Welcome to another edition of eWN Round Table, where we gather some of the most active writers here on eWrestlingNews and share the platform to answer some questions surrounding a centralized topic, upcoming event, etc.
This is meant to showcase the potential for both a wide range of perspectives as well as how sometimes, there can be a group consensus no matter what your viewpoint is, so we also invite all of you to join in on the discussion by answering these questions yourself in the comments section below.
For this particular volume, we’ll be focusing on the 2019 Superstar Shake-up.
Participants for this round = Anthony Mango, Ethan Absler, Kyle Dunning, and Richard Staple.
1) “Which female superstars from NXT would you like to see be called up to the main roster and to which brand?”
MANGO: Kairi Sane is the only one that I felt had nothing left to do in NXT and it seems as though she’s making her way up. Other than Sane, I don’t think anyone else needs to. Shayna Baszler will eventually, when the time is right, as will Bianca Belair and others, but now is not the time.
ABSLER: With the recent call up of many separate NXT superstars, I’m not sure if calling more people up is a good idea. The roster is already very crowded as it is and NXT needs leaders on the roster like Cole, Gargano, and Riddle. In addition, WWE must be sure to not make the mistake of calling people up before they are ready which is usually detrimental to someone’s career.
DUNNING Kairi Sane to Smackdown would give Asuka someone to team with while lost in the shuffle. I think Candice needs to stay in NXT and prove she can deliver consistently. Shayna would be another great choice for Raw, but her Four Horsewomen buddies are not ready and she’s still champion. I would be surprised if anyone other than Kairi Sane got the call up.
STAPLE: The easy answer is Shayna Baszler, because there’s no other person for her to beat. She’s already proven herself, and if you ask me, I think a feud without Becky Lynch can elevate Becky more than a feud with Charlotte befause of her ruthless style of fighting. She’s currently a champion in NXT, but that hasn’t stopped WWE in the past (ex: Kevin Owens, Tomasso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano). If that option is not on the table, Kairi Sane or Candice LeRae should be considered. I feel they’ll get lost in the shuffle on RAW and might be utilized better on Smackdown.
2) “Which male superstars from NXT would you like to see be called up to the main roster and to which brand?”
MANGO: None, other than the official moves of Lars Sullivan, Ricochet, Aleister Black, EC3 and Heavy Machinery. I want Ricochet and Heavy Machinery on Raw, with EC3 and Black on SmackDown. With Sullivan, I’m not sure. I don’t want him to get the monster push he’ll get, as I feel like WWE is going to make a mistake of sacrificing Braun Strowman to him to set him up to be fed to Roman Reigns, which will just undo all of the good will brought upon by both Strowman and Reigns. Therefore, if Strowman goes to SmackDown, send Sullivan to Raw. If not, vice versa, send Sullivan to SmackDown away from those two.
ABSLER: (see answer #1)
DUNNING There’s so many names. Velveteen Dream, Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, the Undisputed Era, maybe even Dominick Dijakovic. And you can’t forget about Pete Dunne and Moustache Mountain in NXT UK as well. However, WWE called up a bunch of talent after the Royal Rumble, many of whom have yet to get their foot in the door outside of appearing on Main Event. Undisputed Era do not hold any titles so they’re available, but the rest are either tied up with titles, injured, or do not have the experience. Do we want to see guys like the Undisputed Era get lost in the mix?
STAPLE: I would like to pitch the Undisputed Era, but I held back on that idea based on how WWE has treated sAnity. Plus, I would like to see Adam Cole win the NXT Title. Most of the top tier people in NXT seem embroiled in feuds right now, so this is hard to say at the moment. WWE’s roster is getting increasingly thick, and with that will come an increasing amount of superstars that won’t get airtime. I only want people like Velveteen Dream or Gargano called up if there is a specific plan of action. RAW might give them a bigger platform.
3) “As they aren’t tied to Raw or SmackDown, should the Intercontinental and United States titles swap brands this year?”
MANGO: SmackDown gets overlooked so often, as does their midcard. If I’m going to have one belt be diminished and not get the proper attention, I’d rather it be the United States title than the Intercontinental Championship. Therefore, let’s keep the belts where they are, except redesign them just a tad by adding side plates to them for good measure.
ABSLER: I always think it’s cool when WWE switches the titles around just to keep things fresh; it is called the Superstar Shakeup after all. So, yes I’d like to see the IC and US titles switch brands.
DUNNING The way it’s going it seems like they could be defended on either brand. We saw Samoa Joe issue an open challenge on Smackdown and Braun Strowman accepted. While the brand extension may remain in some fashion, WWE looks keen on not letting it limit who they can use for each show.
STAPLE: I definitely liked it better when the Intercontinental Title was on Smackdown, especially when the Miz was holding it. I don’t think the mid card titles changing brands will make a big difference. It’s just a matter of the effort made to make it prestigious and the superstars chosen to hold them, and there are worthy candidates on either brand. I wouldn’t notice a difference if Balor and Joe switched brands.
4) “With Becky Lynch holding the Raw and SmackDown women’s titles and the Women’s Tag Team Championships also being co-branded, is there even a point to trading female superstars if they’ll likely be crossing over between shows?”
MANGO: Truth be told, I don’t think WWE has any idea what they’re doing and this is all being treated on a week-by-week basis. They’ll trade women between Raw and SmackDown and in 2 months after Money in the Bank, they’ll be scrambling to figure out what to do and everything will be in shambles and they’ll have to figure out some way to split the titles. That is, of course, unless the brand split is going to end come October. Then, I think they’ll just have Becky go back and forth and hope that nobody cares that the women on SmackDown seem to be fighting for nothing on a regular basis (as Raw will certainly be Lynch’s focal show).
ABSLER: I think there is still a point in trading female superstars because it is still creating fresh matchups for television which produces better and more enjoyable shows. Although women will be crossing over between rosters, switching them from roster to roster is a smart idea business wise.
DUNNING The champions will have the freedom to appear on more shows. This does not mean they have to defend the title all the time, but it does raise the question on how WWE will select number one contenders for the same champion on multiple brands and make it fair.
STAPLE: This is why I said WWE should have just unified the women’s title. Right now we don’t know if Becky will always be defending both titles or one at a time. But if you’re going to have her on both brands, just have one women’s title and have all women crossover, especially since that’s the case with the other women’s title, the tag titles.
5) “This is a free-for-all. Tell us any/all trades you think may happen with Raw and SmackDown superstars.”
MANGO: I keep bouncing around all over the place, but I could see Bobby Lashley going to SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura or Rusev/Lana going to Raw, maybe Braun Strowman going to SmackDown (although that’s a little on the nose), it wouldn’t shock me if The Bar and The Revival swapped brands, and I’ll go out on a limb and say Ember Moon goes to SmackDown.
ABSLER: I could definitely see Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, The Riott Squad and Rose and Deville, and Andrade switching brands. Those superstars are all versatile and coming off of loses and WrestleMania. A brand switch could be just what they need to boost their momentum back up to what it was before WrestleMania.
DUNNING You never know with WWE. I can imagine some struggling on Raw to be moved to Smackdown, like Lashley, Lio Rush, possibly Braun Strowman. Seen as The Bar are being used again in main storylines, I can see them going to Raw.
STAPLE: I really can’t say for certain, but I think we will see one huge switch. Since the original split in 2016, Rollins, Reigns, Styles, Orton, Balor and Strowman are the only names to have stayed on their respective brands. Rollins probably isn’t going anywhere, and Reigns is still a premiere name, so I think one of the other four names will move.
6) “Are you as suspicious as Mango is that Clash of Champions will be the end of the brand split with the titles merging two days after SmackDown’s premiere on FOX”
MANGO: I am Mango, and yes, as soon as they announced that event, I’ve been wary of a potential merge. I’m not going to be convinced that it isn’t happening until they announce at least one match for the card that involves a champion defending against another champion (IE, if they announce the universal title on the line against a regular contender, rather than the WWE champion as his opponent, then okay).
ABSLER: I definitely think that this FOX TV deal is so valuable to WWE that FOX is calling some of the shots creatively. Honestly, with the merging of the Women’s titles, and WWE already teasing the World Title merge, I wouldn’t be shocked if WWE reverts back to the concept of having one singular brand or championship.
DUNNING I hope so. Was never a fan of the brand split, and WWE really needs to downsize. There’s too much programming. It’s hard keeping up with all the talents, and it’s clear WWE can only focus on a handful at a time. WWE is afraid of going backwards, but there’s such a thing as going too far. WrestleMania has gotten longer since the recent brand split, and we know 7-hours is too much for most people.
WWE has signed so many talents to keep them away from other promotions. The dilemma though, is WWE wants to use them all but they don’t have the time. They air Raw, Smackdown, NXT, NXT UK, 205 Live and Main Event weekly, yet they’re still struggling to figure out who they want where and why. Getting rid of the brand split makes it open game for the cream of the crop to rise, and I’m sure the fans will benefit.
STAPLE: It potentially could be, and that was actually an idea was having myself. The timing is too funny.
Big thanks to everyone who took part in this edition!
Those are our thoughts, but what do you have to say about these issues? Keep the discussion going by chiming in via the comments section below!
