WWE: Pre-Event Talk: Talent Shakeup [taking place on Raw and SD]

[M.C.G. 31]

All theories, articles, scenarios, fantasy in here. SPOILERS in the SPOILER THREAD.

Click to read more...

 

[Live in the Now]

If I got to choose...

To Raw: AJ Styles, Luke Harper, Alexa Bliss, Dolph Ziggler
To Smackdown: Roman Reigns, Enzo and Cass, Charlotte, Rusev

What I think will happen

To Raw: AJ Styles, Alexa Bliss, Dolph Ziggler
To Smackdown: Roman Reigns, Enzo and Cass, Charlotte

Obviously there's going to be more, but I can't figure it out. Even though they did that bit with AJ this week, I don't see him staying on SD.

 

[Emperoreddy]

To Raw: AJ Styles, Miz, AA, Bliss
To SD: Roman Reigns, Sami, Enzo and Cass, Charlotte

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

All I ask is that Roman Reigns and AJ Styles are kept on separate shows.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

I don't want AJ to leave Smackdown.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Please don't put AJ on Raw, there are still tons of guys on Smackdown he needs to work with.

I mean, real meaty feuds. In 9 months AJ has basically worked 2 guys, Cena and Ambrose. He needs to work with Orton, Nakamura, Miz, and maybe help establish a midcard guy like Harper.

 

[The Gongshow]

TO SD: Zayn, New Day, Charlotte
TO RAW: Ambrose, American Alpha, Alexa Bliss, Miz w/Maryse

 

[GKJ]

I can't see AJ leaving Smackdown. I just don't know what you'd do with him with the title not within reach on Raw.

 

[The Gongshow]

I can't see AJ leaving Smackdown. I just don't know what you'd do with him with the title not within reach. on Raw.

You can't have AJ get squashed by Brock and then not do anything for the rest of the year.

RAW's title picture is basically Roman and Brock, throw in Seth and Finn. (not KO cause he's US champ now)

SD just has Orton and Wyatt and AJ. Nakamura can easily be thrown into the main event scene but I think they hold off on that for a bit.

There is still stuff for AJ to do on SD. AJ/Orton AJ/Wyatt AJ/Cena (Never gets old) AJ/Nakamura

So far AJ only really funded with Ambrose for most of his SD run.. and Shane.. but still

 

[GarbageGoal]

My question is why do this now? Why not the one year anniversary for ratings sake?

 

[Emperoreddy]

Yes but if Roman goes to SD, someone else has to beat Brock.

 

[The Gongshow]

Yes but if Roman goes to SD, someone else has to beat Brock.

Naw Roman wins the rumble again and gets to pick which champion he wants. Orton didn't get to but Reigns will because its his yard now

 

[Emperoreddy]

Naw Roman wins the rumble again and gets to pick which champion he wants. Orton didn't get to but Reigns will because its his yard now

Roman will be champ on SD by Summerslam.

 

[Kimi]

My question is why do this now? Why not the one year anniversary for ratings sake?

They need to move some bodies about to re-balance the shows and to make new matches. A draft later in the year is too long of a wait and things will be stale in the mean time.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

I'll repost the article Cageside did here and restate their proposed trades:

Trade 1: Romain Reigns for AJ Styles
Trade 2: Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn for Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin
Trade 3: Charlotte for Becky Lynch and Natalya
Trade 4: The New Day for American Alpha
Trade 5: Bo Dallas, Dana Brooke, and Rusev for Apollo Crews, Kalisto, and The Miz

The ultimate goal of these five trades would be to redefine each show around a new identity. For RAW, that identity would hedge around a strong in-ring product, with the arrival of Styles, Nakamura, Becky Lynch and American Alpha would immediately infuse Monday Night with a wealth of talented in-ring performers that can get it done bell-to-bell. It also sets you up with a lot of versatility moving forward as well: AJ Styles could easily slot in as your top heel along with Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe, and this would also serve well in any reunion with Gallows and Anderson. At the same time, his growing popularity could also give him a chance at slotting in as a top level face along with Finn Bálor, who can grow as a top face more readily in the absence of Reigns and Rollins.

Becky Lynch moving to RAW provides a natural pairing with Bayley in the war to come with Sasha and her army, though the door could also be left open for a Becky Lynch heel turn as well in a recreation of the magic the Horsewomen worked in NXT once upon a time. American Alpha would simply be the feather in the cap of RAW's suddenly-exciting tag ranks, and Miz can do what Miz does best and talk his way into entertaining feuds. Plus, the idea of putting Braun Strowman (as a face) up against guys like Brock Lesnar and Baron Corbin really presents some exciting possibilities for him should WWE decide to pull the trigger on a face turn to capitalize on his growing popularity.

SmackDown Live, ever since the Draft, has basically been forced to turn chicken feed into chicken salad, to put it politely. A lack of depth has really made it tough to keep things fresh up and down the card, though they've done a remarkable job given the resources available. These moves help flip the script for them and provide some ready-made moneymaking angles right from the get-go. Key to the entire strategy would be putting the Shield back together for the babyface run they were deprived of from their premature breakup in 2014.

The opportunity for Randy Orton to embrace his role as a top heel again would be a benefit to him, as would the fresh scenery be a benefit to the New Day. Charlotte immediately gives you a major person to build around in the women's division, and the arrival of guys like Sami Zayn and Rusev will help provide a much deeper midcard for SmackDown than currently exists. Of course, the door would still be left open for new talent from NXT to head up in the weeks to come to compete for a roster spot in what will still remain WWE's proverbial 'Wild West' of brands for some time to come.

 

[Emperoreddy]

They won't put the entire shield on one show right now.

Those trades aren't happening.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

They won't put the entire shield on one show right now.

Those trades aren't happening.

I think their thought is you could have The Shield on one show and The Club on the other as sort of your central stables.

 

[Kimi]

I think their thought is you could have The Shield on one show and The Club on the other as sort of your central stables.

You can't do that now. If Reigns is going to get Lesnar, that we all know is going to happen next year, then you can't give him a couple of friends in the mean time.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

AJ can't go to Raw because what's he going to do? Be stuck in limbo for over a year so Lesnar can run through Strowman and Reigns?

Nope.

I wish Orton didn't win the title and they would have sent him to Raw instead. Then your swaps could have been:

Randy Orton to Raw // Samoa Joe to Smackdown
The Miz & Maryse to Raw // Sami Zayn to Smackdown
American Alpha to Raw // Enzo & Cass to Smackdown
Natalya to Raw // Charlotte to Smackdown
Kalisto to Raw // Jinder Mahal to Smackdown
Apollo Crews to Raw // Rusev & Lana to Smackdown
Andrade Cien Almas to Raw

 

[These Are The Days]

To Raw

John Cena
Luke Harper
Miz & Maryse
American Alpha
Alexa Bliss

To Smackdown!

Seth Rollins
Sami Zayn
Rusev & Lana
Gallows & Anderson
Sasha Banks

 

[garnetpalmetto]

You can't do that now. If Reigns is going to get Lesnar, that we all know is going to happen next year, then you can't give him a couple of friends in the mean time.

AJ can't go to Raw because what's he going to do? Be stuck in limbo for over a year so Lesnar can run through Strowman and Reigns?

Nope.

I wish Orton didn't win the title and they would have sent him to Raw instead. Then your swaps could have been:

Randy Orton to Raw // Samoa Joe to Smackdown
The Miz & Maryse to Raw // Sami Zayn to Smackdown
American Alpha to Raw // Enzo & Cass to Smackdown
Natalya to Raw // Charlotte to Smackdown
Kalisto to Raw // Jinder Mahal to Smackdown
Apollo Crews to Raw // Rusev & Lana to Smackdown
Andrade Cien Almas to Raw

Here's the rationale behind the Reigns-Styles trade

Storyline-wise, this would undoubtedly be the talk of the wrestling world. Owing to AJ's conduct leading up to WrestleMania, and with a particular spotlight on the enmity between Styles and the blue brand's leadership, it would make sense for SmackDown to seek to move AJ to RAW. Of course, moving who essentially was their show's MVP in 2016 would not come without a steep price tag, but it could be one that Kurt Angle would be willing to pay, especially in light of his past association with AJ Styles "elsewhere". By moving Roman Reigns to SmackDown, Kurt could present the trade as a 'best for business' deal, owing to Roman's historic beef with his boss Stephanie McMahon and her husband, Triple H. It would certainly be seen as a 'bold move' by the chairman, which seems to be what he and the WWE wants.

Creatively-speaking, the trade is a masterstroke that corrects some grievous flaws from last year's Draft while simultaneously helping to protect next year's main event for WrestleMania in New Orleans. The specter of AJ Styles being able to mix it up with Gallows and Anderson in a reformation of the Club (a faction that shouldn't have been split up to start with) is enticing, made all the more interesting by the return of Finn Bálor from injury.

Yet the real gem of the move comes with Roman, who has already done pretty much all he can do on RAW. Given the need to keep both he and Brock Lesnar strong heading into WrestleMania 34, and owing to the lack of fresh opponents for Roman on the red brand, a move to SmackDown kills two birds with one stone. It gives you a reason to keep Brock and Roman apart until closer to Mania season, and it also lets Roman run wild on Tuesday nights with a fresh crop of opponents that he hasn't seen in awhile. It also allows WWE to run a cracker-jack program between John Cena and Roman Reigns as its feature attraction at SummerSlam if they so choose.

Now I know their comment about the enmity between Styles and Shane seems to have been settled during the last episode of Smackdown but the enmity between Roman and Stephanie/Triple H still provides a rationale to ship Roman to Smackdown.

 

[These Are The Days]

Now I know what you guys are thinking.... "Rollins can't go to Smackdown!" well I confess that I missed most of Raw but as far as I know Rollins has nothing much going on for him. Seriously, what are the options here? Steph and Haitch come back bitter as hell? Hold him back some more? Not win the title some more? This was already the most botched face turn I have ever seen and already a severely missed opportunity when he was kept heel after returning from injury.

Long story short Rollins needs to get the hell away from the red show before his career sputters out. He's just gonna be stuck waiting around for a guy like Lesnar to drop the belt. And it's not like I'm cheating Raw over here. They just got the Hardys, they just got The Revival, they just got Kurt Angle as their manager they just got Samoa Joe and every big box office draw like Lesnar lives there and if you give them John Cena on top of it (despite being a part timer) you more than compensate for the star power and host a much deeper roster

Raw Main Event Talent

Kevin Owens (floating in the US title picture but will have a rematch soon)
Roman Reigns
Samoa Joe
Finn Balor
**Possibly Brawn Strowman**
John Cena (part time) -with all his record talk that comes with it
Brock Lesnar (part time) -And will be there for all the "big shows"

Trust me... Raw will be just fine. Smackdown's got 2 guys worth watching in Ambrose and Styles, a guy who hasn't had a single WWE match, a glorified jobber named Bray Wyatt and Blandy ****ing Borton. They need Seth Rollins more than Raw does and Seth Rollins needs Smackdown a hell of a lot more than he needs Raw.

Smackdown Main Event Talent

Randy Orton
Nakamura
AJ Styles
Seth Rollins
Dean Ambrose (who is floating in the IC title picture right now)
Bray Wyatt (who just got jobbed and no one takes seriously)

I see this as only fair

 

[The Gongshow]

I really Want Cena/Joe and Cena/Nakamura, I think Cena on SD is still best for business right now

 

[KaseMeOutside]

We need AJ and the club back together. If Cena is taking time off SmackDown has to get someone big if AJ is switching. Make it Roman, find out if he really draws.

 

[Cor]

I should make a fake insider twitter account.

Ya'll should follow