5 non-wrestlers who have switched brands during the WWE Draft 

The 2021 WWE Draft is rapidly approaching.

The annual tradition of WWE "shaking up" its talent roster begins this Friday Night during SmackDown on FOX and then concludes next Monday Night during RAW on USA Network.

Throughout its tenure, the WWE Draft has created some of the most surprising, stunning and memorable moments in WWE history. This includes some of the biggest WWE Superstars switching brands from RAW to SmackDown and vice versa.

Names such as John Cena, Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Seth Rollins and Batista have all switched brands during the WWE Draft.

But it's not just the wrestlers of WWE that are eligible in the draft. Some of the most surprising draft picks in WWE history have come from non-wrestlers switching brands.

Managers, announcers, commentators and General Managers have all been affected by the annual roster shake-up in the past.

Let's take a closer look at five non-wrestlers that switched brands during the WWE Draft.

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#5. Byron Saxton (Drafted to SmackDown during 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-Up)

Byron Saxton has been an announcer for various brands and shows throughout his WWE career.

Saxton has called the action for the likes of WWE ECW, NXT, Main Event, SmackDown and Monday Night RAW. Primarily serving as an analyst in the broadcast booth.

He became exclusive to Monday Night RAW in the 2016 WWE Brand Extension, forming an announce team with Michael Cole and Corey Graves. Saxton would be the babyface analyst in contrast to Graves' heel-color-commentary role.

In 2017, as part of the post-WrestleMania 33 Superstar Shake-Up, it was announced that Byron Saxton had switched from Monday Night RAW to SmackDown LIVE. He would replace David Otunga as the analyst on the blue brand's announce team.

Saxton remained in this role until he returned to the Monday Night RAW broadcast booth in January 2020 alongside Tom Phillips and Jerry "The King" Lawler.

#4. Teddy Long (Drafted SmackDown during 2004 WWE Draft)

WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long is perhaps best associated with being the General Manager of SmackDown during his illustrious WWE career.

However, the master of announcing a tag team match wouldn't even be a member of the SmackDown roster until after the 2004 WWE Draft lottery.

After joining the company in 1998, Long worked as a referee throughout WWE's Attitude Era. He then became a heel manager on Monday Night RAW for the likes of Rodney Mack, Jazz and Mark Henry.

But in the 2004 WWE Draft, Long was randomly selected as the ninth overall pick, moving from RAW to SmackDown.

Several months later, Teddy Long replaced Kurt Angle as SmackDown General Manager after the Olympic Gold Medalist was fired. Long immediately turned babyface and went on to hold the position on-and-off until 2012.

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#3. Michael Cole (Drafted to RAW during 2008 WWE Draft)

Michael Cole is one of the most long-tenured commentators in WWE history.

While not always being the most popular commentator, many have grown to respect and admire Cole's abilities as the lead play-by-play announcer for WWE.

By 2008, Cole had been the voice of SmackDown since the brand debuted in 1999, calling every single episode of the show since its inception.

However, that all changed during the 2008 WWE Draft. During the broadcast, Monday Night RAW's Melina and Mickie James fought SmackDown's Natalya and Victoria to a double disqualification.

The match was billed as being for one announcer-only draft pick. Due to being a double disqualification, both RAW and SmackDown both received draft picks.

Monday Night RAW's pick saw Michael Cole's tenure as the voice of Friday Night SmackDown come to an end as he was drafted to Monday Night RAW, joining Jerry "The King" Lawler at the broadcast booth.

#2 Jim Ross (Drafted to SmackDown during 2008 WWE Draft)

The WWE Universe was stunned when it was announced that WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross had been drafted to Friday Night SmackDown during the 2008 WWE Draft.

JR was considered by many to be the voice of Monday Night RAW, a position that he had held since his first broadcast on the red brand in 1994.

Jim Ross' move to Friday Night SmackDown also meant the end of his legendary partnership with color commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler on Monday Night RAW.

JR and The King were wildly popular and regarded as the greatest commentary pairing in professional wrestling history. The decision was certainly not popular with the WWE Universe or Ross himself, who admitted that he considered quitting the company after the show that night.

Instead, Jim Ross decided to stay with Friday Night SmackDown, forming a partnership with Mick Foley in the broadcast booth for the blue brand.

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#1 Paul Heyman (Drafted to RAW during 2004 WWE Draft)

In addition to managers and commentators switching brands, the WWE Draft has also seen General Managers of WWE brands move to different shows too.

During the 2004 WWE Draft Lottery, Paul Heyman represented SmackDown as the brand's General Manager.

Throughout the broadcast, Heyman verbally dueled with Monday Night RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff as the two went back and forth selecting draft picks for their respective brands.

The final televised pick of the broadcast fell to Monday Night RAW and Eric Bischoff. Dispondent at losing Triple H earlier on in the evening, Bischoff selected his final random pick.

To the shock and surprise of both Bischoff and the WWE Universe, it was revealed that SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman had been drafted to Monday Night RAW.

Furious at being drafted to RAW and refusing to work under Eric Bischoff, Heyman quickly kayfabe quit WWE before making a single appearance on the red brand.