FunKay the Inevitable
People Like Me, We Don't Play
I've been thinking somewhat extensively about this. A lot of what WWE did on Monday and Tuesday was muddying the waters and creating misdirection to confuse and confound. As a result, I'm not sure who's going where.
The big one that's been talked about for weeks if not months is Styles to RAW, and I was pretty certain is was going down until SmackDown. Perhaps it's more so what I want rather than what I think will happen, but the idea of Styles becoming the standard bearer on Tuesdays whilst Cena is away is a fun one and one I really like. That being said, while he settled his beef with Shane, but Bryan appears to be handling duties for the blue brand on Monday, so I could easily see him trading him for a major gain like say a Seth Rollins or something akin to the Triple H for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz trade from 2004.
Looking at both rosters, it becomes apparent that what is needed for SmackDown is depth in both their male divisions. With the arrival of The Hardy's and The Revival on RAW, there is almost an excess of tag talent there, and with SmackDown bereft of talented, legitimate tandems (American Alpha and The Usos are the only real top contenders) they are in desperate need of some fresh blood in the division. Enzo & Cass as well as Gallows & Anderson are free from championship obligations and feuds. Either or both could potentially make the move.
Guys like Rusev and Sami Zayn would benefit greatly from a move over as their chances are limited on Monday nights and in turn more bodies are needed on Tuesdays, not only to make up the numbers, but to create fresh new stories. Rusev versus Harper, Nakamura, Ambrose, Orton, Styles (if he's still there) or Zayn versus the Wyatt's or Corbin could be a great deal of fun. There's also a need to freshen things up in the women's division and with the exception of Bayley and Sasha on RAW and Naomi on SmackDown, I think everyone's fair game. Charlotte going to SmackDown would help balance the star power aspect out while RAW gaining more experienced, middle of the pack workers like a Natalya or Mickie James would work too.
RAW more or less just needs fresh names and from a logical point of view, gaining a guy like The Miz who Bryan would want rid of would be perfect. He's also great at taking the fall and regaining his heat simply by talking. Seeing him go up versus the likes of Balor, Cesaro, Sheamus and Rollins could be fun. Maybe sending Harper over to add a new big man for Reigns and Strowman to tangle with would produce some good results? Personally, I would quite like to see Owens and Ambrose change shows - both would benefit from fresh talent to go up against, RAW is in need of solid babyfaces and SmackDown is dying for a main event level heel - but both seem set to continue their feuds with Jericho and Corbin respectively.
Perhaps the 'shakeup' doesn't come into full effect until after Payback? If that is the case, I'd love to see this move.
The big one that's been talked about for weeks if not months is Styles to RAW, and I was pretty certain is was going down until SmackDown. Perhaps it's more so what I want rather than what I think will happen, but the idea of Styles becoming the standard bearer on Tuesdays whilst Cena is away is a fun one and one I really like. That being said, while he settled his beef with Shane, but Bryan appears to be handling duties for the blue brand on Monday, so I could easily see him trading him for a major gain like say a Seth Rollins or something akin to the Triple H for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz trade from 2004.
Looking at both rosters, it becomes apparent that what is needed for SmackDown is depth in both their male divisions. With the arrival of The Hardy's and The Revival on RAW, there is almost an excess of tag talent there, and with SmackDown bereft of talented, legitimate tandems (American Alpha and The Usos are the only real top contenders) they are in desperate need of some fresh blood in the division. Enzo & Cass as well as Gallows & Anderson are free from championship obligations and feuds. Either or both could potentially make the move.
Guys like Rusev and Sami Zayn would benefit greatly from a move over as their chances are limited on Monday nights and in turn more bodies are needed on Tuesdays, not only to make up the numbers, but to create fresh new stories. Rusev versus Harper, Nakamura, Ambrose, Orton, Styles (if he's still there) or Zayn versus the Wyatt's or Corbin could be a great deal of fun. There's also a need to freshen things up in the women's division and with the exception of Bayley and Sasha on RAW and Naomi on SmackDown, I think everyone's fair game. Charlotte going to SmackDown would help balance the star power aspect out while RAW gaining more experienced, middle of the pack workers like a Natalya or Mickie James would work too.
RAW more or less just needs fresh names and from a logical point of view, gaining a guy like The Miz who Bryan would want rid of would be perfect. He's also great at taking the fall and regaining his heat simply by talking. Seeing him go up versus the likes of Balor, Cesaro, Sheamus and Rollins could be fun. Maybe sending Harper over to add a new big man for Reigns and Strowman to tangle with would produce some good results? Personally, I would quite like to see Owens and Ambrose change shows - both would benefit from fresh talent to go up against, RAW is in need of solid babyfaces and SmackDown is dying for a main event level heel - but both seem set to continue their feuds with Jericho and Corbin respectively.
Perhaps the 'shakeup' doesn't come into full effect until after Payback? If that is the case, I'd love to see this move.