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Smackdown's Men's Division
WWE Champion: Daniel Bryan
United States Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura
Overall Grade: C+
Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles are the real reason this isn't a lower grade. My grades aren't indicative of the ability of wrestlers in a division, it's just representative of the booking and depth at each level.
Styles has carried Smackdown in his two title reigns after dispatching potential overbearing heels Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura. Since neither was given a title run, they both lost some luster.
Daniel Bryan defeated Styles for the belt before Survivor Series, turning heel in the process. Since he switched sides, it left Smackdown bereft of believable main-event babyfaces.
A lot consider Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio as main-event caliber faces, and they once were, but in today's WWE, both are better utilized to put younger talent over. It hasn't happened as both have primarily been used to put over someone who doesn't need to be put over: Randy Orton. If they cannot defeat Orton, why should they be considered title threats?
The Miz is in limbo right now and might be turning face in order to feud with Bryan. Rusev had a title shot and failed. WWE doesn't have the faith in him it did when he first debuted as an Anti-American heel.
Samoa Joe has become little more than a sneak attacker who doesn't win his feuds. His feud with Styles was similar to that of Nakamura in that it spanned three PPVs and killed any main-event credibility for either man.
Nakamura managed to win the US Title from Hardy, but has rarely been on television. He's being underutilized and appears headed for a feud with another underutilized star in Rusev.
The only other feasible way to strengthen both the mid-card and the main event is to either push Big E as a singles star (Kofi already has been one and Xavier is better as a tag wrestler) or break up the Bar. Cesaro is a great tag team wrestler, but he is so much better as a singles star. He has had the crowd behind him before and he still does.
Big E could be a credible future champion. He's hilarious, good on the mic and fantastic in the ring.
While those two suggestions would weaken the tag division, there are teams in the wings waiting to pick up the slack like Sanity, Gallows and Anderson and new tag teams that might form.
Heck, even having Rusev either win the US title or challenge Bryan at some point would help things.
