[Report] Backstage Details On Why Seth Rollins Was Drafted To SmackDown

After spending the last four years on the Raw roster, Seth Rollins now finds himself on the SmackDown Live brand.

The Architect - the fourth overall pick this year - was selected by SmackDown during the first day of the draft last Friday. This marks his first tenure on SmackDown since WWE went back to the brand split in 2016.

Rollins was one of the top main event stars on Raw, and he was in the midst of another strong heel run before the draft took place. But WWE had good reason for moving him to SmackDown.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Vatsal Rathod of Sportskeeda) explained that Rollins was essentially replacing AJ Styles, who was drafted to Monday Night Raw.

Meltzer noted that Styles had expressed disappointment in missing his son's football games on Friday evenings. Not only that, but the Phenomenal One had well-documented issues with Paul Heyman, which is why he was moved to SmackDown a few months earlier.

So it made sense to essentially swap Rollins for Styles. And as Meltzer pointed out, this meant SmackDown also had to add Murphy and the Mysterio family in order to continue their storyline.

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Rollins is also on the same brand as Universal Champion Roman Reigns, his longtime friend and Shield partner. Perhaps we'll eventually see a rekindling of their rivalry which took place following The Shield's breakup in 2014.

As for Styles, he's no stranger to switching brands. He was drafted to SmackDown in 2016, and he stayed there until moving to Raw via the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up. In the ensuing draft, he was moved to Raw, before making the brief move to SmackDown in May. Five months later, Styles once again finds himself back on Raw.

Fresh Starts Are For The Better 

Rollins and Styles are two of WWE's premier superstars, but they were in the mid-card scene for quite a while prior to the draft. Obviously, WWE wasn't looking to build the main event picture around either of them any time soon, so a change of scenery is best for both superstars. When Rollins' storyline with Murphy and the Mysterios concludes, don't be surprised if he's in the Universal Championship scene with Reigns. And Styles could certainly be a suitable opponent for WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, if WWE decides to go down that road.

NEXT: Backstage News On Why The Rock-Roman Reigns Dream WrestleMania Match May Not Happen