After the smoke cleared and WWE completed its Draft, there were too many questions to answer on Tuesday night. There will be plenty of excitement in the coming months and the potential for new titles and new champions.
But with all things new and exciting, I am left puzzled by some moves that were made in order to balance the power of both Raw and Smackdown. There is plenty of star power on each roster, however there are some wrestlers who will take a nosedive because of slotting, plotting and pure irresponsible thinking.
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For this business and company, change is good. We are still buzzing over who moved over to Smackdown and who looks to be the future from NXT. But with the good comes the bad. Yes, there were some really odds moves the chess board cannot explain.
These five wrestlers in particular were affected the most by the events of Tuesday night.
Cesaro
I’m not sure if WWE’s creative team realizes this, but Cesaro should be a main event superstar. While he is a solid performer in the mid card, and his matches with Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens have been nothing short of greatness, there is a reason to be concerned about him being drafted by Raw and being selected in the middle of the pack.
I don’t read tea leaves, but I suspect the mid card is about as close as the Swiss Superman is going to get to the WWE World Title.
Cesaro should have been a top-three pick for Smackdown, but now will be lost in the shuffle because the WWE World Title will remain on the main program. As long as Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns compete for the strap, Cesaro and others will be pushed down the company ladder.
Kevin Owens
Much like Cesaro, the fact Owens is still on Raw’s roster will ultimately be his demise. Has there been a wrestler who has fallen from the edge of stardom like Owens since Money in the Bank? Blame a lot of it on the situation with Roman Reigns. Blame some of it on WWE’s plans continually shifting in every direction.
With the exception of Brock Lesnar, there isn’t a bully in this company with the impact of Owens and his ability to hang with everyone he has faced on since making the jump from NXT. The feud with Sami Zayn has been great for both wrestlers – much like Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels almost a decade ago. But Owens will become a forgotten man.
Bayley
How is it possible that Nia Jax was selected and Bayley became the forgotten superstar? We get that NXT needs Bayley to hang around until there is another face on the roster to take her place, but one of the brands should have grabbed her for future success.
Bayley is the closest thing WWE has to a female version of John Cena and should use that as this new uprising continues. If the company is serious about change and bringing fans back to the arenas, Bayley should be touring with the main roster.
I do suspect she could be the “mystery” partner for Sasha Banks in her tag team match with Charlotte and Dana Brooke at Battleground.
If WWE is serious about making Banks the lead babyface with accessory parts in Becky Lynch and Paige, Bayley may get buried. Still, she should have heard her name called on Tuesday night.
The Club
Unless there is something WWE is not telling us, this is such a confusing move. It shows the company does not know how to book Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.
The connection between the two former Japanese stars and AJ Styles was a perfect blend of reminders of the past of the New World Order. Styles is moving over to Smackdown – along with John Cena – and the tag team will be featured on Raw.
I see them possibly capturing the WWE World Tag Team titles in the future, but they are much better in The Club angle. It’s possible Finn Balor becomes the lead dog in this faction, but the separation from Styles destroys a really good angle.
The Wyatt Family – Minus Bray Wyatt
The move to separate Bray Wyatt from his minions could mean the company will finally give him a push toward the world title. It also means the strength in numbers angle is all but forgotten.
Wyatt is so dynamic and such a great piece to the company puzzle. He deserves a title run, but his success is based on being the outsider, not the title holder. How many times have we seen Wyatt mentally challenge the best of WWE’s roster? He may not win all of his matches, but his legend continues with each big match.
WWE now must figure out what to do with Braun Stroman and Erick Rowan. Strowman will get lost in the shuffle. I think there is still plenty of opportunity for Rowan to be a singles star.
