While Professional Wrestling doesn’t have an offseason in the strictest sense, in WWE Wrestlemania is generally considered the “end” of the previous year and the RAW/Smackdown/NXT after Wrestlemania to be the beginning of the new year. This will be the last WWE Draft with RAW on USA Network as the show will be moving to Netflix in January 2025 on that note.
All that said. It’s obvious that we will see some people who’ve been on RAW or Smackdown for the last few years in a row finally change brands. This is in addition to NXT Superstars moving on to RAW/Smackdown…and RAW/Smackdown Superstars going to NXT.
Here’s my picks for some Superstars who may go from Smackdown to RAW and may stay on RAW:
- Cody Rhodes (WWE Undisputed Universal Champion)
- Bayley (Women’s Champion)
- A-Town Down Under (Smackdown Tag Team Champions)
- Logan Paul (U.S. Champion)
- LWO (Rey Mysterio, Zelina Vega, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro and Dragon Lee)
- Andrade
- Charlotte Flair (When she returns from injury)
- Shotzi (when she returns from injury)
- Teegan Knox
- LA Knight
- AJ Styles
- Michin
- The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Scarlett, AOP and Paul Ellering)
- The Viking Raiders and Valhalla
- Raquel Rodriguez
- Imperium
- Ilja Dragonov (current NXT Champion)
- Roxanne Perez (current NXT Women’s Champion)
- Sheamus
- New Catch Republic
- Alba Fyre
- CM Punk
- Von Wagner and Mr. Stone
- Odyssey Jones (actually, he was drafted to RAW last year from NXT)
- Gallus
- Lyra Valkyria
- Tatum Paxley
- Drew McIntyre
- Bo Dallas, Uncle Howdy and/or Wyrmwood The Jester (return was teased on RAW after Wrestlemania)
- Jinder Mahal
- Indus Sher
- Roman Reigns
- Jimmy Uso
- Naomi
- Cora Jade
- Jacey Jayne
- Ricochet
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Piper Niven
- Xia Li
- Indi Hartwell
- Dexter Lumis (he’s still under WWE contract)
- Dijak
- Josh Briggs (When he returns from injury)
- Nathan Frazier
- Bronson Reed
Many of Smackdown’s biggest stars head to RAW which also gets the current NXT Champion, current NXT Womens Champion AND the former NXT Women’s Champion as well. RAW is a 3 hour show so it naturally gets more draft picks. I am factoring some who may get Free Agent status or will be on NXT as well.
Here’s my picks for some Superstars who may go from RAW to Smackdown and may stay on Smackdown:
- Damien Priest (WWE World Heavyweight Champion)
- Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Champion)
- Finn Balor
- JD McDonogh
- Dominik Mysterio
- Sami Zayn (Intercontinental Champion)
- Awesome Truth (RAW Tag Team Champions)
- Dakota Kai
- The Kabuki Warriors (Women’s Tag Team Champions)
- Liv Morgan
- Bobby Lashley
- The Street Profits
- B-Fab
- Omos and MVP (Will likely retain Free Agent status)
- Legado Del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto and Electra Lopez)
- Carlito
- Seth Rollins
- Becky Lynch
- Bianca Belair
- Jade Cargill
- Shayna Baszler
- Zoey Stark
- Chelsea Green
- Sonya DeVille (When she returns from Injury)
- Bron Breakker (he and Baron Corbin lost the NXT Tag Team titles this week) and Paul Heyman
- Carmelo Hayes
- Tiffany Stratton
- Carmella (when she returns from Maternity Leave)
- Alexa Bliss (when she returns from Maternity Leave)
- Isla Dawn
- Nikki Cross
- Katana Chance and Kaden Carter
- DIY
- Candice LeRae
- Diamond Mine
- Alpha Academy
- Axiom
- Andrew Chase (will still appear on NXT for now)
- Duke Hudson (will still appear on NXT for now)
- Thea Hale
- Eddy Thorpe
- Fallon Henley
- Gigi Dolan
- Kiana James
- Wendy Choo (assuming she’s still under a WWE contract)
- Jey Uso
- Solo Sikoa
- Nia Jax
- Randy Orton
- The New Day
Most of RAW’s mainstays come to Smackdown but the bigger thing is Smackdown gets the lion’s share of NXT callups in terms of number. The Judgement Day would be seeking to establish themselves as the top faction with the implosion of The Bloodline.
Jey Uso could make a story out of trying to reform The Bloodline with Solo as Babyfaces with Nia Jax and either Tama Tonga or Jacob Fatu who both signed with WWE as of this past weekend(!). For those who might not know, Tamina quietly retired sometime last year and now works as a trainer full-time at the WWE Performance Center.
Paul Heyman did tease working with Bron Breakker. What better way to elevate him than to pair him with the greatest manager in the history of the business?
I know collectively it’s a lot of NXT names on both lists but the WWE Performance Center has a LOT of trainees who will need to be transitioned to NXT. This will be the biggest roster transition for NXT in a decade but at least its roster isn’t being completely gutted. It also helps we’ve been seeing current RAW/Smackdown superstars pop up on NXT for a storyline in recent years.
Speaking of. Here’s my list of current RAW/Smackdown Superstars who could soon be heading over to–or in some case back to–NXT:
- Baron Corbin (likely staying on NXT)
- Natalya (Could be officially made a free Agent)
- The Final Testament (showed up on April 9 episode of NXT)
- Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
- Ivar (showed up on April 9 episode of NXT)
- Asuka
- Kairi Sane
- Roman Reigns
- Seth Rollins
As a reminder, NXT is moving to The CW this coming Fall. Roman Reigns was kept on Smackdown largely to draw viewers for FOX. Put him on NXT and it automatically becomes must-see. Plus it helps he lives in Pensacola. The storyline could be Reigns refuses to report to RAW. After taking a phone call from Ava, he decides to go to NXT. What he doesn’t know is Rollins also decided to go to NXT. Ava gets the wild idea to put them in a tag team for the Dusty Cup. Hilarity ensues.
Asuka and Kairi Sane would both be there primarily to draw numbers but it could later be revealed they have a pretty big reason for returning to NXT: Convincing Meiko Satomura to get back in the ring for a run on the main roster. For those who don’t know, she’s been working as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center since her match with Roxanne Perez last year. That was Satomura’s last match.
Former WWE Superstar Matt Hardy has now officially become a free agent. He negotiated with AEW down to the last minute but elected not to sign a new contract. Shortly after he debuted on AEW, he did say he plans to finish his career with WWE. His brother Jeff Hardy is also in the same kind of situation with his AEW contract status.
I do think Matt Hardy will make his return to WWE sooner than later. Weather he comes alone or brings his brother with him remains to be seen but it’s probably safe to assume he will be heading back to WWE. This is not the same Matt Hardy from 25 years ago let alone the Matt Hardy of 5 years ago. He’s much older obviously.When he returns to WWE, Matt Hardy will be winding down his in-ring career.
In terms of who should retire him, he should get both a singles final and a tag final. His singles final opponent should be someone who needs it. I’m thinking Ricochet, Carmelo Hayes, Sheamus or Dominik Mysterio. They’re all established talent and would pair well with Matt Hardy. If he’s in a tag match–and assuming it’s with his brother Jeff–I’d be thinking either The Creed Brothers, Angel and Berto or Gallus. One of those three teams should get that honor. The New Day and Street Profits don’t need it.
It’s now official: Guilia has signed with WWE.
This is WWE’s biggest free agent signing of the year so far. Emphasis on “so far”. I say that knowing Jacob Fatu also recently signed with WWE and is expected to debut VERY soon, likely on the main roster.
We are gonna get some dream matches with Guilia in both NXT and WWE. She’s another reason for Asuka and Kairi Sane to return to NXT. To help break her in. She speaks very little English but that won’t be a problem. More so if she’s paired with someone who does most of the talking for her.
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