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Roman Reigns sent out a tweet and appeared on the red brand even after WWE told him not to. This misconduct opened the gates for a few more superstars from the blue brand to appear on RAW. The Chairman of WWE made a new Wild Card rule out of the situation, which allows four superstars to cross over to the other brand every week.
There is still some confusion about the number of superstars allowed to jump brands, since it was announced to be three and then was changed to four, but five superstars appeared as Wild Cards on both brands (Shane is already allowed to perform on both brands).
On this list, we would focus only on the superstars who were affected by the new rule. Hence, the Revival won't feature even after getting buried on RAW.
#2 Loser: The ones who missed out
While the Wild Card rule offers a higher level of star power on both shows, there's an inert downside. As superstars make their way on a show from another brand, they take up the TV time that native talents require.
The appearance of the Wild Card superstars failed to get a lot of superstars on TV. Cesaro started his singles run with a win over Cedric Alexander on the previous episode, but both of them failed to make it to the show this week.
Becky Lynch was shouldered with the task to carry both brands' women's divisions, but she wasn't on the show; the same is true for Charlotte.
Moreover, Buddy Murphy was scheduled to move to SmackDown, but only appeared after the show went off the air. Apart from that, while Balor got a promo aired from his hometown, the Women's Tag Team Champions, the IIconics, did not play a significant part.
All these superstars needed to appear on their respective shows to further their storylines and establish their characters. The Wild Card rule further increased the number of superstars in an already packed roster.
#1 Loser: Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns was the one who started this mess in the first place, in storyline. Reigns went to RAW for some unfinished business which we still do not know about. He appeared and stood up against the authority for their fake promises.
What's baffling is Vince McMahon and rest of The Authority appears on SmackDown as well, so there was no point in performing on a different brand to speak out.
Reigns Superman-punched the Chairman on SmackDown, and was in the middle of a feud with Shane and Elias on the blue brand. Hence, there was no need to appear on RAW storyline-wise.
Moreover, Reigns and his MITB opponent Elias failed to appear on their brand, while they furthered their feud on RAW and a RAW live event.
Roman himself has nothing to do with it, but he was used as a plot device to bring in the Wild Card rule. His character's choices make no sense, and thus, it hurts his momentum. He was supposed to be SmackDown' biggest ever acquisition, and thus far, has not made any significant impact. Therefore, he ends up on the losers column.
#3 Winner: Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn's new gimmick of a 'Critic of the Critics' is a breath of fresh air, and he delivered some of the best promos of his WWE career on back-to-back episodes.
This week, WWE's booking wasn't kind to him, as he was interrupted by The Monster Among Men, Braun Strowman. Zayn ran to the backstage area where Strowman tossed him in a dumpster, which was then transferred onto a garbage truck.
But, due to the Wild Card rule, Zayn got an opportunity to get on SmackDown and get a title match for the WWE championship. Although he lost the fight, his performance in the ring restored some of his momentum to where it was before the debacle with the garbage truck.
Yes, it's only a day between both the events but getting mauled by an absolute monster without any fight back hurts his credibility in the long run. Those three Blue Thunder Bombs certainly caught a lot of people's attention, and reminded the audience that he continues to be one of the most gifted performers in the ring.
#2 Winner: The Usos
The Usos are arguably the best tag team on the planet at present, but are on a downward spiral right now. On RAW, what was meant to be a burial for The Revival, will undoubtedly cost The Usos in the long run.
The Revival will presumably move to other promotions, but The Usos were in danger of being relegated to being backstage pranksters, rather than living up to their billing as a formidable tag team.
The Usos as Wild Cards on SmackDown left their childish ways and challenged Bryan and Rowan for the vacant SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Even in defeat, they came out as a legit tag team.
This one-off appearance helped their cause, and if WWE restores their activity is serious competition, this would be the first step in the right direction. Of course, if they revert to their prankster gimmick on RAW, it would all be for nothing; but at least for this week, they slot in on the winner's side of Wild Card performers from this past week.
#1 Winner: Kofi Kingston
The one superstar who benefited the most due to the Wild Card rule is Kofi Kingston. Kofi won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania after defeating Daniel Bryan. He achieved his eleven year-long dream and celebrated in the ring with his family, in what was the most emotionally rewarding moment of The Show of Shows. But as soon as he won the title, there was a subdued feeling that his journey had concluded.
The general feeling was that the title win provided him and the audience with a feel-good moment, and the WWE would take the belt off him as soon as his popularity dwindled. Although Kingston was still over with the crowd, the spark from journey to the win seemed to have disappeared.
However, this week Kofi started another journey, and successfully defended his championship on both shows. This seems to be promising sign, and could a long way in proving his detractors wrong. Kofi defeated three top guys in Bryan, Styles and Sami Zayn, and declared that KofiMania is still alive and well. Hence, Kofi Kingston is the biggest winner on this list.
