#2 SmackDown Live needs new stars after shakeup
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In the words of the Phenomenal AJ Styles, “SmackDown makes ‘em, Raw takes ‘em.” This was Styles’ sentiment following the superstar shakeup that saw the likes of Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Bray Wyatt and others jump ship to the "flagship show".
Sure, SmackDown didn’t come away empty-handed and most notably landed Charlotte and The New Day. But the shakeup hit SmackDown’s men’s singles division in a big way, considering their two most significant acquisitions were a female superstar and a tag team.
This means SmackDown needs to start building up some stars again, and that starts with Shinsuke Nakamura.
Nakamura has what it takes to help lead the Blue brand in the ratings battle against Raw. Right now, SmackDown is led by Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and John Cena, whenever he decides to show up. Adding an established Nakamura to that list gives SmackDown an incredible core of superstars that could actually rival Raw.
But to set that in motion, Nakamura needs to win at Backlash. Losing to Dolph Ziggler in a debut does not scream “top star”. It screams mid-carder which, for SmackDown’s sake, should not be his fate. Nakamura has the capability to help anchor a brand, and he can begin doing that with a win next Sunday.
