Shakeups are coming. This according to WWE owner and CEO Vince McMahon, who this past week announced that for the first time since the brand split eight months ago, some superstars will be moving from Monday Night Raw to SmackDown Live and vice-versa.
So which performers would benefit most from a change? Our current pool of wrestling aficionados weigh in.
Which one men's Raw performer would most benefit from a trade to SmackDown?
Tim Fiorvanti: The obvious pick here is Sami Zayn, who has shown flashes of potential to break out as a star but faces far too much going on above him to make much upward movement. But I'm going to go a different direction and point to Samoa Joe. At this point, all he has been is a henchman for Triple H and Kevin Owens. Move him to SmackDown and make him the destroyer of all things -- good, bad and otherwise. I think it's a little too soon to revisit his NXT rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura, but have Joe tear apart everyone that stands in his way and charge toward Randy Orton and the WWE championship. Assuming AJ Styles heads to Raw, Joe-Orton is about as strong a world title rivalry as you could hope for.
Matt Willis: It's time to reunite Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson with AJ Styles on Tuesday nights. The three were entertaining together in their quest to "beat up John Cena," and putting more former Bullet Club members together creates many more booking opportunities. Gallows and Anderson lost their tag titles rematch and moving forward, they could be outside the title picture with the Revival's arrival.
Sean Coyle: Rusev's injury, which has sidelined him, might actually be a blessing in disguise. The talented brute has been severely misused on Raw after such a promising start to his WWE career. No more nonsense. When he has cleared to return, it'll be time to bring back the dominant version of Rusev, add him to the SmackDown Live roster and give him something meaningful to sink his teeth into.
Andrew Feldman: SmackDown is in desperate need of singles faces, and Sami Zayn has been relegated to jobber status for much of the past few months. Let's get him away from Kevin Owens, despite the fact that they truly shine when together, and get him involved in a feud that can make him stand out instead of being stood on. It has been pretty clear that there's not much room for him on the Raw roster, so move him to the other brand and give him a title shot -- or a feud with AJ Styles.
Sachin Chandan: Sami Zayn would benefit from a move to Smackdown. Zayn and his eternal rival, Owens, consistently have good matches together, but a separation will keep their story fresh when they eventually meet again. Zayn, through his work with Mick Foley and William Regal, can do great work with face GM's, and this would allow Daniel Bryan to take an on-screen mentor role with Zayn.
Nicolas Irving: New Day to SmackDown might not be a scorching hot take, but I believe they have run its course as a threesome. With no hints at a potential breakup occurring anytime soon, something needs to be done to keep the group fresh. Moving New Day to SmackDown not only creates new matchups, it helps bolster the blue brand's tag team division, which is in severe need of help after its top seems have been missing in action in recent weeks. The group's imminent breakup could be the dominate storyline on SmackDown for months afterward.
Matt Wilansky: More than anyone, Cesaro needs a clear path to showcase his incredible talent, and he's not getting that on Raw. Send him to SmackDown, where he'll be an instant hit, feuding with the likes of the Miz and Corbin (and AJ Styles, if he's not moved to Raw). It's not out of the question that Cesaro would be an immediately thrust into the Intercontinental title picture -- and perhaps the WWE championship come SummerSlam. Yes, we're enjoying Cesaro's work with Sheamus, but Raw now has a robust tag-team field, and there's little shot those two would be dominant champs, if champs at all, in the near future.
Which one women's Raw performer would most benefit from a trade to SmackDown?
Fiorvanti: Assuming there's at least one woman moving over from SmackDown, it makes sense to tear Bayley's safety blanket away from her in the harshest way possible. Have Sasha Banks move over, and maybe even have her attack Bayley on her way out the door to sew some seeds of chaos on both shows. The potential of Banks-Lynch, Banks-Bliss and Banks-Naomi all feel fresh and new.
Willis: Part of me wants to say Lana, and have Handsome Rusev go with her to the "Land of Opportunity," as Rusev was doing his best work before his injury. But to balance out the actual women's division, it's time to split up the trio of Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Bayley. For now, we'll move Sasha to SmackDown, splitting up the Four Horsewoman evenly. Banks and Becky Lynch had classic matches in NXT, and I'm eager to see Banks and Alexa Bliss work together, too.
Coyle: With standout performers such as Charlotte and Bayley in the spotlight on RAW, Sasha Banks has gotten lost in the shuffle. After a rivalry for the ages with Charlotte last year, Banks has been the punching bag for Nia Jax, and Banks is without any substantial advancement for her character. She has simply been a secondary piece of the Raw women's division. Perhaps a shift to the SmackDown Live roster could bring about a fresh rivalry or two for the Boss.
Feldman: This is a hard one since the SmackDown women's roster has shined of late while sharing the spotlight among six or seven women. I'd be inclined to send Dana Brooke as a full face to SmackDown and get her involved in something with Carmella or Natalya. SmackDown has proven it can offer a number of strong women storylines at one time, something that Raw simply hasn't been able to do, and adding Brooke might be a solution to make a deep roster even stronger.
Chandan: Charlotte Flair would benefit from a move to SmackDown. The Raw women's division has featured some combination of Charlotte, Sasha and Bayley since the draft lottery. While the matches have been great, there is only so much that can be done with the lack of faces on Raw. Much like Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, Charlotte and Sasha should be kept separate. A move to SmackDown could reignite her feud with Lynch, as well as set up a credible challenger for a red-hot Naomi.
Irving: Nia Jax is presented as the rare female monster who uses her sheer size and brute force to blow through her opponents. Despite this, she has never been seen as a true threat to the Raw women's championship. A move to SmackDown and a full-on squash match victory against current champion Naomi should lead to Nia ruling over the blue brand's women's division until at least SummerSlam. Have her hold the championship for months until someone (a debuting Asuka?) can come in and appear as a legitimate contender.
Wilansky: This isn't a blockbuster move, but Dana Brooke could benefit from completing separating herself from Charlotte, whether as friends or enemies. Unless you found her sidekick schtick compelling, Brooke has failed to find a storyline that registers on Raw; plus, she's completely buried by the four leading women on the show. Of course, Brooke could team up with a returning Emma and wreak havoc like they did on NXT, but Brooke would be better served by trying to solidify her singles career on SmackDown.
Which one men's SmackDown performer would most benefit from a trade to Raw?
Fiorvanti: Luke Harper needs to get away from the Wyatt Family if he's ever going to stand on his own, and he needs to go now. All you have to do is watch how he tagged with Randy Orton on Tuesday without a hint of friction to know how problematic having him as a "good guy" on SmackDown is going to be. Move him right into the United States championship picture against Kevin Owens and watch them cook.
Willis: It wouldn't shake up any roster, but moving Kalisto to Raw makes too much sense. Kalisto has rarely been seen on SmackDown, and it opens up the possibility of putting him on 205 Live. Plus, former tag team partner Sin Cara is on Monday Night Raw, and while the Lucha Dragons wouldn't be taking the tag titles off the Hardy Boyz, they could provide an exciting match with the returning brothers -- or work with the newly arrived Revival.
Coyle: Despite holding the Intercontinental Championship, Dean Ambrose feels like a forgotten piece of the SmackDown Live roster. After high-profile rivalries with the likes of AJ Styles and The Miz over the past year, could any of us have predicted that Ambrose would have been regulated to a preshow match at WrestleMania 33? It's time for a change. Add Ambrose to the Raw roster and allow him to climb back up the ranks.
Feldman: Before Nakamura came out to interrupt The Miz, the latter would've been my take on this one. He has been so good as of late that getting him involved for the Universal Title doesn't seem farfetched at all. That said, I think a Miz feud with Nakamura would truly be fascinating given the capabilities of both to play the crowd in different ways. So that brings me a Dolph Ziggler trade to Raw, which would give his character a new focus. He hasn't been relevant since before SummerSlam, and currently, there's nobody on the SmackDown roster that has been able to mesh with Ziggler as of late.
Chandan: Aiden English would benefit from a move to Raw. The Vaudevillians have come to an end with the recent release of Simon Gotch, but English, with a face turn, could be a natural fit next to Gentleman Jack Gallagher. English had memorable moments in NXT but has not scratched his potential after being lost in the shuffle in SmackDown's short-changed tag team division. A move to the red-brand opens up comedic interactions with Enzo & Cass, Jinder Mahal, Golden Truth or even the Hardys (Broken or not).
Irving: After their epic WrestleMania match, AJ Styles and Shane McMahon might not be able to coexist on the same show any longer. Add in GM Daniel Bryan wanting to fire Styles following his parking lot attack on McMahon and Styles might be better off moving to Monday nights. The potential matchups -- including Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn and Owens -- are phenomenal. And just think of the five-star match Styles could put on against Cesaro. Sign me up!
Wilansky: The champ must go. How they pull it off, we're not sure yet, but Randy Orton just doesn't fit the vibe of SmackDown. There are few singles competitors that he has decent chemistry with, although an Orton-Styles fracas that we saw signs of last month would be pay-per-view worthy. But really, what Raw is missing is that big-name, longtime veteran performer. Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg and, to a lesser extent, Big Show, are either part-timers, taking copious time off or retiring. Orton could make up for the gap, and potential storylines with any of the big names, from Roman Reigns to Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins would be far more intriguing than Orton's current beef with Bray Wyatt.
Which one women's SmackDown performer would most benefit from a trade to Raw?
Fiorvanti: I think Carmella could provide some interesting depth to Raw's women's division, especially if Sasha Banks is heading the other way. Carmella needs to get some reps in, and doing so with the likes of Bayley and Charlotte is the best way to make that happen. Leave James Ellsworth behind and you have some fun possibilities when it comes to Enzo and Cass, or keep Carmella as her own woman and give her a shot in the spotlight with a one-to-one shot at the Raw women's championship.
Willis: It's time to really shake things up on the women's side, and I'll start by sending one title-holder, Naomi, to Raw. I want to see what it looks like to have the two best pure athletes in the women's division, Naomi and Charlotte Flair, square off head-to-head. Naomi-Nia Jax also provides an interesting pairing and a fresh rivalry.
Coyle: The Carmella-James Ellsworth experiment is not working. It has dragged Carmella down after a promising start to her SmackDown Live career, where she was feuding with Nikki Bella. The attempt to create humor out of the pairing has failed on just about every level. Why not completely reverse her current heel role back to babyface and reunite her with Enzo and Cass on Raw? It doesn't necessarily mean Carmella would be isolated to a managerial role. In fact, the combination of her in-ring and valet duties could mean double the screen time for the Princess of Staten Island.
Feldman: I would love to see Alexa Bliss on Raw sparring words with Charlotte. There was nobody better on SmackDown, and there's nobody who can match Bliss' anger on the mic except for Charlotte. That feud doesn't make much sense right now, but a face turn down the road -- for either of them -- would make this a fun reality.
Chandan: Alexa Bliss would benefit from a move to Raw. Yes, Little Miss Bliss has been the breakout performer of the SmackDown women's division, but a move to Raw gives Bliss fresh feuds with Bayley, Banks and Jax. Each offers a wrinkle to a Bliss feud. Bayley's sweetness is the opposite of Bliss' conceited character, while Sasha versus Bliss would be a battle of attitudes. And Jax against Bliss would be the biggest size difference in the division.
Wilansky: It's pretty much the same deal as Dana Brooke, but Natalya needs a fresh start. Brooke is currently lost in the sea of sameness on SmackDown. There are just too many second-tier women canceling each other out. And yes, you can make the argument that adding Brooke to SmackDown won't help the situation. But the bottom line here is that it's a change for both. And Natalya, who is better suited as a heel, could do some fine work teaming with Jax on Raw.