WWE has taken the decision of going for a brand split which eventually means that SmackDown will also be aired live from July 19th and this weekly show will also have a roster of its own. If all goes as planned, the WWE could once again make this show relevant and interesting. The WWE fans would love to have a great show complement RAW week after week and for that to happen, the primary thing that is needed is star power.
Luckily, the company has some very rich talent of this era on the roster and injecting some of them to the sister show will only do good to the firm. As part of this slideshow, let us have a look at 10 superstars who should be drafted to SmackDown-
#10 Rusev
The 'Bulgarian Brute', Rusev is yet another highly talented guy on the current WWE roster with no direction. He is a great heel and many are baffled as to why WWE is unable to come up with impressive storylines for Rusev.
During his initial days in the company, he did great as a Russian patriot and the storylines built for him were awesome.
Rusev was booked in a great way and the company gave him opportunities to face big names like Cena, Big Show, Mark Henry and Jack Swagger. He held an undefeated streak for a long time and had a fairly long run as the US Champion with Lana being the perfect manager by his side.
Now that Rusev has once again won the US title, expect him to shine once again in the coming days. Bring the US title to SmackDown and see what happens!
#9 Becky Lynch and Natalya
The triple threat match for the Divas title at WrestleMania 32 was a blockbuster, to say the least. Everyone expected 'The Boss' to win the match but Charlotte retained the title thrashing all the speculations. Since Mania, Charlotte has defended her title twice at PPVs both against Natalya who was only a part of the WM pre-show.
Natalya and Becky Lynch were very good inside the ring and SmackDown needs a couple of good divas to stay strong even in this division. Expect Sasha to stay back on RAW and bring the other two to SmackDown.
#8 Baron Corbin
I am not sure if this is a curse or what! Whoever wins the 'Andre the Giant' memorial Battle Royal, they are destined to lose momentum. This happened with Cesaro in 2014, Big Show in 2015 and Baron Corbin in 2016. Corbin made a grand WrestleMania debut and won the trophy but all in vain. This is the only significant thing that he ever got in the company. He later got involved in some useless bouts with Dolph Ziggler, none bearing fruit.
Bring him to SmackDown and insert him somewhere in the mid-card bouts and he is sure to excel given the fewer competition.
#7 Jack Swagger
Swagger made his comeback to the ring during the closing months of 2015 and he has been staying on the roster with absolutely no purpose at all. A former World Heavyweight Champion, US Champion and one of the most talented guys in the WWE has now become a serious liability in the company.
He is occasionally seen on RAW and all his matches are fillers in the 3-hour duration of the show. With guys like Owens, Neville, Rusev, Ziggler and Kalisto among others on the roster, it’s not really a Herculean task to engage Swagger in a good storyline, but we really don’t know what the WWE Creative is contemplating on when dealing with the “Real American”.
It’s high time to give Swagger a break and engage him in a good storyline and what better platform can you have other than SmackDown to do the same?
#6 Sami Zayn
We are talking about bringing one of the mid-card titles to SmackDown and also strengthening the roster with potential guys. Sami Zayn is one guy who needs to come to SmackDown as he is not only a fan favourite but also possesses the traits of a Champion. With the likes of Cesaro, Miz, Owens and others on RAW, his stardom would only increase if he makes it to SmackDown in the coming draft pick.
#5 The Usos
This year at WrestleMania 32, The Usos took part in a tag-team match against the Dudley Boys. The momentum isn’t on their side right now but they have proven time and again that they are capable and deserve chances.
Now that there are many tag teams on the roster and none except New Day being too effective, there is no harm in giving these Samoans some momentum by injecting them into the SmackDown roster. You need an effective tag team in the show for the future, don’t you?
#4 Enzo and Cass
Since WrestleMania 32, we have seen Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Enzo, Cass, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin making a mark of their own on RAW. WWE usually injects talent on the roster on a gradual basis but this time around, the company has injected half a dozen guys at once and almost all of them are fan favourites.
Just observe the crowd reaction when Enzo and Cass made their debut on RAW! This is always good for the company as grooming talent for the future always pays and a step in that direction is always welcome by the fans. Given the dominance of The New Day on RAW, why not draft these two guys onto the SD roster? You already have some other tag teams to compete against the Champs on RAW and so such a move wouldn’t do any harm!
#3 Sheamus
Sheamus has been a top star in the company for quite a long time. He turned heel last year and has been pretty impressive in that gimmick, constantly doing his job of drawing heat and for a brief period, in putting Roman Reigns over.
He went on to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series 2015 by cashing in his MITB contract, only to drop it to Reigns, that points to some serious problems when it comes to booking Sheamus on the long run.
The story-lines involving Sheamus with the ‘League of Nations’ are taking him nowhere and a potential star like Sheamus should not be wasted this way. Add to this, he also had the experience of leading SmackDown as the World Heavyweight Champion and that would come in handy once he is drafted to his home show again.
#2 Alberto Del Rio
Don't get me wrong when I bring the name of Alberto Del Rio on top of many others. I know he was boring on RAW now but he was a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion brother! He has immense potential but surprisingly the company have found nothing purposeful for him since WM 32. Everybody knows that the 'League of Nations' storyline sucks and it is never too late to make some changes to this angle.
Now that the brand split is officially on the cards, expect Del Rio to migrate to the SmackDown roster and start doing something interesting there.
#1 Randy Orton
The Apex Predator has already proved what he is capable of and did some of the best things on SmackDown. He is set to return in the coming couple of months and should be drafted to SmackDown and injected straight away in the top level competition. Add what all you want now!
