Changes/Trades you make...

[ramblinroy682]

We're about a month and a half in to the brand split. We've seen how the rosters have shaken out. The feuds that are currently be set up and where WWE appears to be heading. So far, I think by most everyone's account, Raw is winning the battle and it's not even close, in my opinion. So, if you were in charge and wanted to even things out a bit, what trades would you make?

Trade 1:

Cesaro for Apollo Crews -

Apollo is a flop right now. He's losing clean to the Miz in 5 mins at the ppv and not developing any charisma. Smackdown needs a guy who can be spotlighted right now and Crews isn't ready. He can be hidden better in lower card feuds on Raw.

Cesaro is going to come back and beat Sheamus in this feud I believe, but where does he go from here. Maybe he gets a shot at Rusev and a run with the US Title, but on Smackdown, I think he could be the "wrestler" to represent Daniel Bryan in his quest to shut up the Miz. After that ran it's course, I could see him then moving on to face AJ Styles for a quick feud for the title. Not winning it, but being a feud to get to Wrestlemania where I think AJ will drop the title to a returning Cena.


Trade 2:

Kalisto for Curtis Axel.

Kalisto is on Smackdown, but the cruiserweights are on Raw. Kalisto should be one of the cornerstones of that division. It doesn't make sense for him to be on Smackdown.

Curtis Axel is lost in the shuffle. One thing that brand split should provide is an opportunity to get some of these talented guys an opportunity. Axel has proven he's not going to be a main eventer, but that doesn't mean he can't be a valuable hand on the roster. Where I see him best is a right hand man for someone. I think you put him on the roster, have him debut and beat up Tyler Breeze in a match. Just let him start beating on him until the ref declares no contest. Next week, Fandango. Same story. Repeat with Konnor and Victor. Then at the Pay Per View, where Ziggler is facing whomever, having not "won the big one," Axel comes out beats up Ziggler's opponent, Ziggler turns heel. Axel is Ziggler's enforcer. They can wrestle as a tag team for a while or as individuals.

Tag Team Creation:

On Raw, I think they need a new tag team. New Day, The Club, Enzo and Cass, Primo and Epico. That's not enough. (Truthfully, I would have had the tag division on Smackdown and all the women on Raw). So, I'd form a new tag team. The All American Americans, Jack Swagger and Titus O'Neal. Triple A. (AAA) with the A's be Red White and Blue. Play up the fact they were both college athletes etc. I'd have them both wear singlets either the colors of their colleges or red/white/blue combo. They pairing reminds me a bit of APA. I think they could be a good addition to the tag team scene for two guys going nowhere in the singles division.

 

[thebigbadfox]

Tag Team Creation:

On Raw, I think they need a new tag team. New Day, The Club, Enzo and Cass, Primo and Epico. That's not enough. (Truthfully, I would have had the tag division on Smackdown and all the women on Raw). So, I'd form a new tag team. The All American Americans, Jack Swagger and Titus O'Neal. Triple A. (AAA) with the A's be Red White and Blue. Play up the fact they were both college athletes etc. I'd have them both wear singlets either the colors of their colleges or red/white/blue combo. They pairing reminds me a bit of APA. I think they could be a good addition to the tag team scene for two guys going nowhere in the singles division.[/QUOTE]



I have no idea how to search this far back but many moons ago I had said the All American Americans as a trio of Swagger Benjamin and Ziggler.... but now its too late with those guys and noone gives a crap about Titus period.

 

[Aquaman6686]

SmackDown needs more upper level talent, especially after losing one of their top stars. RAW should be the show with more of the young guys, to get them on the show more casuals watch to build them for the future. My solution is one large multi-person trade:

RAW gets:

1 - Baron Corbin
2 - Apollo Crews
3 - The Hype Bros.
4 - Alexa Bliss
5 - American Alpha


SmackDown gets:

1 - The Big Show
2 - Sheamus
3 - Cesaro
4 - Paige (if she's going to return)
5 - The Shining Stars
6 - Goldust & R-Truth


RAW gets more young talent to build for the future, SmackDown gets some top level talent.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

looking at both rosters here some of the trade i would make

1. Sami Zayn for kalisto: Kalisto should have been drafted to raw from the very beginning to be the face of the cruiserweight division and sami as just been lost in the shuffle on raw and would be a way bigger star on smackdown

2. Paige For Eva Marie: Again, if Paige comes back after her suspension i think she's would be better off on smackdown which seem to be the wrestling show and has a stronger woman's division, Eva marie love her new personna and i could see this character work better on raw.

3. kane for cesaro. Again it'S a case of raw needing veteran to help the younger talent in this case, Strowman need somebody to help him be the next big unstoppable monster and kane could be the one to teach him that. As for cesaro, same thing as for zayn, the guy is lost in the shuffle on raw and would do much better on smackdown.

4. The new day for heath slater and rhyno. The new day have absolutely nobody to work with on raw and the act as become stale, a switch to smackdown would help them and heath slater and rhyno have been great comedy relief since they join together and again since raw is the more entertainment show, why not have them there.

5. JBL for Corey graves. The reason i would trades commentator is mostly because i would love to see mauro do commentary with corey. JBl has always been comfortable with michael cole why not put them back together on raw and have the wrestling show have a wrestling commentary team with corey, mauro and david.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Bray Wyatt for Cesaro
Cesaro is a guy that will forever be in the midcard. He's not going to be a world champion, any time soon, but could be a potential upper midcard title contestant.
Bray Wyatt is someone who I think has all the tools to be at the top of card. He draws. He sells. He has great in ring physique, lots of charisma and seems like a larger than life wrestler.

I say, bring Wyatt on RAW, which is the land of opportunity, given that Rollins, Reigns and Owens rule the main event scene. Wyatt will never break out with Orton, Cena, Styles and Ambrose above him. So, you bring Bray Wyatt on RAW, where he actually starts looking like a big threat.
Then you bring the midcarder Cesaro who is not going to be a world champ over to Smackdown, where he can challenge The Miz and possibly win the title that he hasn't won, the IC title. Plus, he can have great matches with Styles, Cena, Orton and Ambrose.

Kalisto for Sin Cara
Kalisto is the one who should be in the CD, not Sin Cara. Hunico isn't really all that much agile and he has to be over the weight limit. The guy is huge. I think Cara is better suited for Smackdown.

Crews for either Young or Titus
Darren Young and Titus O'Neil:
a) need to be seperated asap
b) are jobbers
Crews just debuted, so treating him like a jobber is not a solution. Bring either Titus or Young to replace Crews in the low mid card spot and have Crews got to RAW, the land of oppourtunity to prove himself.

Breezango for Golden Truth
Both are jobbers, but FandaBreeze are the young lions. They can be given a chance to prove themselves as viable tag team contenders. RAW needs reliable tag team right now and Golden Truth won't cut it.

That's all actually. Bray gets to the main event scene like that. Cesaro gets to become a viable upper midcarder. Breezango has a chane to redeem themselves. Crews gets more exposure feuding with guys he can win against, like Y2J, Rusev or Sheamus, or even Strowman. Kalisto showcases his talents in the CD.

 

[The Yes Guy]

Smack down is in dire need of some Big Stars. This also shows how paper thin the roster actually is.
1. Shift Jericho to SD. He'll help bring some much needed star power and will have some great feuds with the younger guys.

2. Shift AJ Styles to Raw. I love what he's trying to do. But Seriously.. He needs to be on Raw. There's a lot for him to do on Raw.

3. Bo Dallas and Enzo & Cass to SD. Bo should join up with Wyatt. He'll do wonders with that.
Enzo and Cass have nice teams to feud with in SD than Raw.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I like the Op's idea of putting Swagger and Titus in a team, but I wonder if the gimmick is too close to American Alpha?

Raw needs more tag teams, so Kalisto to Raw just makes sense. That way he can work both the cruiserweight division and resume Lucha Dragons. Raw are about to add Gargano and Ciampa but they'll be pulling double duty as well (two divisions).

Erick Rowan to Raw. I don't see the point of separating him from Wyatt for him to do nothing. Send him to Raw when Luke Harper and let them enter the tag team division there.

Cesaro to Smackdown. Miz needs a foil that isn't Dolph Ziggler for the millionth time. Cesaro chases the IC title.

Sami Zayn to Smackdown. He's lost in the shuffle on Raw and some distance from KO is needed to keep that feud fresh through the years.

Tyler Breeze to Raw. He's listed at 212lbs, but they could have him "cut" seven lbs to make the 205 weight count for the cruiserweight division and acutally do something with him. Breezango is a terrible tag team name anyway.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

Neville for Apollo Crews:
At the moment, I don't see Neville being taken seriously as a threat to guys like Rusev in the U.S championship picture, but he would do well in Smackdown's midcard with guys like Miz and Ziggler in it.
Crews- Smackdown doesn't have much talent, so there's only so few times he can lose to the little midcard it does have without hurting his credibility. Raw has more talent and there are way more possibilities for Crews.


Jack Swagger for Kalisto
Smackdown is in need of serious mid-carders and Swagger could reinvent his career on Smackdown. Also having another former world champion fighting for the IC championship would be great.
Kalisto- two words...Cruiserweight division. I can understand not wanting guys like Balor and Crews in the cruiserweight division, but Kalisto is perfect for that division.


Jericho: for Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio is on his way out, which is why it should be him. Smackdown can't afford to lose anyone, but they need 1-2 more main eventers, and Jericho would be a great addition.
(the other main eventer should be someone from NXT, JOE!!! Roode, or Nakamura)

 

[L@RISANO]

Indeed, there are some trades that would make sense, but more to help certain superstars as opposed to the brand they are one.

Don't know how the OP arrived to a conclusion that RAW > SD at this point as the latter has been the much better show since the Brand Split started and it has not even been close since SummerSlam, where SmackDown has been brilliant from top to bottom in comparison to RAW, which has generally been all over the place save for an intriguing ME scene that could well be back to square one with the usual poor/safe booking that WWE seems to favour in general.



As for a couple trades:

1) Sami Zayn for Apollo Crews:
Sami Zayn has not been used all that well on the Main Roster save for him beating KO at Battleground. However, he has a connection with fans that Apollo just doesn't have whatsoever. Also, Crews alongwith Baron Corbin, was clearly chosen as a guy seen as an option to launch towards a Main Event push given SD contains Cena, Orton and AJ Styles, who are all in the twilight of their careers, all things considered. Put Sami Zayn into a position of an ME launch, and let Crews forge a connection with the fans through hard-hitting feuds with the likes of Rusev and Cesaro over the US title.



2) Kalisto for someone on RAW's lower card(Swagger, Axel, Bo...):
There is a cruiserweight division starting on RAW, Sin Cara is on RAW. RAW needs tag teams. Kalisto is a cruiserweight in every sense. Anything else required?

 

[hhhfactor]

There are some trades that need to happen in order to equalize both brands and provide potential feuds down the line

AJ Styles to Raw and Chris Jericho to Smackdown
AJ Styles on Raw provides the opportunity for the Bullet Club or Balor Club to reunite and take over RAW. AJ styles could potentially set up a feud with Seth Rollins down the line which would be epic. Chris Jericho could provide some profile match ups with John Cena and Dolph Ziggler. He could be one to put over Apollo Crews giving him some much needed credit.

Randy Orton to Raw and Roman Reigns to Smackdown
Randy Orton could be a main event player and they could continue his feud with Brock Lesnar and even feud with Kevin Owens for the title, making Kevin Owens a more serious champion. Roman Reigns could start as a face before turning a heel and feuding with Dolph Ziggler and getting a push over John Cena.

Kalisto to Raw and Sami Zayn to Smackdown
Kalisto has done nothing since being on Smackdown. Put him on Raw where he can reunite with Sin Cara as the Lucha Dragons or take the single route in the cruiserweight division. Sami Zayn needs to break away from Kevin Owens. On Smackdown he can have his chance to shine.

Carmella to Raw and Summer Rae to Smackdown
Reunite Carmella with Enzo and Big Cass or have her continue her bad girl image. She could be a stepping stone for Sasha Banks or Bayley to get even further over. Summer Rae has done nothing since joining Raw. Have her be able to show case her talents by fighting on Smackdown where she can at least get some television recognition.

American Alphas to Raw and New Day to Smackdown
American Alphas are brand new and could slowly work their way through some of the more veteran teams on Raw before feuding with Gallows and Anderson. New Day has been through the entire Raw tag team division. Put them on Smackdown where they can either go their own ways, continue their left off feud with the Wyatts (possibly dropping titles to Bray Wyatt and Erik Rowan), or challenging some of the new teams. Big E. could go out on his own as a single wrestler being a main event contender or even an Intercontinental contender.

Sheamus to Smackdown.
Why? He is lost in the shuffle on Raw. Continue feud with Apollo Crews. Could do some mixed tag matches with Becky Lynch (Irish Ass-Kickers) vs. John Cena and Nikki Bella

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think Nia Jax needs to go to Smackdown. She could dominate as the top heel there or a powerful babyface. She's going to be in the shadow of Charlotte, Sasha and Bayley and right now she's just fighting jobbers on RAW. With Paige presumably gone from RAW (and WWE) move Nia to SD and and send someone, maybe Carmella, to RAW. Then when Emma is back, they can put her on RAW.

I like Nia Jax a lot but I just don't see how she's going to fit into the overall picture on RAW.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I think Nia Jax needs to go to Smackdown. She could dominate as the top heel there or a powerful babyface. She's going to be in the shadow of Charlotte, Sasha and Bayley and right now she's just fighting jobbers on RAW. With Paige presumably gone from RAW (and WWE) move Nia to SD and and send someone, maybe Carmella, to RAW. Then when Emma is back, they can put her on RAW.

I like Nia Jax a lot but I just don't see how she's going to fit into the overall picture on RAW.

The Women's division on Raw has suffered but Nia should stay put. She's only been on the main roster since the draft and would get lost in the shuffle on Smackdown more so than Raw.

Raw needs lower card women heels more than Smackdown needs a top heel. Smackdown has Nattie, Alexa, Carmella and a returning Eva Marie to round out its heels. No one has asserted themselves top heel, but that comes soon.

Nattie and Alexa are far more ready to draw heat from the crowd. Nia's power and inexperience could lend themselves to a face reaction that she won't know how to deal with.

The women's rosters are actually the healthiest despite Raw's apparent loss of Paige. That's why we've seen Bayley called up.

I wouldn't mind if Charlotte rounded out her onscreen four horsewomen with Nia and a returning Emma. Then you have Nia as the eventual one to become the breakout babyface.

No trades for the women are necessary. There's too much unexplored. Let a 2017 draft shake things up.

 

[kadroan]

We're about a month and a half in to the brand split. We've seen how the rosters have shaken out. The feuds that are currently be set up and where WWE appears to be heading. So far, I think by most everyone's account, Raw is winning the battle and it's not even close, in my opinion. So, if you were in charge and wanted to even things out a bit, what trades would you make?

Trade 1:

Cesaro for Apollo Crews -

Apollo is a flop right now. He's losing clean to the Miz in 5 mins at the ppv and not developing any charisma. Smackdown needs a guy who can be spotlighted right now and Crews isn't ready. He can be hidden better in lower card feuds on Raw.

Cesaro is going to come back and beat Sheamus in this feud I believe, but where does he go from here. Maybe he gets a shot at Rusev and a run with the US Title, but on Smackdown, I think he could be the "wrestler" to represent Daniel Bryan in his quest to shut up the Miz. After that ran it's course, I could see him then moving on to face AJ Styles for a quick feud for the title. Not winning it, but being a feud to get to Wrestlemania where I think AJ will drop the title to a returning Cena.


Trade 2:

Kalisto for Curtis Axel.

Kalisto is on Smackdown, but the cruiserweights are on Raw. Kalisto should be one of the cornerstones of that division. It doesn't make sense for him to be on Smackdown.

Curtis Axel is lost in the shuffle. One thing that brand split should provide is an opportunity to get some of these talented guys an opportunity. Axel has proven he's not going to be a main eventer, but that doesn't mean he can't be a valuable hand on the roster. Where I see him best is a right hand man for someone. I think you put him on the roster, have him debut and beat up Tyler Breeze in a match. Just let him start beating on him until the ref declares no contest. Next week, Fandango. Same story. Repeat with Konnor and Victor. Then at the Pay Per View, where Ziggler is facing whomever, having not "won the big one," Axel comes out beats up Ziggler's opponent, Ziggler turns heel. Axel is Ziggler's enforcer. They can wrestle as a tag team for a while or as individuals.

Tag Team Creation:

On Raw, I think they need a new tag team. New Day, The Club, Enzo and Cass, Primo and Epico. That's not enough. (Truthfully, I would have had the tag division on Smackdown and all the women on Raw). So, I'd form a new tag team. The All American Americans, Jack Swagger and Titus O'Neal. Triple A. (AAA) with the A's be Red White and Blue. Play up the fact they were both college athletes etc. I'd have them both wear singlets either the colors of their colleges or red/white/blue combo. They pairing reminds me a bit of APA. I think they could be a good addition to the tag team scene for two guys going nowhere in the singles division.

Trade Zayn to SDL
Zayn won his feud with KO and still not getting considered for world title shots. Meanwhile if he was on SDL, worst case he'd be facing Miz for the IC title. Best case, he'd be facing AJ for the title.

Turn Ziggler heel
His fact act is stale. Meanwhile as a heel, he could do some new things.

Trade Kalisto for Cesaro
He's a former US champion but SDL isn't using him right. He's better off competing in the Cruiserweight division.

They won't let Cesaro compete in the main event picture. Maybe he could win against Miz for the IC title this time around or maybe they'll give him a shot at the WWE Championship.

Turn Sheamus face
His act as a heel is stale. It'd be cool to see a face Sheamus in 2016 face Jericho, KO, etc.

Put PTP back together
This "Make Darren Young Great Again" isn't going to work and Titus sucks as a solo wrestler. Once New Day loses their titles, probably to Gallows and Anderson, they're going to need somebody to face besides Enzo and Big Cass.

Turn Bray face
His act is so stale. Time to turn him to a face.

Split Golden Truth
They're both talented enough individually to be legit midcard workers.