2009 WWE Draft Scheduled

It was announced today on WWE.com that the 2009 WWE Draft will be held at the Philips Arena in Atlanta on April 13, 2009. The draft will be part of Monday Night Raw just as 2008's version was and it comes just a few weeks after Wrestlemania 25.

Here's more from WWE.com's official announcement:

In many ways, the WWE Universe continues to feel the aftershocks created by from last year’s epic Draft on Raw (click here to relive 2008 Draft coverage), during which 10 Superstars changed their respective home brands. (Followed by more than a dozen Superstars who were affected by a subsequent Supplemental Draft that took place on WWE.com.) Several of those roster adjustments quickly resulted in title changes that dramatically altered the WWE landscape – among them, CM Punk winning the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge a week after the Straightedge Superstar had been drafted to Raw.

With that, what can our Superstars, General Managers and you, the WWE Universe, expect from the Draft when Raw commences live in Atlanta's Philips Arena April 13? Details will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead, though one thing is certain: as per Mr. McMahon’s statement a year before, it will be “time to shake things up around here!”

As mentioned above, last year's draft produced several big changes, including sending the WWE Champion, Triple H to Smackdown, giving the show two major title holders. Matt Hardy was sent to ECW, where he soon became its ECW Champion, while his brother went to Smackdown and eventually won the WWE Title. Another title holder was produced as CM Punk was drafted from ECW onto Raw, and cashed in his Money in the Bank title opportunity on Raw. Punk defeated Edge for his first ever World Heavyweight Title reign. While Punk isn't the current champ, he won the Intercontinental Title in 2009 on Raw as well.

Stay tuned for more details regarding the 2009 Draft as they become available.