Who do you think switches brands in the next draft?

[slik]

Seems like it will be shortly after WM (maybe a couple of weeks after)

I could see the following switching:

To SDLive:
Finn
Anderson/Gallows
The Revival
Seth
Dean
Miz
Samoa Joe
Asuka
Sasha
Bayley


To RAW:
Baron Corbin
Jinder Mahal
Randy Orton
Rusev
Boody Roode
Dolph Ziggler
Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn
The Uso's
Naomi
Carmella
Charlotte
AJ Styles
Nakamura


Who do you think switches brands in the next draft?

[Ruien]

Wyatt to SD. For the love of God please.

[Simple Fan]

Feel like Smackdown will have new Commissioner and GM after Mania. No reason for Bryan to continue as GM if he can compete and I'd say it's about time for Shane to go away for a while.

I'd say Braun goes to Smackdown to the relief of the Raw GMs. Also probably Samoa Joe and Nia Jax. Moving to Raw I'd say AJ Styles, Becky Lynch, and Bobby Roode.

[Nicky Fives]

as long as Styles & Rollins end up on the same show, I'll be happy....

[Emperor Smeat]

Owens and Sami to RAW and Rollins to Smackdown.

Unless WWE really wants to stretch out the Shane storyline even more, their tag match at Mania is the perfect excuse to move both Owens and Sami back to RAW.

On the flip side, RAW is likely going to become the Reigns show for a long while after Mania so it makes a lot of sense to move Rollins to Smackdown. He's not going to get any real time at the top on RAW any time soon and is a lot more useful boosting the star power for the Blue brand.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm not sure they do one. Raw and SmackDown both need heels. It's likely that Roman Reigns is going to be Raw Champ and either Styles or Nakamura SmackDown Champ. That's them going with guys they are pushing as babyfaces. I'm just going to throw some names out there though:

Brock Lesnar: I'd love to see Brock killing it on SmackDown. There's the return match with AJ Styles. Sharks need to keep moving. Change his scenery.

AJ Styles: SmackDown seems to be built around him, which has been wise, but he's their Bret Hart-type, so you just know they are looking to switch drivers. Styles being "promoted" to Raw was a strong rumor last year. It's possible they pull the trigger on it with Bryan back.

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: Seems to be what everyone is predicting. Okay. I'd rather see them separated.

Seth Rollins: This was rumored last year as well. It makes sense to get him away from Roman Reigns. But it also makes sense to have him with Roman Reigns if they want to do Shield stuff. Not really sure where they go with it.

Sheamus & Cesaro: Seems like two guys who would do really well on SmackDown, and they have been played out on Raw.

Baron Corbin: Seems like someone they would "promote" to Raw.

Jinder Mahal: Seems like someone they would "promote" to Raw.

Mojo Rawley: seems like someone they would "promote" to Raw.

The Usos: They've been killing it and deserve a promotion to Raw.

Naomi: If Jimmy Uso goes to Raw, Naomi probably goes to Raw.

The Miz: Just because they've got D-Bry back and probably see value in him wrestling mid-carders.

Sasha Banks: Doing nothing on Raw.

Bayley: Doing nothing on Raw.

Natalya: Change of scenery.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Carmella. She's not going to cash in within the year time limit with Asuka as SD! Women's Champion. Either that or she would fail miserably if she did, and I just don't see them making the first-ever women's Money in the Bank winner failing to cash in successfully. She'd have a much better chance against Bliss or Nia.

[XL]

They can make an angle out of that without switching her in a Superstar Shakeup or draft. They can have her continue to try to pick her spot to cash in on SDL as the clock runs down on her opportunity, only for her to cash in on the Raw Women’s Chanpion in a last ditch effort. There are no established rules with this briefcase.

[Mr. Nerfect]

There are no established rules, but the idea that SmackDown Commissioner could book a match that has implications on the Raw Women's Champion is a bit ridiculous. Or that they would.

They shouldn't have done the match in the first place.

[slik]

Since WWE hasn't signed their new TV deal for 2019 yet - and rumors of FOX wanting RAW on the actual broadcast network if the E goes with them, I could see RAW really, really raiding SD in the next draft to give the impression of RAW being the biggest and best ever, to get that tv deal (even if it wouldn't go into effect until next year).

[Ruien]

RIP SD. Again.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Don't care just want either brand to become Iconic.

[slik]

Billie and Peyton should #EndTheStreak of Asuka

[Ruien]

Peyton should rule the world.

[Stickman]

Carmella. She's not going to cash in within the year time limit with Asuka as SD! Women's Champion. Either that or she would fail miserably if she did, and I just don't see them making the first-ever women's Money in the Bank winner failing to cash in successfully. She'd have a much better chance against Bliss or Nia.

I bet she cashes in after or during the Nia Jax/Bliss match.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Illegal.

[Ruien]

God I hope it happens just to piss STD off.

[JimmyMess]

I think they will switch the champions... and then the universal title will get a blue background to match smackdown.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It wouldn't surprise me if they did switch the belts at some point. They should bring back "Big Green." :shifty:

[XL]

Seems like it will be shortly after WM (maybe a couple of weeks after)

I could see the following switching:

To SDLive:
Finn
Anderson/Gallows
The Revival
Seth
Dean
Miz
Samoa Joe
Asuka
Sasha
Bayley


To RAW:
Baron Corbin
Jinder Mahal
Randy Orton
Rusev
Boody Roode
Dolph Ziggler
Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn
The Uso's
Naomi
Carmella
Charlotte
AJ Styles
Nakamura


Who do you think switches brands in the next draft?

Do you think all of these moves happen? Or is it a list of people you think could be involved in moves?

If it’s the former it’s too many people. The upper midcard of both shows moves wholesale (all participants of both the US and IC title matches at Mania move) which gives you the same matches just on different shows.

I’d limit it to 5-6 moves max.

Tag Teams

I wholeheartedly agree that The Revival should switch. They should have gone to SDL when they returned from the second injury as a soft reboot after their terrible luck on Raw. I’d have The Usos go the other way, call it a promotion if you like for their stellar work on the blue brand. They drop the belts to the Bludgeon Brothers and move over.

Women

If Asuka wins the belt at WM she’ll naturally move over to SmackDown, so I’d move Charlotte the other way to keep them separated with no “contractually obligated” rematch. You can have the cross paths at the now dual branded PPVs but no match between the two. Charlotte could win next years Rumble to set up a rematch against the still undefeated Asuka.

Alternatively you could have Carmella pull a Seth and gatecrash the party. After a war between Charlotte and Asuka, Carmella enters during a double down, knocks Asuka out of the ring with the case and cashes in. Asuka wins the match but not the title, remaining undefeated. You can have her kick Carmella’s head off to let her stand tall. You’ve then set up issues between Asuka/Carmella, Charlotte/Carmella, and keep Asuka/Charlotte on the table. You can still swap Asuka and Charlotte at this point.

If you’re not counting Asuka as a draft pick (if she wins the belt), I’d move Bayley or Sasha across.

The Men

I can see AJ going across, with Finn or Seth moving to replace him. I quite like the idea of a Finn/Seth super team working in the tag division but it’s not a must. I’m leaning towards Seth moving to get him away from Roman and put him in a position where he is “The Man” again. Keeping Finn and moving AJ keeps something on the table should they want to do anything “Club” related.

SDL seems quite light on the main event front so I’d maybe move Samoa Joe or potentially even Braun. If they’re dead set on Roman, you don’t want Braun playing second fiddle, plus they’ve had a lengthy programme already.

I’d move someone from the US Title match, either Rusev to ride the momentum of “Rusev Day” or probably Orton, as he hasn’t been on Raw since the initial draft, and would provide a challenger to Roman.

Lastly there’s a few options regarding Zayn & Owens. If they lose at Mania, they both end up on Raw. However I’d be tempted to have them win when either

1) Shane goes for some stupid high-risk move, misses and “Kami” are able to get the win. This could reignite the issue between Shane & Bryan.

2) Owens and Zayn win when Shane turns on Bryan.

Owens/Zayn win their jobs back but Bryan still gets the last laugh when he trades one of them to Raw. In the latter scenario Shane becomes the manager for Zayn/Owens, but Bryan - who is still the GM - rains on their parade by trading 1 of the two over to Raw. Bryan vs Owens or Bryan vs Zayn would be a great initial feud for Bryan.

Draft Cesaro to SmackDown and get right behind a push to the top of the card on the less important show to see how he does. It’s pretty much now or never for him before he risks becoming another Ziggler. If it works, great. If not, bring up Kassius Ohno to reunite the Kings of Wrestling in the tag division.

Also tempted to move (and repackage) Fandango because he is the future of the business. A more realistic option is Corbin or Rawley as they seem quite high on both.

Then you have your NXT call ups.

Raw to SDL
Asuka (via winning title)
Sasha Banks
The Revival
Seth Rollins
Braun Strowman
Cesaro

NXT to Raw
The Iconic Duo
The Authors of Pain

SDL to Raw
Charlotte
The Usos
Randy Orton
Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn
Johnny Curtis

NXT to SmackDown
Johnny Gargano
Drew McIntyre

[slik]

The draft is usually 20-30 superstars for each show

[XL]

Yeah they definetly shouldn’t do a full draft.