Touted as the land of opportunity by Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon, SmackDown Live has surely lived up to that claim since the return of WWE's Brand Split in July. In the battle of the brands between Raw and SmackDown, there is little doubt that Tuesday nights have provided the easier and more enjoyable show to watch week-to-week.
At first, it appeared SmackDown would be at a distinct disadvantage having a smaller roster than Raw with the feeling they would be more limited with who they could use and what they could do. Despite that, almost everyone has been used effectively on the blue brand for the past few months.
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Not only have most wrestlers maintained their momentum from before the Brand Split, there have been several stars on SmackDown who have only served to benefit from calling the blue brand their home. These five notable names, in particular, have hit their stride since arriving on Tuesday nights.
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#5 Heath Slater
It truly is amazing to think that Heath Slater has been around in WWE for as long as he has been: ten years, with six of those being on the main roster. That's a lengthy tenure for someone who has largely been utilised as an enhancement talent his entire career.
Slater appeared to have a good thing going when he formed The Social Outcasts at the dawn of the year, but it was apparent that wouldn't get beyond a certain level. And then he was the only Superstar who wasn't selected by either Raw or SmackDown Live in the 2016 WWE Draft, which ended up being the best thing for him.
Slater spent months trying to land himself a contract with the blue brand, ultimately leading to him and Rhyno winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Backlash. The makeshift duo is now one of the most over acts on the roster. He has kids, you know!
#4 The Usos
The Usos debuted on the main roster the same year Heath Slater did, yet they felt stagnant for half of that time before coming to SmackDown Live. They have always been excellent athletes, but after not evolving as characters, fans grew sick and tired of seeing them prominently pushed in the tag team division.
They began to get booed relentlessly by fans as soon as they started teaming with their cousin Roman Reigns, and it was evident by that point they needed to turn heel. On the Sept. 6 edition of SmackDown Live, The Usos finally flipped the switch by unleashing all of their pent-up frustration on American Alpha following their quick loss to them.
From their all-new look to their updated entrance music and aggressive attitude, The Usos have been flourishing as villains for the past month. Although they came up short of capturing the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on two occasions, it shouldn't be long before they have the gold in their grasp.
#3 Becky Lynch
SmackDown Live's women's division looked fairly depleted on paper when the brands were broken up, but so far, they have had the better women's wrestling by far compared to Raw. Each one of the women has some sort of character or motivation, and Becky Lynch couldn't be a better choice to lead the pack.
Despite Lynch suffering a series of losses to Charlotte and Natalya earlier in the year, fans continued to rally behind her in her pursuit of the SmackDown Women's Championship. At Backlash, she made history by winning a Six-Pack Challenge to become the inaugural champion.
The Irish Lasskicker is not only a great wrestler but she's immensely popular with fans as well. An injury recently put her on the shelf for a month, but she should resume her role upon her return to the ring in early November.
#2 AJ Styles
There was some concern over how AJ Styles would be handled upon his arrival in WWE at the onset of 2016. However, he quickly silenced the critics and exceeded all expectations by contesting classics with Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns in the first half of the year.
Although he came close to capturing the WWE World Championship on a few occasions in the spring, he was unsuccessful in his efforts. It wasn't until he was drafted to SmackDown Live that he took John Cena's title of “the face that runs the place” when he beat him in clean fashion at SummerSlam.
From there, he accomplished the unthinkable when he won the WWE title at Backlash the subsequent month, solidifying his spot on top of the SmackDown roster in the process. Of course, Styles was phenomenal long before he became a member of the blue brand, but let's face it: he likely wouldn't be as high up on the totem pole as he is right now if it wasn't for the Brand Split.
#1 The Miz
The only SmackDown star equally as entertaining AJ Styles on a weekly basis is none other than The Miz, who has more than made the most of his move to Tuesday nights when he was drafted back in July.
He wasted no time in proving to the powers that be that he should have been selected higher in the draft, setting back countless challenges from Darren Young, Apollo Crews and Dolph Ziggler.
Miz's stock skyrocketed in late August when he embarked on a heated tirade on an episode of Talking Smack and ripped into general manager Daniel Bryan. Fans immediately took notice of the Intercontinental champion, and his mic work only improved from that point forward.
Ziggler hasn't felt fresh in ages, either, but the two contested a strong series of matches of the title and produced a number of exceptional promos during their ruthless rivalry. Miz may no longer be in possession of the Intercontinental title, but perhaps it won't be long before he has his sights set on a bigger prize, the WWE World Championship.
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