I didn’t exactly ask for a ton out of the Raw & Smackdown After WrestleMania episodes, and yet, somehow I received even less.
When it comes to an episode’s potential compared to what it turned out to be, Raw After WrestleMania was one of the worst editions of Monday Night Raw in the 20+ year history of the show. While some of that had to do with WWE needing to hold off on some potential surprises because of the upcoming Draft that they didn’t announce at the time, it was still dreadfully boring. As a regular episode of Raw in the middle of say, October, that would’ve been bad. For the biggest episode of the entire year, it should’ve been illegal to be that poor.
We’ve seen and heard the speculation. We know why the episode wasn’t exactly a classic.
Smackdown After WrestleMania was worlds better than what we got on Raw, but in the grand scheme of things, even Smackdown was relatively disappointing. Again, some of it had to do with the fact that they’re (probably) holding off on some surprises for the Draft, but it was still merely decent for an episode of Smackdown, and nothing more. That’s a shame.
We’ve seen and heard the speculation. We know why the episode was much better reviewed than Raw was.
What I did get, though, was an announcement that the WWE Draft is coming. The last three Drafts (2019-2021) were all held in October, and I’ve hated every bit of that. It happens in the build for Survivor Series, where we get “brand supremacy” matches involving people who spent years on one show, only to be drafted by another show weeks earlier. On top of that, WWE immediately undermines their own rules and regulations by holding a Draft that locks wrestlers in as members of Raw or Smackdown, only to have wrestlers appear wherever and whenever they want because of Survivor Series and the build to those “brand supremacy” matches I mentioned. Having the Draft in late-April and early-May will at least allow wrestlers to ply their craft on a certain show for six-plus months before they’re forced to defend the honor of said show in violent combat.
Now that the 2022 WWE Draft has been announced, what moves need to happen?
I’m glad you asked.
These aren’t predictions, nor are they spoilers. They’re just moves I would enjoy seeing whenever the Draft does end up taking place.
Before I go any further, it needs to be said that WWE combining their two World Titles and two men’s Tag Team Titles makes doing columns like this a lot more difficult. If Roman Reigns was the Universal Champion on Smackdown, and, say, Seth Rollins was the WWE Champion on Raw, it would be easier to slot people like Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley or anyone else even remotely close to the top of the card. Same goes for a scenario where The Usos are the Smackdown Tag Team Champions and, as an example, The Street Profits are the Raw Tag Team Champions.
Finally, these will be listed in no particular order, other than alternating between shows. Let’s rock and roll.
Becky Lynch To Smackdown: If there’s one thing Smackdown has been missing in recent times, it’s star power in the women’s division, especially when it comes to full-time performers. Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey, for multiple reasons, have had lengthy stretches of time where they aren’t appearing regularly on WWE programming. Becky Lynch moving to Friday nights can really help with that. She continues to be one of the biggest stars in wrestling, no matter the gender, and you have to think the executives at Fox would greatly appreciate having her on their network. Pretty easy decision all around.
Sami Zayn To Raw: As one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, it doesn’t currently matter what show Sami Zayn is officially on, as he can appear on both Raw and Smackdown. The thing is… while it doesn’t matter at the very second I type these words, it could matter very soon. On April 28th, Zayn and Kevin Owens defend their titles against The Usos in a WrestleMania rematch. That rematch is extra important now. Why is it extra important? Well, WWE will present the Night Of Champions pay-per-view on May 27th. This year’s Night Of Champions will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Sami has yet to wrestle on any of WWE’s shows in Saudi Arabia because he is technically banned from doing so, but also because he doesn’t want to do so based on religious and personal reasoning. Kevin Owens has declared that he wouldn’t be working any of the shows in the country, and he has been held off of the last seven Saudi shows after wrestling a match at Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018. The theme of Night Of Champions is that every main roster title WWE has is to be defended on the show. It would be pretty difficult to continue that theme if neither of the Tag Team Champions will be there. So, either Sami and KO are dropping the titles sooner than many people initially thought, or things will change to such a drastic level that both men will be willing to perform in Saudi Arabia this time around. If they drop the titles between now and Night Of Champions, I like the idea of making sure they’re on the same brand. I know some people are reading this and thinking it’s a bad idea because they want to see Sami (and Owens, but specifically Sami) continue working to try and destroy The Bloodline. Well, even though it would be a lot of back-and-forth movement (not like WWE has never done that after Drafts), you could move Sami to Raw, and then have him win Money In The Bank on July 1st, allowing him to continue making appearances on whatever show Roman is going to be at. Like I said, it’s not like WWE has never done goofy things like that in the past, so it’s certainly possible. For now, the focus is just making sure Sami and Kevin are on the same brand together. All the other dominoes can fall later.
AJ Styles To Smackdown: This one is all about fresh opponents for Roman Reigns. Roman and AJ will forever be connected, as Roman was the only person in the ring when AJ made his legendary WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, and while they did feud with each other, that was all very early in AJ’s run with the company. They had a singles match at a house show seven months ago. Before that, the last time they were involved in the same match was the 2020 Royal Rumble, and they never even shared the ring there, as AJ was eliminated before Roman entered the match. Before that, the last time they were involved in the same match was a six-man tag on Raw in April 2019, but they were on the same team for that one. Before that, the last time they were involved in the same match was in the Raw vs Smackdown match at the 2016 Survivor Series, but they shared less than two official minutes in the match together. In fact, to find the last time we saw Roman and AJ square off in a singles match that was on television or pay-per-view, you have to go all the way back to Extreme Rules 2016, which was nearly seven full years ago. Whether Roman is going to continue his lengthy title reign for another few weeks or another few years, he really needs some new opponents he can have great matches with, no matter what else is going on with The Bloodline. AJ provides that, and it also gives AJ a boost that he needs, as he has largely been in the midcard and tag scenes for the last three years or so.
Bron Breakker To Raw: I’ve mentioned this in previous columns, but unless you’re looking to make Bron the Ric Flair/Bruno Sammartino of NXT, there’s nothing left for him to do there. He is one of only six men (Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Tommaso Ciampa, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Karrion Kross being the others) to hold the NXT Championship more than once. With another 80 days as champion, he would pass Balor for most overall days as the NXT Champion. For better or worse, he is far and away the person you should think of to represent the entire last year-and-a-half of NXT. The “NXT 2.0” era has belonged to him. Sure, you could have him tie, and perhaps, surpass Samoa Joe’s record of three NXT Title reigns, and/or have him surpass Balor’s record of most days as NXT Champion, but I don’t feel that’s necessary. He is more than ready for a main roster run. You could put him on Raw or Smackdown without a problem, but the reason I chose Raw is to keep him away from Roman Reigns for as long as possible. That could be a huge match down the road, and I don’t think Bron is quite ready for THAT yet, so keeping them apart could allow it to take place somewhere like WrestleMania 40 or something along those lines.
Grayson Waller To Smackdown: Of course, this is only if Waller is unsuccessful at taking the NXT Championship from Carmelo Hayes at Spring Breakin’ next week. If Waller wins the title, you could just as easily place Melo in this spot. I’m thinking that Melo wins the match, so Waller is included here. He has really grown into a well-rounded performer recently, being one of the most exciting in-ring talents in all of NXT while being an absolute heat magnet on the mic. He has what it takes to become successful on the main roster. I’m moving him to Smackdown simply to keep him away from The Miz. Fairly or unfairly, there are people who compare Miz and Waller’s characters, so I don’t need Miz and “Australian Miz” on the same show at the same time. You know… especially since “Jewish Miz” could be joining them in less than a year.
Drew McIntyre To Raw: As much as wrestling fans love to use the “fight forever” chant, I think it’s time for Drew McIntyre and Sheamus to be on different brands again. We can always return to their friendship-turned-feud-turned-friendship-turned-feud down the road, but let’s hit the pause button for now. Yes, you could have Sheamus go to Raw instead, but I like the story of Sheamus still trying to go after the Intercontinental Title because it’s the only thing he hasn’t achieved in his WWE career. Therefore, if Gunther and the Intercontinental Title stay on Smackdown, I’d keep Sheamus there, as well. Now, if you’re going to switch things up and have Gunther on Raw, while Austin Theory takes the United States Title to Smackdown, then go ahead and move Sheamus to Raw instead of Drew. As it is, McIntyre returns to Raw, where he has seen the biggest successes of his career, in hopes of a return to the glories of days gone by.
Pretty Deadly To Smackdown: When they came over to the United States, I wasn’t 100% sure how their act would be able to translate to a different audience. Not only has the act translated well, it has actually shined even brighter than ever before. Like Bron Breakker, there isn’t a lot left for Kit Wilson and Elton Prince to accomplish in NXT. What are they supposed to do? Try to become the second team (Undisputed Era being the other) to win the NXT Tag Team Titles three times? They’re main roster ready, without a doubt. They can succeed as a comedy act, but also as a more serious heel team that is going to draw heat better than most of the main roster tag teams currently under WWE contract. Raw or Smackdown could really use these guys right now. It was pretty much a coin flip for me to have them on Smackdown. Realistically, I’d like to see them on whatever brand Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods end up on, as I’d like to see the feud the two teams had in NXT resume in front of a larger audience.
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance To Raw: If you’ve read my columns over the last couple years, you would know just how much I have disliked the women’s tag team division in WWE. Almost without fail, the teams are just two random singles wrestlers thrown together with little-to-no explanation, and we’ll get title reigns that aren’t memorable, either because it didn’t last long, because the matches weren’t very good, or a combination of both. With Carter and Chance, WWE can solve those problems in one fell swoop. Yes, they were singles wrestlers randomly thrown together, but that was almost three years ago, and they’ve been together ever since. Not only that, but they’ve both gotten better in the ring, and their chemistry as tag partners is off the charts, rivaling many of the male tag teams out there today. Getting an honest-to-goodness tag team in the division that, like Pretty Deadly, have the right combination of in-ring skills, character work, and presentation to be successful on the main roster? Sounds like a good idea to me.
Seth Rollins To Smackdown: Unfinished business. That’s what this move is all about. Since Payback 2020, when Roman Reigns won the Universal Title, he has two singles losses, albeit both by disqualification. One was to Xavier Woods on an episode of Smackdown in November 2021, when Woods was attacked by The Usos to throw the match out. The other one was to Seth Rollins at the 2022 Royal Rumble, but if you remember that match, Roman got himself disqualified, looking desperate because he couldn’t put Rollins away. Here we are, 15 months later, and there hasn’t been a rematch. There needs to be one. Of all the people Roman has faced during his title reign, not many can get into his head the way Rollins can. As an added bonus, at least to some people, this would keep Rollins and Becky Lynch together on the road if the moves I’ve listed here actually happen.
Solo Sikoa To Raw: You might have noticed I’ve been mentioning Roman Reigns and The Bloodline a lot in this column, even though I don’t have him officially moving anywhere. If you’ve watched a single episode of WWE programming over the last three years, you’d know why. Obviously, Roman is at the top of the proverbial WWE ladder, but the shadow that he casts is so large that it looms over almost everything else the company does. Wrestlers and storylines that don’t have any direct involvement with Roman or The Bloodline are still involved because of previous relationships or future speculation. I have Solo listed here because it would provide an obstacle for Roman to overcome. The man has had so many good days since August 2020, so giving him a bad one is newsworthy. He has had a lot of issues with both members of The Usos, Paul Heyman, and Sami Zayn. Since Solo Sikoa joined The Bloodline nearly eight months ago, though, he has been the perfect soldier for Roman. Even if The Usos regain the Undisputed Tag Team Titles, as we discussed the possibility of earlier, it would be a brutal blow to Roman if he were to lose Solo to Raw. We’re not supposed to think about the fact that Roman could just… you know… appear on Raw himself. All we’re supposed to focus on is Roman losing his mind and seeing the walls start to close in on him. This is one of those moves that you can see happening, but only on a temporary basis. Close your eyes and you can probably picture Roman strong-arming his way into getting Solo traded back to Smackdown at some point. It would make for some entertaining television to watch how he handles the initial move, though.
Now, I turn things over to you fine folks. I want to know your thoughts on the WWE Draft. You can share your thoughts on the moves I have listed here, you can tell me some moves you want to see, or you can tell me some moves you think we will see. As always, you can hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Weekly Power Rankings
Dragon Lee vs Grayson Waller vs Duke Hudson vs JD McDonagh: A really fun match to crown the next challenger for the NXT Championship. A case could’ve been made for each of them to come out victorious, which only helps to make the match better.
Rey Mysterio vs Finn Balor: Whether you call them Cruiserweights, Light Heavyweights, Junior Heavyweights, or something else, these are two of the all-time best in the lengthy history of pro wrestling. It’s always a treat to see them square off against each other.
Shinsuke Nakamura: He’s back, and he has his original WWE entrance music again. Live crowds are going to have a blast “singing” him to the ring every week. It’s good to have him back.
Trish Stratus: A lot of her biggest moments have been as a face, but it seems like some people forget just how good she was as a heel. She is so easy to dislike, and she should put out some really entertaining work, both on the mic and in the ring, against Becky Lynch.
Aussie Open vs Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor: We’ve seen Aussie Open wrestle on AEW programming nine times over the last ten-plus months, and it seems like we’ve seen Aussie Open have great matches on AEW programming nine times over the last ten-plus months. I’m just saying.
Alpha Academy vs The Usos: With everything we’ve seen from The Bloodline, it’s almost weird to see The Usos participating in a match that had comedy spots in it, but that’s what we got here. It worked, though, and both teams got to look good here.
CM Punk: The will-he-or-won’t-he drama about a return to AEW for CM Punk looks like it could be coming to an end. New reports state that Punk looks to be returning to AEW in June, when the company launches a brand new Saturday television show. Not only that, but AEW will be going through a bit of a “soft brand split” for their roster, with one side being the wrestlers who are willing to work with Punk, and the other side being wrestlers who don’t want to work with him. What could go wrong?
Darby Allin vs Swerve Strickland: Swerve has a big feud going on with Keith Lee, but Darby looks to be involved in a four-way for the AEW World Title. That made the outcome of this match pretty obvious, but both men worked really hard here, so the lack of drama in the result didn’t harm things very much.
Orange Cassidy vs Buddy Matthews: Another week, another really good title defense for Orange Cassidy. Another week, another time where I get to say that it doesn’t matter much. It’s a shame. That title of his means absolutely, positively nothing.
Santos Escobar vs Damian Priest: Obviously, it could still happen soon, but I’m really glad WWE decided not to go with the easy booking route of Legado Del Fantasma buddying up to Rey Mysterio, only to reveal that it was a swerve almost immediately. Everyone seems to be extra motivated right now, making it a lot more fun.
Xavier Woods vs LA Knight: If you’re waiting for LA Knight to start receiving some sort of push, you might want to start moving around, because you’re growing roots at this point. Another big loss for the guy, but hey, Woods is getting a mini-push, so… hooray?
Kevin Owens vs Solo Sikoa: I might have misinterpreted the numbers a bit, but in doing research here, I found out that Kevin Owens and Solo Sikoa have faced each other on television every week for the last 15 months. Again, I could be off by a week or two, but I don’t think so. Those numbers seem correct.
Matt Riddle vs Solo Sikoa: Every single time Solo has himself a good performance in the ring, I start seeing more and more buzz about him eventually being the one who finally defeats Roman Reigns. Interesting. Very, very interesting.
Jeff Hardy: He’s back. Again. This is the 8000th chance he has been given by the pro wrestling business. Here’s to hoping that he finally makes good on all those chances.
Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan: Another random pairing of two singles wrestlers that eventually go on to hold Women’s Tag Team Titles under the WWE umbrella! Huzzah!
This Week’s Playlist: “72 Seasons” by Metallica… “Screaming Suicide” by Metallica… “Crown Of Barbed Wire” by Metallica… “If Darkness Had A Son” by Metallica… “Drowning” by Atreyu… “Unlive” by Jelly Roll & Yelawolf… “Fence” by Sevendust… “If Blood Is Life” by DevilDriver… “Heaven Without You” by KID BRUNSWICK… “You’re The Reason” by Shallow Side… “Amongst The Low & Empty” by Signs of the Swarm… “Bang On” by Boo-Yaa TRIBE & Mack 10… “Don’t Stop” by One Way… “25 Lighters” by DJ DMD, Lil Keke & Fat Pat… “Tops Drop” by Fat Pat… “Here I Go” by Mystikal… “Successful” by Drake, Lil Wayne & Trey Songz… “Ignant Shit” by Drake & Lil Wayne… “The Motto” by Drake & Lil Wayne… “Hold On, We’re Going Home” by Drake & Majid Jordan… “All Me” by Drake, 2 Chainz & Big Sean… “0 To 100” by Drake… “Energy” by Drake… “Tony Montana” by Future & Drake… “Same Damn Time” by Future… “Move That Dope” by Future, Pusha T, Pharrell Williams & Casino… “I’m Different” by 2 Chainz… “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame, Wale & Roscoe Dash… “Hard In Da Paint” by Waka Flocka Flame… “Shoulder Lean” by Young Dro & T.I.