WWE brought back the WWE Draft where all superstars from RAW, Smackdown, and NXT are up for selection. This year’s draft definitely changed the landscape and opened up a variety of fresh and interesting storylines/matchups.
How does Cody finish his story?
One of the biggest storylines in WWE at the moment is Cody Rhodes finishing his story and capturing the WWE Championship. A title currently held by defending WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. However, this story will become tricky as both superstars were drafted to separate shows. Cody Rhodes will be on RAW and Roman will be on Smackdown. It will be interesting to see how they will continue this story with both spearheading each show. Will Cody win the “Money in the Bank” briefcase to cash in on Roman down the road? Or will they find a different way to progress the storyline? Only time will tell.
Will Bianca Belair continue with her quest against the 4 Horsewomen?
Belair has wrestled Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch both in WrestleMania matches. She’s posted an impressive 3-0 record in singles competition at the “Showcase of The Immortals”. While she has not wrestled Bayley at WrestleMania she has already defeated her as well. Now with Belair being drafted to Smackdown, she will look to add the last remaining HorseWomen to her list of victories as Charlotte Flair will remain on the Smackdown roster. Personally, I would want to see this match at WrestleMania 40, but this matchup and the already built-in storyline of Belair defeating the other women is just too easy not to pull the trigger sooner. Could we see this matchup at Summerslam? Survivor Series? Can Belair be the only woman in WWE history to defeat all 4 of the HorseWomen or will the Queen of Smackdown end Belair’s run of dominance?
How will the Midcard titles work switching brands?
Reigning Intercontinental and United States champions Gunther and Austin Theory switched brands. The Ring General will be moving to RAW along with the rest of Imperium; while Theory will be heading to Smackdown. Most will see Theory as the afterthought of this switch however, he will have the best opportunity for fresh matchups along with more time to develop into a bigger star on Smackdown.
The biggest takeaway of this draft will be Gunther. The man who has held onto the championship for 281 days and counting which marks the title’s longest reign since the Honky Tonk Man’s reign of 454 days. Gunther will be one of the few superstars who will benefit from the move to RAW and also the introduction of the newly announced World Heavyweight Title. Lookout for Gunther to end up as the first man since the Ultimate Warrior to hold an IC title and World Heavyweight title.
Will the Tag Titles be split again?
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn finally defeated the Usos on Night 1 of WrestleMania to capture the Undisputed WWE Tag Team championship. Now, WWE finds themselves in a corner as they have placed the champions on RAW and currently have no Tag Team championships for Smackdown. How will they address this, will they split the championships into two? Will they reintroduce the World Tag Team titles to go to RAW along with the aforementioned World Heavyweight Title? Will splitting the titles hurt Owens and Zayn?
Here’s the new roster for RAW
The final roster for Smackdown
All the new rosters will go into effect after WWE Backlash. That airs this Saturday, May 6th at 8 pm ET.
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