Considering Raw historically focuses more on the mic work and promo ability of its superstars, and SmackDown generally provides a heavier concentration on the in-ring work of performers, this dynamic may be in for somewhat of a change with the likes of Andrade and AJ Styles switching brands. A surprising number of superstars switched brands, including The Miz, Ricochet and Aleister Black, The Viking Experience, Cedric Alexander, Andrade, Rey Mysterio, Lars Sullivan, The Usos, Naomi, and AJ Styles. Each one of these will be covered in depth.
The Miz’s rivalry with Shane McMahon will likely be moved over to Raw, which doesn’t make much difference as it will be entertaining on either brand.
It looks like WWE has finally found a home for Ricochet and Aleister Black. They will do just fine and surely are both future champions.
Next is The Viking Experience (I don’t know about you, but I’m not digging that name; War Raiders was a good name). They will be major players in the tag team division, nonetheless. Cedric Alexander has money written all over him. The cruiserweight division is being elevated over the last couple months, and these guys deserve it. Alexander becomes the second cruiserweight to debut on the main roster (the first being Ali, and his name was in fact shortened from Mustafa Ali, as Vince has done with several superstars over the last several years).
Andrade is someone who could be a major player over the next decade or so since he’s the closest thing WWE has to the second coming of Rey Mysterio. This was also evidenced by the fact that Andrade scored a pinfall victory this week over the Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, and he is surely in for a title match at Money in the Bank. There is a very conceivable scenario where Andrade could win the title and Balor subsequently wins the Money in the Bank ladder match.
My own personal pick to win it this year is Roman Reigns. I’m just putting it out there that it is a conceivable scenario. Several superstars have a realistic chance of winning this year.
Monday Night Raw may be the place where Rey Mysterio wraps up his WWE career because he is 44 and has said publicly that he only envisions himself wrestling for a couple more years. No one can blame him as he has been doing it for 30 years and has given his heart and soul to the industry. In the meantime, however, if they are anything like me, fans couldn’t help but feel bad for him as he was slaughtered by Lars Sullivan. Sullivan is sure to be a major force in WWE for years to come.
The Usos also made an appearance on Raw beating Roode and Gable, so the Samoan Shield with them and Roman Reigns is still a viable option.
Alexa Bliss teased this week that she may be headed to SmackDown but it is likely that she will stay put because she is a perfect fit for the type of contact that they look to create on Raw.
Sami Zayn is flourishing in his new role since returning last week. The new wrinkles to his heel character were inspired by the self-discoveries he made during his time off due to injury. He is blaming WWE’s most passionate fans for his character’s shortcomings. He has corrected these problems in his own personal life and decided to insert them into his WWE character. These character changes were inspired by Robert Evans, the WWE writer who recently quit and is very good friends with Zayn. It’s also genius that he came up with the catchphrase “see you in hell” (being directed toward the WWE universe).
Naomi has also been moved over to Raw, probably a request to be closer to her husband. Anyway, she teamed up with Bayley to defeat The IIconics after Sasha Banks no-showed like she said she would. The obvious question then becomes “will Bayley and Naomi receive a championship match against The IIconics despite the fact that they are not formally a tag team.”
Some strange vignettes have appeared in recent weeks on WWE TV for what I’m assuming will be the return of Bray Wyatt. Wyatt last appeared at Starrcade in Cincinnati, which I attended back in November. It will be great to see him return in any capacity.
It looks like EC3 has finally been assigned to Monday Night Raw after a few months of being in WWE’s version of purgatory. It was incredibly exciting to see AJ Styles come back to Raw after nearly three years away. It was great seeing him build SmackDown Live into what it is today, but the timing felt right for him to come to Raw. Someone like him could be a potential candidate to challenge Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship in the coming months.