Look at Raw getting the leg-up on SmackDown already!Credit: WWE.com
Both brands suffer from a lack of major star power in their men’s divisions. There aren’t enough options for Big E or Roman Reigns to face to sustain a full year without going into rematches.
Unless WWE is able to quickly boost some names to the next level, 2022 may be a year when even more attention is put on just a few wrestlers while part-timers are brought in for pay-per-views.
However, WWE has never lacked for talented people. Wrestlers such as Ricochet won’t seem like a credible threat to Reigns right now, but he will be if WWE uses him correctly. The potential is there to make both rosters amazing, so long as the company puts in the effort.
Raw has only eight more men on the roster than SmackDown. Considering how four are essentially just running around with the 24/7 Championship (Tozawa, Maverick, R-Truth and Reggie), Kevin Owens is likely leaving WWE in January when his contract expires and Edge is only a part-time performer, which whittles the numbers down further.
MVP is more of a manager. Jaxson Ryker’s not doing too much. Veer may be lost without Mahal and Shanky and it’s doubtful he’d make a big splash in the singles division on his own.
If you remove the tag team specialists, the red brand appears to be losing a lot of talent quickly, but doing the same to SmackDown has an even greater effect.
Garza and Carrillo, The Viking Raiders, Mansoor and Ali, Shanky, The Usos and others are great, but they don’t have much weight in the singles division right now.
For the most part, SmackDown’s big guns are Corbin, Cesaro, McIntyre, Hardy, Ricochet, Reigns, Zayn, Sheamus and Nakamura. Half of those would be closer to United States Championship level on Raw when standing next to Lashley, Styles, Priest, Balor, Kross, Lee, Riddle, Orton, Mysterio, Rollins and so on.
Steveson could be a big player to come. T-Bar has more upward mobility than Mace. Austin Theory is already off to a good start and could be someone to watch out for, too.
This win ultimately goes to Raw, as SmackDown could use another two or three established big names.
Winner: Raw
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