2008 WWE draft

The 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft took place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on June 23, 2008. The draft took place live for three hours on Raw. Every WWE employee, diva, announcer, commentator and general manager were eligible to be drafted. Similar to the 2007 WWE Draft, superstars from each brand competed in matches to win a random draft pick for their brand. Draft picks were kayfabe selected at random via a computer that was shown on the Raw titantron. Like the previous year, a supplemental draft took place on June 25, where draft selections were randomly conducted. The Draft featured the Raw brand randomly drafting ECW Champion Kane from the ECW brand. It also featured the ECW brand drafting WWE United States Champion Matt Hardy from the SmackDown brand. The final selection in the draft was conducted by the SmackDown brand, and they drafted WWE Champion Triple H from the Raw brand. As per pre-Draft stipulations, all the three champions brought their respective titles to the brand to which they were drafted.

The draft was announced by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on the May 26, 2008 episode of Raw. During the announcement, he stated that every WWE Superstar, Diva and commentator from Raw, ECW and SmackDown were eligible to be drafted. On the June 16, 2008 edition of Raw, McMahon announced that his McMahon's Million Dollar Mania contest would take place on the same night as the WWE Draft. During the contest, McMahon gave away one million dollars to WWE fans. McMahon telephoned fans, who had registered for the contest, at their homes and asked them for a password, which was revealed at the opening of the Raw broadcast. If their answer was correct, he awarded the fan a portion of one million dollars. On June 24, 2008, WWE announced on its website that a supplemental draft would take place on June 25 at noon ET. The supplemental draft, like the previous year, was conducted randomly, with each brand receiving random draft selections. Superstars affected by the televised draft were exempt from the supplemental draft. Because professional wrestling is scripted, outcomes are usually predetermined. Unlike years past, during this draft, many employees in WWE were not told whether they were scripted to change brands. Aside from the Million Dollar Mania contest, the draft was announced to help increase the television ratings of Raw, which had been declining since WrestleMania XXIV. Though the draft helps increase ratings, it is also used as a way to refreshen the rosters and create new storylines.

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