WWE SmackDown has undergone plenty of changes in recent months, with the move to USA Network, an extra hour of airtime each week, and some new talent being moved to the brand in the transfer window.
However, with WrestleMania season in full swing and the WWE Draft coming up shortly after, there could be even more changes to the roster coming soon – including some entirely new WWE signings.
Here are seven potential new signings for WWE SmackDown.
7. GUNTHER / Jey Uso
Despite WWE Champion Cody Rhodes officially being on the SmackDown brand and John Cena not being specifically assigned to either Raw or SmackDown, the majority of the build to their WrestleMania match has taken place on Raw.
That’s likely because the higher-ups want the spotlight on Rhodes and Cena to be happening on the shiny Netflix show, and there’s every reason to believe that would continue after WrestleMania as well.
If that is the case, it probably means whoever is the World Heavyweight Champion coming out of Mania – GUNTHER or Jey Uso – would be moved to SmackDown in a swap of the top champions.
The WWE Draft is reportedly still planned to take place not long after Mania as it usually does, so we could see a switch made official there.
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6. Jeff Cobb
In an entirely new acquisition, WWE is believed to be in the process of signing – or has already signed – Jeff Cobb.
With a career of over 15 years already at this point, Cobb comes into WWE with plenty of experience, including numerous matches on the similarly big US stage of AEW.
While most new WWE signings do still start in NXT, there have been examples recently who haven’t, with the likes of Penta and Rey Fenix going straight to the main roster.
Given his level of experience, that could be the case for Jeff Cobb when he arrives, making him a potential pickup for SmackDown.
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5. Ethan Page
In what would be a call-up from NXT, there seemingly isn’t much left to do for Ethan Page on the brand, despite him only signing less than a year ago.
Page pretty much immediately became NXT Champion, and has shown that he’s more than ready for the main roster.
After coming out on the losing end of a feud with Je’Von Evans, and now seemingly heading into a WrestleMania weekend match with Ricky Saints that Saints would likely win, there’s every indication Page is wrapping up his time in NXT.
Page would fit in on whichever brand WWE decides to put him on, but perhaps he’d be more likely to climb up the ranks faster on SmackDown when you compare where the two rosters are at currently.
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4. Bronson Reed
Bronson Reed has been out of action since November when he suffered an injury in the WarGames match at WWE Survivor Series.
At that point, he had joined the ‘new Bloodline’ team led by Solo Sikoa, so when he’s back, perhaps we’ll see that storyline picked back up.
With the apparent issues between Sikoa and Jacob Fatu recently, Sikoa could bring Reed in as a replacement for Fatu, and/or as an obstacle for Fatu to overcome before the inevitable Fatu vs Sikoa match.
Considering all of the Sikoa/Fatu stuff has taken place on SmackDown as of late since Sikoa’s loss to Roman Reigns on the Raw Netflix premiere, it would make sense for Reed to be put on the blue brand when he returns.
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3. Aleister Black
For the past couple of weeks on WWE SmackDown, we’ve seen some short teaser-style videos seemingly building to the arrival of… someone.
Given the style of the videos and the fact he’s no longer with AEW, there’s every reason to believe the videos are for the return of Aleister Black.
Given the videos have been airing on SmackDown and not Raw, unless plans change, it seems like he’s heading to the blue brand.
Fans believe the last video featured a tease for the date of April 25, which is the first SmackDown after WrestleMania.
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2. Trick Williams
Similar to Ethan Page, it had seemed like Trick Williams had done all he can do in NXT and the next step for him is a main roster call-up.
There are now more question marks over this though, as there’s a possibility that Williams is actually the secret leader of the new Darkstate faction that has attacked Je’Von Evans and Oba Femi in recent weeks.
With Evans, Femi and Williams seemingly set for a three-way NXT Championship match at Stand & Deliver, that affiliation could be confirmed, which would likely mean Williams staying in NXT.
However, if he is called up to the main roster soon, SmackDown might be a good choice over Raw, as he’d have an in-built story to go to with former partner-turned-rival Carmelo Hayes.
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1. Rey Fenix
While there’s still an element of mystery over the apparent Aleister Black teaser videos and we don’t know for sure yet that it’s him, there are other videos that have been airing separately that are a lot clearer.
Rey Fenix will be coming into WWE soon on the SmackDown brand, rather than reuniting with his brother Penta, who’s on Raw.
WWE evidently made the choice not to interrupt Penta’s singles momentum, and it means when the brothers do reform their tag team down the line, it can be built up to being a really big deal.
Fenix will be debuting on SmackDown imminently.
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