin

• Slapjack

• T-Bar

• The Miz

• Titus O'Neil

• Xavier Woods

WWE SmackDown Roster

Credit: WWE.com

WWE champion: Roman Reigns

Intercontinental champion: Sami Zayn

SmackDown women's champion: Bayley

• Alexa Bliss
• Bianca Belair
• Big E
• Bo Dallas
• Braun Strowman
• Carmella
• Cesaro
• Daniel Bryan
• Dominik Mysterio
• Elias
• Gran Metalik
• Jaxson Ryker
• Jeff Hardy
• Jey Uso
• Jimmy Uso
• Kalisto
• Kane
• King Corbin
• Lacey Evans
• Lars Sullivan
• Lince Dorado
• Maryse
• Matt Riddle
• Mojo Rawley
• Murphy
• Nikki Cross
• Otis
• Rey Mysterio
• Sasha Banks
• Seth Rollins
• Sheamus
• Shinsuke Nakamura
• Shorty G
• Steve Cutler
• Tamina
• "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
• Wesley Blake

'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt

A two-time universal champion and a centerpiece of what SmackDown has done creatively for the last year, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt desperately needs to get away from Roman Reigns, who is—and will continue to be—the top heel on the blue brand.

There is little upward trajectory for Wyatt's character on SmackDown, if only because The Big Dog will remain the focal point. Add the arrival of Seth Rollins to the mix, and Wyatt would be undercut by two of the faces of WWE over the last decade.

Could he stick around the midcard and still be a force? Absolutely, but The Fiend is such a superb character that it screams "main event" in a way that few do. Luckily for him, he has the opportunity to head to Raw, a brand that is in desperate need of high-profile heels.

Randy Orton has held down the top of the card here in 2020, but unless he wins the WWE title inside Hell in a Cell on Oct. 25, his run is nearing its end. At least for now.

There has been little commitment to AJ Styles as a sustained main event star dating back to last year's run with the red brand, where he competed primarily for the United States title before jumping to SmackDown and battling for the intercontinental belt.

The Hurt Business and Retribution are midcard stables at best right now, leaving a giant hole at the top of the card. Do not be surprised if Wyatt makes his presence felt quickly and presents the first real threat to Drew McIntyre's reign as champion.

A big fish in a smaller pond, complete with a compelling new on-screen relationship with Alexa Bliss, Wyatt would thrive on Monday nights in a way he will not have the opportunity to on Fridays.

Best Fit: Raw

Bayley

It is almost unfathomable that Bayley will celebrate 365 days as the SmackDown women's champion having heard Naomi, Bianca Belair, Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke's names all called before hers.

The Role Model has been as dominant, entertaining and consistently excellent as any female performer over the last year and really should have been a top draft pick—especially on a brand she has ruled over during that time. 

But she wasn't.

Perhaps that is an indication of how WWE officials view her star power, opting to reserve her drafting until Night 2 to help pad the lineup. Maybe it is a sign that she will lose her title to Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and become a member of the red brand, even if Friday nights suit her best, if only because of the ongoing feud with The Boss.

Whatever the case may be, her name's absence from the roll call Friday night will be rectified in short order Monday.

Best Fit: SmackDown

The Street Profits

The Street Profits are a rarity: a homegrown tag team that has become better and more prominently featured since jumping to the main roster from NXT.

Their athleticism, charisma and popularity are undeniable, and their work to keep tag team wrestling in a high-profile spot despite WWE Creative seemingly doing whatever it can to downplay it is commendable.

The arrival of new SmackDown tag team champions Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods puts Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins in a sticky situation, though. With actual tag teams at a premium, it is highly unlikely WWE keeps two babyface tandems of that stature on the same show when there are so few teams already.

Factor in Bianca Belair—the real-life wife of Ford—being drafted to SmackDown and you have every reason to believe the Raw tag champs may find themselves rocking blue in the very near future.

That may not be the best move, though.

While depth is a major issue across the brand, Raw at least has factions it can build teams from. The Hurt Business' Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander could easily pose a threat, and any mix of Retribution's Slapjack, T-Bar and Mace could prove problematic for the champs.

SmackDown, outside of Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, The Lucha House Party and the ironically forgotten Forgotten Sons, has nothing much to offer fans of tag team wrestling—especially with Saturday's revelation that Tucker had been drafted to Raw, splitting up Heavy Machinery.

Best Fit: Raw

Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn is the reigning intercontinental champion and one of the best heels in the business.

Loudmouthed, braggadocious when warranted and willing to stop at nothing to achieve the desired outcome, he has emerged from a lengthy hiatus to remind fans why he was one of the most entertaining characters on either brand prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zayn did not hear his name called Friday night on SmackDown, but he figures to remain with the blue brand come Monday, if only because a loaded midcard needs that championship to help dictate its stories and give purpose to its stars. 

We know Jeff Hardy, Matt Riddle, Shorty G, Sheamus and King Corbin will not pose much of a threat to Roman Reigns at this point, but they make a wildly intriguing set of challengers to Zayn's title. As The Honky Tonk Man-like slimy heel around whom the entire midcard can be built, he provides incredible stability.

That is, if Vinnie Mac and the rest of the writing team can resist the urge to take the title off of him in order to give Hardy an unnecessary reign or hot-shot it between three or four different stars in the name of building toward convoluted multi-man matches.

Zayn is the key to long-term stability on the undercard of SmackDown and should be one of the cornerstones of the blue brand.

Best Fit: SmackDown

Randy Orton

At this point in his career, it really doesn't matter where Randy Orton ends up. A veteran competitor who has done it all (and then some), it is less about where he is and more about whether he feels creatively fulfilled.

In 2020, The Viper has done some of his finest work. Whether it was the shocking betrayal of Edge or the vile and manipulative heel who targeted Drew McIntyre's WWE Championship, he has become one of the centerpieces of Raw, elevating a show that has been a chore to watch at times.

With Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins holding down the main event scene as its lead heels on Friday nights, why bother changing something that is working well? Keep Orton on Monday nights, even if it entails a hiatus after his longest, most uninterrupted run in years.

Best Fit: Raw

Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman's run as universal champion feels like an eternity ago, even though it only ended at SummerSlam on Aug. 23. That is an indictment on the manner in which WWE Creative followed up what should have been the greatest run of his career.

Instead of keeping him hanging around the title picture, he ended up floating over to the red brand, where he competed on Raw Underground a few times and then engaged Keith Lee in an abbreviated battle last week. This Friday night, he challenges Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship on the special season premiere episode of SmackDown with little-to-no chance of winning back his title.

So where does that leave The Monster Among Men?

His recent appearances on Raw would seemingly point to a stint back on Monday nights, and that would not necessarily be a bad thing. There is a definite lack of top-level babyfaces behind Drew McIntyre, and with the drafting of Rey Mysterio and his family to SmackDown, it opens up a position for Strowman to slide into.

Of course, there is also the aforementioned Lee and a battle for dominance between them to be had. Imagine a tag team or makeshift tandem of the massive Strowman and the high-flier Ricochet, a pairing that could benefit both of them.

Having beaten, or at least worked with, everyone else on the blue brand already, now is the time for Strowman to head home and maybe rediscover the edge he has lost over the past year.

Best Fit: Raw

Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens is a former universal champion, has worked with everyone from Goldberg to Chris Jericho and Shane McMahon to Seth Rollins, but he has had trouble finding something of any real substance to do lately.

He has had encounters with Randy Orton and is in the middle of an intense rivalry with Aleister Black, but it is the evolving program with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt that has KO's biggest fans hoping for a return to form for the former titleholder.

The program with Wyatt has almost certainly elevated KO's stock ahead of Monday's show, making him one of the Superstars to keep an eye on. Is he just a body for Wyatt to steamroll en route to establishing himself a threat on Monday nights?

Or is this program with Wyatt designed to return Owens to prominence, perhaps as a heel whose world is altered forever by his encounter with the enigmatic nightmare that is The Fiend?

Time will tell but one thing is for sure: for Owens' sake, Raw is the best landing spot.

A jump back to SmackDown either muddies the midcard waters or sets him up to get his ass whooped by Roman Reigns as one of The Tribal Chief's next victims.

On Raw, he can continue to flirt with the line between midcard and main event, all while engaging fans with his talk show, which allows his personality to shine.

Best Fit: Raw

Keith Lee

Keith Lee is in his prime, is coming off an acclaimed run in NXT and ready to be a top guy immediately. He is an athletic freak, a heavyweight who can move like a cruiserweight while simultaneously using his strength advantage to hurl opponents of any size around the ring.

On Raw, though, his growth is stunted by the presence of Drew McIntyre; on SmackDown, he could instantly become a top contender to Roman Reigns' gold.

Once the universal champion wraps up his rivalry with Jey Uso, he will find himself without any natural foe. Seth Rollins will likely be preoccupied with Rey Mysterio because if 2020 has taught us anything, it's that the only thing more persistent than COVID-19 is WWE Creative's love for that rivalry. Vice versa for Mysterio. 

That leaves a lack of genuine babyface talent to step up and challenge Reigns.

A year ago at this time, Lee went blow-for-blow with Reigns in the tri-branded Survivor Series pay-per-view, earning himself considerable popularity and momentum based on his showing that night. Imagine his journey coming full-circle and challenging the titleholder this year.

The future is limitless for Lee, but only if he spends the next year on Friday nights.

Best Fit: SmackDown