When WWE re-introduced the Draft Lottery last summer, it was a blessing for many wrestlers. For the first time in almost a decade, there was a clearly defined separation between RAW and SmackDown. This meant that certain Superstars could only appear on one show, which in turn led to a more diverse set of talent appearing on each show.
By reintroducing this brand extension, certain stars flourished, especially on SmackDown, in a way they wouldn’t have before. SmackDown went with the idea that, because SmackDown was only two hours long to RAW’s three, RAW should get three wrestlers for each of SmackDown’s two.
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At first, this left SmackDown relatively short on talent. But over time, a new cadre of wrestlers filled those holes and all of them have been entertaining all the while. These include: The Miz, Baron Corbin, Alexa Bliss, A.J. Styles, and even Randy Orton.
All of these names would’ve floundered on RAW or if the rosters were still undivided, as you’d have the same bigger names on both shows.
Now, there are rumours circulating suggesting another draft coming up sometime later this year. That would be the perfect opportunity for many wrestlers on one brand to switch to the other.
There are two main reasons for this. First, any show devoted to the brand extension and surprise wrestlers being sent to another show will always be interesting. Secondly, and more importantly, some wrestlers are better off on the opposite show anyway.
Here, we’ll look at eight WWE wrestlers on one show or another, and argue which show they should be on going forward. Because it’s obvious that they’re not successful on the shows they’re on currently; if they were, there’d be no reason to suggest a draft in the first place.
#8 Becky Lynch to RAW
Becky Lynch was the first-ever SmackDown Women’s Champion. She has proven that she can wrestle well, and has done her best to carry the division on her shoulders for a time. But for some reason, it’s hard to consider Lynch the centrepiece of the women’s division.
If anything, she was much more well-suited to the role of fiery challenger, a role she did well in on RAW back when she was fighting Sasha Banks and Charlotte.
Now that she has proven she can carry a division on her shoulders to some degree, it might be best for her to go back to RAW and show the bigger audience what she can do. She might have a chance to put on some good matches with Charlotte and even Bayley, as Bayley has feuded with Banks and Charlotte far more than she has with Lynch.
A future feud between Bayley and Becky might be interesting, to say the least, given both women’s passion and tenacity in the face of adversity.
#7 Sasha Banks to SmackDown
There is nothing left for Sasha Banks to do on RAW as long as she remains a babyface. She has been in the same role as this ‘legit boss’ character for a year, and we’ve seen her do anything and everything possible in the RAW environment.
The only thing that would make sense for her to do once her feud with Nia Jax ends would be to turn heel and attack Bayley, but if they do that, it won’t be anywhere near as good as their feud in NXT was (because RAW is a different [read: inferior] environment when it comes to pure wrestling).
This leaves Banks with only one option: jumping ship to SmackDown.
This would benefit her in many ways, as she’d be a nice addition to an otherwise limited SmackDown women’s roster. This roster’s top talents are Becky Lynch, Mickie James, Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Naomi. The rest of the SmackDown’s women’s roster are either too inexperienced or are approaching retirement.
Sasha could work well with any one of these women and the resulting feuds could be very interesting.
She could feud with Mickie James over the ‘old guard’ vs. ‘women’s revolution’ mentality, which could lead to some fantastic storytelling. She could even work a great ‘veteran vs. young girl’ feud with Natalya, which could lead to some excellent matches out of both of them.
If Sasha Banks switched to SmackDown, it would only benefit her in the long run.
#6 Rusev & Lana to SmackDown
Rusev has experienced highs and lows while on RAW. He has feuded with both John Cena and Roman Reigns, but despite a small number of beatdowns, ended up as fodder to both. Both he and his real-life wife Lana were embarrassed on numerous occasions by other RAW superstars, which actually contradicted his alignment.
Rusev was only protecting his wife, yet we were supposed to boo this man because Vince doesn’t understand how a gorgeous woman like Lana can be with a man like Rusev (WWE logic at its finest).
To escape further career purgatory, Rusev should move to SmackDown, where he’d be a fresh face on a smaller roster. By switching over to SmackDown, he’d bring with him all the heat and drawing power he had while on RAW and apply that to the SmackDown audience.
Considering how good he and Lana are at drawing a reaction out of a crowd, they’d flourish on SmackDown as one of their top heel acts.
Moreover, Vince is reported to like Lana’s character and is keen on seeing her succeed. Whether she remains as Rusev’s manager or enters the ring on her own, she’d have a better time gaining experience on SmackDown than she would on RAW.
Their collective time together on RAW has already proven what many people have been thinking: once Vince loses interest in you, you’re either doomed to bad comedy roles or get lost in the shuffle. This happens far more on RAW than it does on SmackDown, so a duo that has already experienced both of those problems should strive to go to SmackDown instead.
#5 Luke Harper to RAW
WWE has disbanded and reformed the Wyatt Family several times over the years, with this latest dissolution looking like it’s really the end. If so, that might spell doom and gloom for Luke Harper.
Ever since the Wyatt Family first appeared on the main roster, the former Brodie Lee has been the faction’s workhorse. He’s an excellent and versatile wrestler; after all, how many other 270lbs wrestlers do you see executing dropkicks and suicide dives with such grace and skill?
Sadly, Harper has been something of a background character in the grand scheme of things and has not experienced any major singles success outside of one Intercontinental Championship run that didn’t lead to anything larger.
With his recent attack on Bray Wyatt and a major loss to Randy Orton, it looks like Harper’s time with the Wyatt Family has finally come to a permanent end. If so, he cannot stay on the same program as Bray or even Orton. If Harper is to find any success, he needs to be on RAW if those two will remain on SmackDown.
As long as Harper remains on SmackDown, he’ll be in their shadows forever. Bray will be the superior speaker and arguably better worker (Bray has improved tremendously in recent months), and Orton will be the better-looking star (at least, in Vince’s eyes). With no discernable gimmick or promo skills to speak of, he’ll flounder terribly if he stays on SmackDown.
At least on RAW, he may have a chance at bringing some more competition to the US Championship, which is currently lacking in believable contenders. As we’ve seen with Harper in the past, he can work very well if given the opportunity. A chance at the US Title might be that opportunity for him.
#4 Asuka to RAW
Over the course of the past year, Charlotte has destroyed every single top woman in WWE. She has defeated Sasha Banks on every important stage (including the first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell match). She defeated Becky Lynch on just as many occasions, to the point that WWE had to draft Lynch away from Charlotte in order to save her.
If WWE’s booking is as predictable as we all think, Charlotte will regain her Women’s Championship at the next PPV, because she always wins on PPV. This leaves Charlotte without a top title contender, and since she’s a clear-cut heel, WWE isn’t likely to have her face either Nia Jax or Dana Brooke.
Enter Asuka.
The longest-reigning NXT Women’s Champion also has an impressive record to speak of: she’s currently undefeated in all of WWE in terms of singles matches. The closest anyone has come to defeating her were a few multi-woman tag team matches in which Asuka teamed with rookies. As an individual wrestler, Asuka is as dangerous as she is skilled.
She would be the perfect challenger for Charlotte’s RAW Women’s Championship, especially since both of them have notable streaks to boast about. Moreover, Asuka could play the role of no-nonsense ass-kicker, which would be a perfect counter to Charlotte’s role as boastful Champion. This stuff writes itself sometimes.
Even going beyond that initial rivalry, Asuka would be perfect for RAW as its women’s division is the one WWE is pushing more and more. So it would make sense for the WWE to include someone like Asuka in that division as it keeps getting promoted so much.
#3 Sami Zayn to SmackDown
Sami Zayn’s time on RAW hasn’t been very good. The last time he enjoyed any high-profile importance was during his feud with Kevin Owens in what led to a MOTY contender. Afterwards, he fell down the card with cinderblocks tied to his feet.
He did not appear at SummerSlam whatsoever, lost most of his matches, was shoehorned into a feud with Mick Foley and Braun Strowman, and now appears to be directionless (his own words), ostensibly stemming from purported backstage heat towards him for being too particular about his matches.
Sami Zayn is an excellent performer, but clearly, that isn’t appreciated on RAW.
That’s because the current brand extension is once again turning into the same one we saw in 2002-2003: RAW was the drama and ‘entertainment’ show, while SmackDown was ‘the wrestling show’, with the only difference now being that RAW has the more prominent women’s division.
If Sami Zayn wants to find greater appreciation for his abilities, he should be drafted to SmackDown. That show is in desperate need of high-quality wrestlers to fill the role of hungry title challenger for all three male titles.
Zayn could work well in any role: as part of a tag team searching for title gold; as a contender for the Intercontinental Championship, or even as a semi-regular challenger for the WWE Champion.
As long as RAW remains Vince McMahon’s platform for pushing his own top talent, guys like Sami Zayn won’t find much success there, no matter how much screen time he shares with Foley or Stephanie. If he wants to let his actions speak for him, he’s better off on the blue brand.
#2 Cesaro to SmackDown
Vince McMahon does not like Cesaro. It was that way in 2014 when he appeared on Steve Austin’s podcast; it has been that way all through 2015, when Cesaro was having awesome matches against John Cena; and it is still that way in 2017, after Cesaro spent months proving he can excel in any role, as seen with him taking a garbage tag team with Sheamus and making it work.
If Cesaro isn’t likely to find any success on RAW, then maybe he has a better chance on SmackDown. While Vince still does run this show, he has less of a role in it when compared to RAW. Vince still sees RAW as his flagship show, his most important creation, while SmackDown is given less emphasis in his mind.
So if Vince is Cesaro’s enemy when it comes to a push, perhaps he should switch to the show where in-ring talent is more appreciated. Who knows, with SmackDown having fewer main-event tier wrestlers when compared to RAW, Cesaro might actually thrive on that show and may even get a title shot somewhere down the road.
After all, it’s the show he wanted to be on in the first place:
#1 Shinsuke Nakamura to SmackDown
Last year around this time, the entire wrestling world was abuzz about Shinsuke Nakamura signing with WWE. When he finally debuted at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, both his first appearance and match were met with universal praise.
This man became a bona fide superstar in only thirty minutes, which is more than what can be said about 95% of the current WWE roster.
The first shows after WrestleMania 33 are when WWE are most likely to bring in new talent, and since the WWE haven’t done so already, that looks like the moment they’ll introduce Nakamura to the main roster. But the King of Strong Style should not go to RAW; he’ll be lost in the shuffle surrounded by Vince’s handpicked favourites if he does.
Instead, he should go to SmackDown, where he would thrive without a doubt.
Nakamura is what I like to call a ‘dream match wrestler’. He’s someone with whom other wrestlers can have spectacular ‘dream matches’ that will be remembered for a long time. AJ Styles is another dream match wrestler, and we’ve already seen how well he can perform in a WWE ring. So imagine the possible match-ups with Nakamura on SmackDown:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. A.J. Styles in a WWE ring (it already happened in Japan at Wrestle Kingdom X, and it was fantastic).
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dean Ambrose.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bray Wyatt.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Randy Orton
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. John Cena
Any one of these matches would be enough to sellout an arena in no time. Nakamura’s much better off on SmackDown facing opponents like these than he is on RAW, wrestling a 3-minute nothing match without a storyline, the same way Sami Zayn has been for months.
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