WWE has previously stated that it will not be holding any further “Superstar Shake-ups” or brand trades in 2017. However, after Survivor Series, the RAW roster was told to be prepared to move brands and change things around.
Alexa Bliss and Charlotte appear to have been most successful after their moves earlier in the year, as they have become Champions of both brands. While on the other side of the coin, Heath Slater and Rhyno have been the least successful and hardly appear on taped shows anymore.
With this in mind, who could WWE look to move around to make the most out of all opportunities available? Here is a list of 5 Superstars who could benefit from switching brands.
Breezango
Ok, I admit, this should actually be 6 Superstars who could benefit from switch brands, but I’m counting Breezango as 1. Anyway.
There was a moment when Breezango could have been something more than a comedy duo. However, their efforts have resulted in a spat of tag team title loses, and some backstage parody videos. Breezango are very entertaining and could look to explore YouTube, but as WWE superstars they need a fresh start to rekindle a genuine title opportunity or some entertaining in-ring action.
The perfect way of doing this, while continuing the Fashion Police gimmick, is to switch brands and explore the world of RAW. The other bonus with this pick comes in the form of RAW’s lack of tag team partnerships compared to SmackDown Live – no one would need to move over to replace them if Breezango left because Rusev & Aiden English have just been added to the tag team title scene, alongside the return of Rowan & Harper (The Bludgeon Brothers).
Jeff Hardy
When it comes to Matt and Jeff Hardy, the WWE Universe knows that Jeff is more valuable and has greater longevity than Matt. It’s great that Matt Hardy has finally been able to reveal his Broken gimmick to WWE, but the greatest potential comes in the form of Jeff Hardy and his road to gaining the WWE Championship again.
Jeff is currently injured and is unlikely to return before WrestleMania 34, therefore WWE has a great opportunity to move Jeff across to the SmackDown Live brand without anyone knowing, enabling them to make a surprise or shock return for him.
The other route for Jeff is to have him retrun as Brother Nero, but to make the Broken gimmick last, Matt surely needs to adventure on a quest to seek out his lost brother.
Bayley
If WWE created a Women’s Tag Team Division, Bayley would be perfect with Sasha Banks; however this isn’t the case and she has become lost while Alexa Bliss dominates.
What’s the reason to move Bayley rather than anyone else? It’s too soon, and currently unbalanced to have Nia Jax and Tamina in the same brand, while others like Alicia Fox wouldn’t have an impact by moving brands. There is an argument for moving Sasha Banks instead but I think Bayley would be a better fit overall. If this was to be a swap rather than a move, Becky Lynch or Naomi seem to work best as replacements for Bayley on RAW.
The main question/problem to think about is: Who will defeat Asuka? Once The Empress of Tomorrow becomes RAW Champion, her reign and undefeated run will surely come to an end, but when and who? The issue RAW faces is the competition between Alexa, Paige and Asuka; all three women are worthy title holders and look to present themselves as invincible. This is yet another reason why Bayley would benefit from moving from the over-crowded RAW roster.
Big Cass
Much like Jeff Hardy, a move for Big Cass to SmackDown Live could be made without anyone noticing while he recovers from a torn ACL.
There are two main arguments for switching Big Cass over to SmackDown Live: Firstly, it would distance himself from Enzo Amore who features on RAW as part of 205 Live. Secondly Big Cass would be closer to his partner – Carmella. This would benefit WWE, Big Cass and Carmella, as well as the rest of the WWE Universe. Win, win, win?
While there is a lot of negativity around tearing an ACL, the words “career ending” can be thrown about, Big Cass appears to be recovering well and, with the help of WWE, could make his return after injury into a huge dominant challenge for the US title. If Baron Corbin is still champion, that’s one match that I can genuinely see working for both parties.
Randy Orton
It’s not that Randy Orton would significantly benefit from being moved to RAW, but WWE as a whole could benefit if they were to move The Viper and change the chemistry among the RAW superstars.
Randy has reached a point where he has feuded or come face-to-face with most superstars on SmackDown Live; he is currently being used as the SmackDown Live muscle, dealing with KO and Sami Zayn. He could easily continue in this fashion on Team Blue and that would be fine.
But there is more potential for him if he were to move over to RAW, especially if Brock Lesnar loses the Universal Title to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34.
In the meantime, Randy Orton vs Samoa Joe/Braun Strowman/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns/Finn Balor – these all contain potential feuds that could easily run for numerous weeks while maintaining good ratings. That’s why it would benefit WWE more than Randy Orton.
Orton already knows that he’s one of the greatest WWE superstars, he doesn’t need to prove that, he’s the perfect guy to bring over to RAW to freshen up the whole locker room, without even doing very much.
