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SmackDown just lost one of its biggest babyfaces in the brand-split era in WWE. Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan, essentially ending Bryan's tenure on the Blue brand. After failing to defeat Reigns, Bryan agreed to leave SmackDown and the brand is now without one of its biggest stars.
Losing Bryan hurt SmackDown on several levels. He had some backstage influence and pushed for some underutilized stars. His in-ring storytelling is among the best in WWE history. Bryan is also one of the most natural babyfaces in WWE history.
Now that he is gone following his loss to the Tribal Chief, SmackDown needs to add some new good guys to its ranks. In terms of male singles stars on the Blue brand, the biggest faces are Big E, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. Cesaro is finally getting a decent push into the main event after a decade of service in the mid-card. He'll also probably fall to Reigns but is one of the remaining faces.
Owens has feuded with a lot of people on the blue brand, including Seth Rollins, Reigns, Sami Zayn, Apollo Crews and Aleister Black. He needs a reboot to best utilize his skills.
When Edge comes back to WWE, will it be on RAW or SmackDown? Will he be a face or a heel? When he was last seen (at WrestleMania 37), he had briefly turned to the dark side because of Daniel Bryan's involvement in his match.
Since SmackDown needs some fresh faces for its roster, some trades should take place between the two brands. The WWE Draft took place in October of 2020, but some stars have fizzled out regarding feuds since then.
Here are five trades that RAW and SmackDown should make.
#5 Ricochet joins SmackDown as Murphy goes to RAW
Ricochet hasn't been used much on RAW lately, even though it has three hours to fill. The most recent episode of RAW saw MVP show up multiple times over three hours. He's obviously an important star as he manages Lashley, but he didn't need to show up in every other segment of the show.
As mentioned in the introduction, SmackDown needs some new faces. Ricochet is a fantastic face due to his exciting in-ring style. Apollo Crews will also need some new challengers if minimal additions are made to the roster. RAW had two new faces show up this week, so SmackDown should also have some new stars. Whether that happens or not is up in the air until Friday.
Murphy is just like Ricochet in that he has a fast-paced and exciting in-ring game. He isn't being used at the moment but should be kept away from both Rollins and the Mysterios and get a fresh start on RAW. Murphy can stay a heel or can operate as a face if traded to RAW.
Both he and Ricochet need fresh starts and trading spots on their respective brands would accomplish that.
#4 Mustafa Ali rejoins SmackDown as King Corbin goes to RAW
SmackDown needs more tag teams. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode are likely to drop the titles soon to either the Mysterios or Street Profits. The Street Profits don't need another reign so soon, but they will need new opponents. If Mustafa Ali is traded to SmackDown, he can remain a heel.
He can also revisit aspects of his hacker gimmick and align with Sami Zayn. Together, they can further the conspiracy angle while also adding another team to the SmackDown tag team division. It's lacking depth with only four teams at the moment (Alpha Academy would be the fourth team).
It's hard to know if there will be any NXT additions to SmackDown after Mansoor and Eva Marie were revealed to be joining RAW. At the very least, Ali going to SmackDown gets him away from Mace and T-Bar.
Ali joining SmackDown might conflict with RECKONING (Mia Yim) being quietly moved to the Blue brand already, but they can operate separately from each other. She just needs to show up as her former HBIC character from NXT.
King Corbin's persona has been dead in the water for a long time. He has been booked to lose almost every major feud. It even dates back to his time against Roman Reigns when Reigns was moved to SmackDown. He needs to officially ditch the whole "King" gimmick because he has been the King of nothing over the last year and a half.
Moving to RAW gives him a new start. Even though his prior tenure on RAW was seen as a failure due to RAW's low ratings, it was because he was made the Constable of RAW. The show needed a fall guy and it turned out to be Corbin.
Switching back to RAW as the Lone Wolf or something new would refresh his career. A portion of the WWE Universe might not like Corbin, but he is one of the most natural heels. He is easy to hate and he gets under the skin of fans. That is what wrestling heels are supposed to do.
#3 Humberto Carrillo joins SmackDown as Natalya joins RAW
While this would break up her current tag team on SmackDown, Natalya is better used with younger talent at this point in her career. Rather than benefitting from the inevitable dissolution between Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, Nattie needs to be used to help newer/lesser talented stars.
Eva Marie is apparently returning to WWE on RAW, and unless she turned into another version of Asuka during her time away from the company, she'd need to be paired with someone. Charlotte Flair's character is all about herself, while Asuka has done enough of playing second fiddle.
The women's tag team division in WWE hasn't been booked the best since Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross dropped the titles. The Riott Squad should have won the title at the Show of Shows as they were booked as the underdog team. Instead, it looks like WWE wants the two veterans to be the team to dethrone Jax and Baszler.
Nattie would be better served as a confidante/teacher for the returning Eva Marie. The Queen of Harts might not have had the illustrious career of one of the Four Horsewomen of NXT, but she is a respected veteran. At this point, her helping others along is the best use of her talents.
Sending Humberto Carrillo to SmackDown seems like the best move for him. He's exciting in the ring but has trouble standing out as a character. On SmackDown, he can just wrestle rather than trying to develop a loaded character. If they wanted to, WWE could also have him ally with the Mysterios since he protected them when Seth Rollins terrorized the family.
Big E isn't likely to take his title back from Apollo Crews so SmackDown will need some new faces. There could be some additions to the blue brand from NXT as new faces showed up on both RAW (Mansoor, Marie) and NXT (Asher Hale, Swerve's group) this week.
Carrillo could also enter into a tag team with someone or he could fight on Mysterio's behalf if and when Dominik turns on Rey. SmackDown seems to rely more on in-ring talent rather than grandiose promos and angles for some of its stars. That is perfect for the talented Luchador.
#2 Carmella goes to RAW as Nikki Cross to SmackDown
This move would help out both women as well as RAW and SmackDown. Carmella returned with a slightly new character, but one that was similar to Sasha Banks. They both argued that they were the best, but only one woman held the title.
Banks was the face Champion at the time, but she acted like a heel. With two women so similar, it seemed weird that they would be fighting each other. Mella lost every title match to Banks. She lost to Bianca Belair as well as the EST of WWE was being built for WrestleMania. Carmella doesn't have much credibility left after this most recent run on SmackDown.
Another reason why she should go to RAW is that she has always been on SmackDown since the brand split in 2016. The other person who was synonymous with SmackDown was Daniel Bryan. He is gone. Her boyfriend, Corey Graves, was also moved to RAW to help out new commentator Adnan Virk. WWE tries to keep some couples together and Mella joining RAW would reunite her with Graves.
Nikki Cross hasn't been used much since the WWE Draft in October 2020. Alongside the former Peyton Royce, Cross has been one of the most underused talents in the RAW women's division. She showed up to have a brief match with Alexa Bliss when Bliss joined The Fiend. She lost and that was that. Outside of an appearance in the Royal Rumble, Cross hasn't been on RAW.
By going to SmackDown, she can also get a fresh start. It would separate her from the Bliss/Fiend angle while also adding a different talent to the Blue brand. Cross could eventually challenge Belair or be an ally.
There seems to be a plethora of heels on SmackDown with Banks, Mella, Nattie, Tamina and Bayley. In terms of faces, it's Belair and the Riott Squad. The Riott Squad doesn't get much time on SmackDown either.
The women's division on the Blue brand needs some depth and Cross would add that to the roster. If Mella goes to RAW, she can also have a new start as either part of a tag team or as her own character. Both women should be highlighted and trading brands would hopefully allow a different direction for each Superstar.
#1 Kevin Owens and Keith Lee should switch spots on RAW and SmackDown
This is a trade that would help reshape the main event and upper mid-cards of both RAW and SmackDown. Kevin Owens had multiple shots at Roman Reigns and was defeated every time. He also feuded with Rollins for much of 2020. Owens has also tangled with Sami Zayn, Aleister Black and Apollo Crews (briefly).
Short of forming a tag team with someone to go after tag team gold, Owens needs a big change. He hasn't won any tag team titles in WWE so that could be a good direction. But to refresh his tank and give RAW another potential challenger for Lashley, Owens should be traded to RAW.
The All-Mighty will presumably walk out of WrestleMania Backlash with his title. After that, Lashley needs to face someone other than Drew McIntyre or Braun Strowman. With Randy Orton currently in a tag team with Riddle, that takes out one legitimate challenger.
The Fiend seems like the most logical choice to eventually dethrone Lashley. He hasn't appeared since 'Mania and might return after WrestleMania Backlash or closer to Money in the Bank.
Owens would offer up a different challenge as they haven't crossed paths much in WWE. In exchange, Keith Lee should go to SmackDown. While Lee hasn't had the title opportunities on RAW, he would still be a good foil for Lashley. Lee has been out, however, for the last few months with an undisclosed injury. He was reportedly set to win the United States title at Elimination Chamber, but that injury kept him out of action.
Once Lee returns, he will be a perfect challenger for any heel. If traded to SmackDown, he could ease back into things by going after the Intercontinental Championship and Apollo Crews.
If he's back and better than ever, he could eventually challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. His fiance Mia Yim is reportedly part of the SmackDown roster, so Lee joining the Blue brand would keep them together.
Both Lee and Owens are faces that have the backing of the WWE Universe, making any title match they are in a must-watch bout. Owens needs a new start and Lee joining SmackDown would build on his moment with Reigns from Survivor Series in 2019.
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