Clearly, the central theme of the week for the WWE was the superstar shake-up. While not going to quite the same lengths as an all-out draft, the shake-up did make the overall content of the week feel fresh and gave us many reasons to look forward to an enjoyable 2017. Raw, SmackDown and NXT all had solid shows this week too, which has left us with plenty to think about, going forward. Here are seven things we learned from watching WWE this week.
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#1 Raw is still the flagship show
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Fans are split on whether Raw or its sister show SmackDown LIVE, hosts the better in-ring wrestling and story lines. One thing made clear this week, however, is the fact that in the eyes of WWE management, Raw is still the main show. While SmackDown captured the likes of Kevin Owens and Charlotte, Raw managed to steal a lot of SmackDown’s upper mid card talent.
Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss in their own way added something unique to the blue brand and will all be severely missed. Certainly, in the case of Bliss, Miz and Bray, it almost felt like they were receiving a promotion due to the good work they had been putting in, which just serves to further the idea that a Superstar won’t be taken seriously by the company unless they’re on Raw.
#2 There’s still a lot to look forward to on SmackDown this year
So they might have lost the most entertaining character the WWE has right now in the Miz, and the roster as a whole became a lot less experienced with the departure of Ambrose and Wyatt, but this does not necessarily spell disaster for SmackDown.
After all, the Draft last year left most people fearing the worst as Raw seemed to poach the main stars, but it was the storytelling and extra effort put into building feuds that made SmackDown the better show. Within reason, you could even say that it doesn’t matter too much who is on either show, it's how those talents are used that will make the difference.
SmackDown is now potentially the home of ex-indie star mega matches. Keeping AJ Styles was a must, considering how over he is, but it also means that fans can look forward to future bouts between him and Nakamura, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. If done right, these feuds could be exceptional, and unless something seriously goes wrong, SmackDown should be able to claim the 2017 match of the year with ease.
#3 The Raw women’s division is really going to miss Charlotte
While the introduction of Alexa Bliss and Mickie James was welcomed, the Raw women’s division still seems to lack the leadership that Natalya or Nikki Bella can provide on SmackDown. Charlotte was that leader throughout 2016, and her departure to SmackDown will probably be felt quite severely this year.
Watching Sasha and Bayley awkwardly trying to put together some kind of promo was enough to raise concern. Despite her being almost universally over, Sasha didn’t seem to display that extra oomph that can enable her to replace Charlotte as the brand’s top female heel.
Her mic skills just aren’t good enough, and she rarely has any chemistry with the other women in the ring with her, let alone Bayley. The use of Nia Jax also felt very unsure as she appeared to undergo both a face and heel turn in the same night.
This is why the addition of Alexa Bliss was so needed. She certainly has the potential to become a top heel in the company, but I would still put her behind Charlotte in terms of star power. The WWE might have thought they were making their Raw women’s division stronger by bringing over Bliss and James, but don’t be surprised to see a Charlotte-shaped hole stalking the roster.
#4 Raw will probably see a big heel-turn soon
There are many reasons why fans believe Roman Reigns should have turned heel at WrestleMania. One of the less talked about reasons is that Raw itself is lacking in top heels at the moment.
With Kevin Owens leaving for SmackDown, the top of the Raw roster is now made up of Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Dean Ambrose, Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns. Only two of these are heels, and with Bray being his own entity that almost takes him into tweener territory. Samoa Joe is going to need some help propping up the dark side. Brock Lesnar can’t really be considered here as it’s unclear how much we will be seeing of him. Plus he isn't really a heel but, more of a part-timer who fits into whatever role he needs to at the time.
To make things even, the red brand is going to need to see a heel turn soon, and it’s pretty clear that isn’t going to come from Roman. I suspect Dean will remain a face for a while, to leave open the possibility of a Shield reunion, so that leaves Finn Balor and Seth Rollins.
Of the two, I would suspect Finn might be turning as Seth has only recently turned babyface himself. Finn might be able to make the heel turn work as he can use it to build a faction, the kind of faction that fans are calling out for, right now. Let’s see where this one goes, but I suspect somebody is for the turning sooner rather than later.
#5 Bray Wyatt isn’t winning his title back
The problem with doing the shake-up or draft is that often many of the feuds are still on-going. When it comes to championship reigns, things can make things a little complicated. Dean Ambrose has taken his IC title with him to Raw, which instantly meant either Kevin Owens or Chris Jericho was coming to SmackDown.
In the case of Bray Wyatt, things look even murkier. He made his return to Raw this week, sparking off a feud between him and Finn Balor, even though he’s due to face Orton in a House of Horrors match at the next PPV. Of course, this could mean he will be taking the WWE Championship to Raw with him, but that seems very unlikely for two reasons.
Firstly, that would mean the Universal title would have to come on to SmackDown along with the current holder of the belt, Brock Lesnar. The Universal title being red means it would look more than a little out of place on the blue brand, and SmackDown itself just feels like too small a pond for Brock. All things are pointing towards an Orton victory, meaning he will be keeping the WWE belt on SmackDown. We almost don’t even need to watch the House of Horrors match (whatever that’s going to turn out to be).
#6 NXT is on the rise again
After the women’s revolution saw the promotion of Sasha, Charlotte and Becky, along with main roster debuts for Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, Bayley and Kevin Owens, it has felt like NXT might be crumbling in terms of relevance within the company overall. Nakamura, Asuka and Joe did their best to keep the roster afloat for a while, but Takeover Orlando was clearly a weaker show than Takeover Dallas, a year previous.
However, watching NXT this week, you could really tell that pieces are starting to fit into place again. This could mean we get a second boom period for the brand which can only serve to benefit WWE as a whole.
Alistair Black offers something genuinely different with his cool, meditative approach to his matches, while Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot are injecting a little more mid-card intrigue into a sinking women’s division. Dylan Miley aka, the man rumoured to be the next Brock Lesnar, doesn’t even have to try to grab our attention considering the size of him, and DIY is looking more like the new American Alpha every week.
Also read: Dylan Miley: 5 things you need to know about WWE's next Brock Lesnar
The good thing is that most of these performers will probably spend at least the rest of this year in developmental, which means the company has plenty of time to build some engaging storylines around them. By the time the next pre-Wrestlemania Takeover show comes around, it might well be in a position to give the main roster a run for its money, yet again.
#7 Nakamura can really deliver a promo in English!
Shinsuke Nakamura almost doesn’t need to have good mic skills. His in ring work and non-verbal charisma alone are more than enough to get him over. However, you do worry that in Vince’s eyes the Japanese sensation will never be main event material because part of being a top guy in the WWE is being able to deliver a verbal promo efficiently.
At least that’s the idea. Over the years the WWE have focused far too much on scripts and keeping their content safe that most of the superstars feel a bit caged in. If anything, this makes Nakamura’s lack of English skills a bit of a novelty. He sounds different to the others and speaks in a more excitable way.
Stick a WWE script in front of him, and he’ll probably fail miserably. The company needs to let Shinsuke be himself, and if NXT was anything to go by this week, he’s more than capable of giving a good account of himself if he is allowed to speak from the heart.
He clearly loves NXT and the NXT fans and made sure to let everybody know this during his farewell speech this week. If he can deliver promos like that on SmackDown, he actually should be earmarked for a world title sooner rather than later.
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