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As Championships change hands in the WWE, those swaps often reset the divisions on RAW and SmackDown. With heels holding both the WWE and Universal Championships, new challengers must emerge month after month.
Drew McIntyre can only challenge for the title so many times before it gets too repetitive. Roman Reigns has held the Universal Championship since last September. During his current title run, the Tribal Chief has dispatched almost every major babyface on the blue brand. He sent Daniel Bryan out of WWE (seemingly for the moment) while also defeating Cesaro and Kevin Owens.
Bianca Belair defeated Sasha Banks, Bayley and Carmella, all of whom were heels. Unless WWE debuts some new names from NXT, like Io Shirai, Santana Garrett or Mia Yim, Belair will need new challengers.
She's likely headed for another showdown with Bayley at Hell in a Cell. After that, however, the rosters of RAW and SmackDown need some new blood. Additions have been made slowly with Rick Boogz showing up on SmackDown and the return of Eva Marie. It's not enough though.
Since some change is currently needed on both shows, one way that could be achieved is through some face and heel turns. Here are five current WWE performers that should turn face.
#5 WWE turning Murphy could lead to challenging Apollo Crews
The last time we saw Murphy on SmackDown, it looked like he was back to being a lackey to Seth Rollins. Earlier this year, he had joined the Mysterios side and entered into a relationship with Aalyah Mysterio.
When Murphy popped up on SmackDown after a while, he said that they didn't care about him. He tried to ingratiate himself into the good graces of Rollins but Rollins didn't seem interested. If WWE wanted to, they could have the Messiah and the disciple reunite to go after the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
That could work, but Murphy needs a clean split from the past year and change. He's shown that he is talented enough on his own and that he can put forth fantastic matches. When he was involved in the "who attacked Roman Reigns" angle two years ago, he was starting to gain a footing in WWE.
After that angle fizzled out and he finished his storyline with Rollins, Murphy wasn't really used on SmackDown. Apollo Crews has faced some combination of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Big E dating back to before WrestleMania 37. It's good to see so many worthy people go after the Intercontinental Championship, but they've all failed to dethrone Crews.
By turning face, Murphy could once again get a push in WWE. If they want to cap off his relationship with Rollins, Murphy could save Cesaro from another Rollins' attack. Since he'd be saving a beloved face, that would give him some footing.
He could then focus on the Intercontinental Championship. It's a shame he hasn't been on SmackDown because he's a great in-ring performer. SmackDown needs some new faces and Murphy could help fill the void.
#4 John Morrison can shine on his own in WWE
The Miz has had a WWE career devoid of any major injuries. Because of that, he's consistently been on WWE TV for almost 15 years. His luck with injuries ran out this year as he suffered a torn ACL at WrestleMania Backlash.
Over the last two years, Miz has been aligned with John Morrison, who returned to the WWE after almost a decade away. Even though it is outlandish, he has displayed great comedic timing alongside the Miz. The "Johnny Drip Drip" persona has been hilarious.
Morrison has always impressed in the ring due to his athleticism and willingness to operate all around the ring. He's still in great shape and since his alliance with the Miz hasn't experienced much success on RAW, it's time for Morrison to get the singles spotlight.
Since his move set is full of high-flying moves and energy, it's better suited for a face. Morrison can still maintain his goofy comedic styling if he turns face. Sheamus has been dealing with a lot of smaller guys while defending the United States title. Morrison has a similar style to Mansoor, Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo.
For that reason alone, he can offer up a similar threat should he challenge for the US title. ACL injuries require almost a year to fully heal, so the Miz will be out of action for at least the rest of 2021.
While he's still appearing to host MizTV, the Miz can't get physical. Morrison can still work and he should branch out on his own until the Miz gets back. If WWE wants to pair the two back together once the A-Lister is cleared, then they can.
Morrison won singles titles in WWE during his first run with the company. A face turn in 2021 could reinvigorate this current WWE run. RAW needs some changes and Morrison being a valiant good guy could be one. If not, he'll continue to take losses despite impressing in the ring.
#3 Mustafa Ali turning face can leave RETRIBUTION in WWE's past
Once WWE decided to cut the cord on RETRIBUTION, most of the members struggled to get consistent time on TV. Mia Yim has "quietly" moved to SmackDown but is yet to make her debut on the Blue Brand. The same goes for Slapjack.
T-Bar and Mace have appeared a few times following WrestleMania. Some questions soon arose around whether or not MVP was using them to deter Drew McIntyre from getting to Lashley. The imposing duo weren't on RAW last week, so perhaps they'll be moving on to other things once they reappear.
Mustafa Ali had a few matches before the build-up to WrestleMania started. But since the Show of Shows, his main work has been done on Main Event and social media.
While his manifesto when he was leading RETRIBUTION may not have led to any success for the faction, there were shreds of truth in some of his words. The same names usually hold the top spots in WWE. Those same names usually get the title opportunities that have eluded the likes of Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre until recently. The members of his group experienced tough times but were forgotten.
Ali is talented on the mic and can sell anything in a promo. Because of that ability, he could easily explain how his actions were a result of his unhappiness in WWE. It can then be turned into a rebranding of the "Harbinger of Light" character he had before he was revealed as the leader of RETRIBUTION.
With fans returning to WWE events in July, it will be easier to gauge what is and what isn't working. Ali is talented in the ring and on the mic and only needs a push to take off. The angle with RETRIBUTION could have been better if handled differently.
One way would have been to portray them as faces instead of heels. Fans may not root against a faction fighting against the WWE. An easy way to tweak that is to have Ali work as a face but still use some of the same rhetoric going forward.
#2 Sasha Banks' WWE return should be as a face
Carmella returned to WWE last fall to challenge Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women's Championship. The feud lasted three PPVs and Mella lost each time. Throughout the whole feud, both women essentially acted the same. Each woman bragged that they were the best and that they were glamorous.
That was fine for Carmella since she was portraying the heel. It also works for the Boss persona of Banks and since she was the Champion.
The problem was that their characters seemed very similar while fighting each other. Banks should have held back a little on the cockiness so that Mella's new character could slowly grow.
As WrestleMania approached, Banks essentially acted the same way while feuding with Bianca Belair. Belair was clearly going to be the face in their angle, so Banks started to lean into the bragging, laughing, and dancing. It made sense at that time as she was portraying an obstacle in Belair's path.
The problem that currently exists for WWE is that Belair is the main face on SmackDown. Bayley is and should remain the top heel because she is always entertaining. Mella returned with a different persona, and despite losing a lot of credibility by always losing big matches, she can still work as a heel.
Since Banks essentially just switched to being a heel against Belair, she can easily become a face when she reappears. Her return to WWE was advertised for July 16th in Houston alongside the return of fans. When she does come back, she can say she needed some time off from the ring and that she also respects Belair.
SmackDown desperately needs to infuse at least a few different names into its divisions and that is especially true in the women's division. Recent reports suggested that the WWE Universe could be seeing some NXT stars called up to the main roster within the next few months.
Whether that happens or not, Banks can go back to being a valiant and resilient face upon her return. If she works by herself, it makes more sense for her feuds since she is one of the smaller women in WWE.
#1 AJ Styles could challenge for the WWE Championship
AJ Styles is at a point in his WWE career where he may be cheered no matter what. He's a legend of the sport and fans will root for him even if he is a bad guy. With the way things have been going on RAW the last few weeks, Styles and Omos are being portrayed as the faces. Elias and Jaxson Ryker have cheated while trying to defeat the RAW Tag Team Champions in singles matches.
Whenever he and Omos drop the belts, Styles could go after either of the titles on RAW. Both Sheamus and Lashley are bad guys and the WWE Universe roots for Styles. There has been a void of top faces on RAW. The Fiend is off of TV and McIntyre is running out of chances to regain the WWE Championship.
Randy Orton is constantly walking the line between good and evil alongside Riddle. They appear to be working towards a potential tag title shot. Keith Lee hasn't been on TV for a few months. The biggest way to shuffle the deck is to continue portraying Styles as a face.
Winning the RAW Tag Team belts at WrestleMania might have been a way to add a tag title run to Styles' WWE resume. Once that experiment is over, the duo can either split up or continue working together.
Styles hasn't held a major title in WWE since 2018, so it won't be like WWE would be rehashing tired old feuds. Some stars get major title shots every year while others drift off into other divisions.
Styles is doing the latter but would be a good challenger for The All Mighty WWE Champion once he loses the RAW Tag Team belts.
Omos could even turn on Styles and join up with MVP. There are a lot of ways to get the Phenomenal One back into the title hunt. A betrayal by Omos could be a way to jump-start another quest for the WWE title.
