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When WWE landed a TV deal on Fox for SmackDown, it was a big deal for the company. While Raw has traditionally been on USA for the last decade or so, SmackDown has been on both SyFy and USA.
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Moving to Fox makes WWE's product available to a wider audience since it is considered one of the four major networks along with CBS, ABC and NBC in the US.
Once the move was made official, it was later announced that Fox would like a few changes from WWE once they start to air SmackDown in November of 2019.
One request was that they wanted the show to be based more on the athletic side of the sport rather than on the entertainment side.
Some superstars fit both sports and entertainment roles, like Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre, but every Superstar does not. And some might be doing different things once WrestleMania concludes.
Ronda Rousey would make sense since she is a former MMA fighter, but she is apparently taking time off after the Show of Shows.
Thus, she won't likely be featured until later in the year if she even returns, but Fox allegedly wants her on the show.
Becky Lynch is technically a member of SmackDown Live now, but she has been featured on both brands during her feud with Rousey.
She'll likely win the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania, but since she is still technically a member of the blue brand, I'll leave her off the list.
Here are seven superstars across the WWE that must be moved to SmackDown if WWE needs to keep up the ratings in order to stay of the flagship Fox station.
#7 Ricochet
Ricochet might be relatively new to the main roster and to some portion of the WWE Universe, but he has done a great job entertaining the crowd in his limited time on the main roster.
His move set is reminiscent of the former Neville in that it is fast-paced, high-flying, exciting and sometimes amazing.
The One and Only's ability on the microphone is decent, but it is clearly not his strong suit. He lets his words speak through his moves in the ring, whether it's a moonsault or his 630 splash.
If you told him to just go in there and perform for 20 minutes, he'd have no problem keeping the crowd invested.
He might be new to the main roster, but he's the epitome of a guy who is extremely athletic and fun to watch but who might be better off just triple flipping outside of the ring onto the entrance ramp rather than cutting a 10-minute promo.
#6 Bayley and Sasha Banks
The first-ever Women's Tag Team champions have spent their entire main-roster careers as members of the Raw roster.
That one fact alone is part of the reason why a move to SmackDown would benefit both them and the WWE.
Provided that they are still champions after WrestleMania, they can still come through on their promise to defend the titles across all of WWE's brands.
It also means that when and if they do lose the titles, they can feud with many women on SmackDown that they might not have feuded with.
They both faced Asuka, but it all changed once the Empress of Tomorrow challenged Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Title last year.
She lost, but she remained a member of SmackDown. Is Becky Lynch going to remain a member of Raw if she loses at 'Mania? What about Flair?
Neither of the Boss 'n Hug Connection has feuded with Lynch, so if Lynch someone wins the Raw Title and then moves back to SmackDown, it would open up the possibility for both women to feud with Lynch.
#5 Buddy Murphy
If 205 Live superstars are being slowly integrated onto other brands, then the man who has carried the purple belt since Super Showdown in the early Fall of 2018 should make the jump to SmackDown regardless of if he is still champion or not.
He has repeatedly proven that he is one of the WWE's most exciting Superstars regardless of brand. His Fatal Four Way at the Royal Rumble was amazing as was his defense against Akira Tozawa at Elimination Chamber.
And to think, he was wallowing away in an unsuccessful tag team with Wesley Blake for most of his career.
He's clearly displayed that he was the Shawn Michaels of the team and that Blake was the Marty Jannetty.
Murphy would be another highly athletic superstar whose character is more based on his abilities in the ring rather than on the mic, so he would be a great choice to be a part of the new SmackDown.
#4 Finn Balor
To be honest, while it's been fun to watch Balor on Raw since 2016, he desperately needs a change of scenery.
He's had ultra short runs with both the Universal Championship and Intercontinental Championships, so he's not tied to Raw in the way someone like AJ Styles has been synonymous with SmackDown.
Balor is like Ricochet in a way that he is fantastic in the ring and exciting to watch but promos are sometimes not his strong suit. He's a physical marvel and could feud with several Superstars on the brand he might not have already.
Guys like Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro and Andrade would be great opponents for Balor and it would even open up the possibility of him having a long run with a major title.
Part of the reason why he hasn't been given long runs with titles is because he is smaller, but that hasn't prevented Daniel Bryan and Styles from having runs with the WWE Championship.
A move to SmackDown would give Balor a fresh start and it would only help the product because he is beloved by the WWE Universe.
He's often been lost in the shuffle against guys like Lashley, Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre, so a shift to a show based more on merit and athleticism rather than storylines and character work could only help him.
#3 Pete Dunne
When WWE announced the Superstar Shake Up for post-WrestleMania, they advertised it as an 'International Superstar Shake Up'.
If that's the case, then someone from NXT UK is likely going to become a member of either Raw or SmackDown.
Pete Dunne is only the second NXT UK Champion, but he's the longest current reigning champion in WWE.
Since his reign has been so long and he's slated to defend the belt against Walter at NXT: New York, his days may be numbered.
There haven't been as many big stars that might have been deemed worthy to take the title off of Dunne, hence his long reign.
Triple H is a big supporter of his so he'll obviously be pulling for him to come to the main roster on either SmackDown or Raw once he drops the title.
He's such a physical and grueling wrestler who would fit in perfectly with the sports part of sports entertainment. That doesn't even begin to mention the feuds he could have with the likes of Finn Balor, Daniel Bryan and Cesaro, just to name a few.
#2 Shayna Baszler
Could the Queen of Spades fill the MMA heel void that might be created if Ronda Rousey takes a break from WWE right after WrestleMania?
She's had a good run atop the NXT hierarchy of women and might be facing the woman who is pegged to be the next NXT Women's Champion at Takeover: New York in Io Shirai.
Shirai has long been one of the top three women's wrestlers in the world and she finally will get her chance at NXT gold on April 5.
If Baszler does drop the title on 'Mania weekend, then a move to the main roster shouldn't be too far behind.
Although she's not the size of Nia Jax, she's a monster heel because she's a bully and can tear apart opponents limb by limb.
She's an MMA fighter turned pro wrestler, so her addition to the women's roster of SmackDown would add some mainstream athletic credibility to the show.
If Fox wants a product that features the sport aspect more than the entertainment side, then Baszler is a good choice for the blue brand.
#1 Seth Rollins
While it may or may not depend on if he takes the Universal Championship off of Brock Lesnar, Rollins is the biggest star in the company and has been pushed like it over the last six months.
Roman Reigns will eventually get back there, and maybe even the boos from the fans once he returns to Superman status, but Rollins is loved whether he's a face or a heel.
WWE cannot afford to have a wrestler portrayed as a face getting booed once it moves over to Fox.
They need to keep the ratings strong and putting the Universal Championship on Rollins ensures that he'll be on the show weekly as well as that every match he'll be in will be great.
If WWE needs to up the ratings for SmackDown, they will have to put one of the biggest stars in the company on the show and the main champs of each show might just switch brands this year.
Daniel Bryan fits on either show so Rollins might not necessarily get moved to SmackDown. Brock Lesnar was advertised for SmackDown in the fall, so if Lesnar is considered one of the biggest stars in the company, then the man who should beat him in April should also be.
