Well that was fun wasn’t it? The week in which WWE hits the proverbial reset button in an attempt to offer its talent new opportunities, and offer its fans a refreshing product, is over, and it’s time to reflect a little.
This list is based off of my predicted success in the future for members of the WWE roster that were drafted, hence the omission of several big names, such as Bobby Roode and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas from this list.
But without further ado, here are the top five potential beneficiaries of the 2018 WWE ‘Superstar Shake-up’.
5. Chad Gable (To Raw)
I don’t think it’s the fact that he was drafted to Raw, but more so that he was separated from having a tag team partner, that means Gable makes this list.
When America Alpha split and Jason Jordan was revealed as Kurt Angle’s biological son, we all hoped this would mean a singles push for both men.
What actually happened was Gable found himself in Tye Dillinger-replicating obscurity and needed a helping hand to restore a prominent role on SmackDown Live. Enter Shelton Benjamin.
The ‘Gold Standard’ became Gable’s new partner, which although it meant more TV time for Gable, also somewhat hindered him from progressing as a singles star.
After a few months, the pair found themselves in the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship picture and had a pretty substantial feud with then-champions the Usos.
Once they’d been defeated by Jimmy and Jey, this meant Gable and Bejamin were at the back of the line, and were thrown into a random six-man tag team match on the Fastlane 2018 Kickoff Show. Clearly, there were no plans for them from this point onward either, as they were both a part of the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34.
Hopefully Gable’s switch will see him solidify himself as a decent ‘mid-card’ act, and maybe at some point in the future, go even further than that.
We’ll also probably see some sort of interaction between Gable and former tag team partner Jason Jordan when Jordan returns from injury at some point down the line.
4. Breezango (To Raw)
Throughout a large portion of 2017, Tyler Breeze and Fandango developed one of the most popular acts in WWE, with their hilarious backstage antics and Fashion Files skits.
However, they soon hit a proverbial roadblock given the time constraints of being on a two-hour show with such a large roster in SmackDown Live, and their skits were bumped to WWE.com, and only very sporadically appeared on the TV broadcast.
After being drafted to Raw last Monday though, this could be the rebirth of one of the most entertaining tag teams of recent times. Raw is often hampered by being three hours long, and that time has to be filled with multiple video packages, replays, or anything else that we don’t really want or need to see.
If WWE were to replace that wasted time with Breezango comedy clips, it would be beneficial to everyone involved – exposure for Breezango and a more enjoyable product for us, the fans. What’s more is that Konnor and Viktor of the Ascension have also been drafted to Raw, so recreating the hilarity that used to ensue on Tuesday nights is entirely possible.
Breezango made their Raw debut by defeating former WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Sheamus and Cesaro of the Bar, which stands them in pretty good stead for being more than just the comedy act they were on SmackDown Live.
In terms of potential future programs for the ‘Fashion Police’ on Monday nights, a nice one to merge them into the Raw tag team division would be squaring off against Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson of the Revival in a ‘serious competitors vs. fun-loving babyface duo’ rivalry.
If this establishes them as a genuine threat in the tag team scene, challenging ‘Woken’ Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt, if the unique duo were to capture the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships, they could create absolute magic both in and out of the squared circle.
Despite this, what I feel is more likely, is that Breezango will act as cannon fodder for teams like the Authors of Pain to feed off, and they will continue to occupy the enhancement role they fulfilled on their former home of SmackDown Live often being ‘squashed’ by the likes of the Bludgeon Brothers.
Both men are so capable of being more than just ‘jobbers’, but I don’t know if WWE can see past the pair as just a couple of police-imitating morons. Hopefully not.
3. The Miz (To SmackDown Live)
It’s finally happening. A story that has been told for about eight years, is finally closing in on its conclusion – a one-on-one match between Daniel Bryan and The Miz.
The Miz’ switch from Raw to the ‘Land of Opportunity’ was announced by Kurt Angle on Miz TV, and it was also confirmed that Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, the Miztourage (expect the name to change) will not be joining their former leader, and will instead remain on Raw.
As I alluded to earlier, The Miz and Bryan have been going at it ever since Daniel Bryan debuted in WWE NXT, back when it was some sort of reality game show, in 2010. The Miz acted as Bryan’s ‘pro’ and the pair often went at it, be it verbally or physically.
Following the Nexus’ debut after NXT Season One had finished, Bryan was fired from WWE for choking Justin Roberts with his own tie, leaving the Wade Barrett-led stable with seven members. The Nexus then took on a team of WWE stars assembled by John Cena at Summerslam 2010. The Great Khali was scheduled to be part of Cena’s crew, but was attacked backstage by the former NXT competitors.
This created a question of who would take Khali’s place on team Cena? The Miz had campaigned earlier in the night, and even made his entrance along with the all-star lineup, but was cut off by the entrance of the one and only Daniel Bryan.
Almost eight years down the line and the two are still exchanging words, with The Miz often namedropping Bryan in promos and also the famous Talking Smack promo that really helped to establish the ‘A-Lister’ as one of the top stars in WWE.
Since being drafted to Raw in the 2017 ‘Superstar Shake-up’ however, interactions between the two have been hard to come by, but through dual-branded pay-per-view events like Survivor Series, the pair found time to quarrel.
The two are already scheduled to face-off during an upcoming UK tour, but surely they’ll go at it on a far bigger stage at some point in the future. Personally, I think this match is completely worthy of being a WrestleMania main event if the story and stakes are correct.
2. Jeff Hardy (To SmackDown Live)
What a week Jeff Hardy has had. On Monday’s episode of Raw, he defeated the ‘Modern Day Maharaja’ Jinder Mahal to capture the WWE United States Championship, and earn the illustrious accolade of being a ‘Grand Slam’ Champion in WWE.
A day later, and he answered Shelton Benjamin’s open challenge, and in turn established himself as a new member of the SmackDown Live roster.
It is a popular belief that Vince McMahon wants to use the ‘Charismatic Enigma’ as a singles star, completely separated from his brother Matt’s ‘Woken’ situation over on Raw.
The manner in which Jeff made his Tuesday night arrival known is seemingly setting up a potential program between himself and the ‘Viper’ Randy Orton, probably over the WWE United States Championship, if the ‘Daredevil’ can fend off Jinder Mahal in the ‘Maharaja’s contractually obligated rematch at Greatest Royal Rumble.
Keeping the ‘Legend Thriller’ away from Matt Hardy is undoubtedly a tremendous decision for the time being. Jeff has been a proven draw in the past and if utilized correctly, WWE can get on more big singles run out of him, before reconnected ‘Brother Nero’ with the ‘Woken One’ at some point in the future.
There are a whole host of big-name heels for Hardy to face-off against on the blue brand, with the likes of Big Cass, Andrade Almas and Samoa Joe all deflecting to the ‘Land of Opportunity’ in this year’s ‘Superstar Shake-up’, and all eligible and believable candidates to challenge Hardy for his United States gold.
Not to mention multiple dream matches with AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rusev and more that would undoubtedly put on a fantastic spectacle.
1. Samoa Joe (To SmackDown Live)
Samoa Joe is quite possibly the best all-rounder in WWE. He’s a big man, but can move like a cruiserweight. He’s intimidating, but can cut superb promos. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say he’s the total package.
Despite his clear talent, Joe has fallen prey to the very fairly critiqued WWE Universal Championship reign of Brock Lesnar, and WWE‘s over-protection of Roman Reigns.
These, coupled with some bad luck with injuries, have hampered Joe’s progress in becoming a megastar in WWE. Moving him away from Raw where he was prevented from rising to the top is, in my eyes, clear evidence of intent that WWE want Joe to become a top champion.
The ‘Samoan Submission Machine’ has already made his intentions known, and mentioned Daniel Bryan and WWE Champion AJ Styles by name, a mouthwatering prospect to say the least. Reliving Styles and Joe’s past in TNA (Impact Wrestling) on the bigger stage of WWE is certainly something many of us wouldn’t want to pass up the opportunity of doing.
Moreover, with Jeff Hardy being the babyface ‘mid-card’ champion, this could open the door for Joe to chase the WWE United States Championship, as he was often prevented from going after the WWE Intercontinental Championship due to the heel dynamics of former champion The Miz.
Nonetheless, whichever path Joe goes down, I see him being a very prominent figure on Tuesday nights, and that’s great. There is little doubt in my mind that we will be calling Joe the WWE Champion at some point in the imminent future.
Who do you think are the top beneficiaries of the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up? Do you agree or disagree with anyone one this list? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter here, and as always, have a spiffing Rusev Day.
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