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Credit: WWE.com
With the WWE draft opening Friday night, all eyes will be on SmackDown to find out which Superstars will be moving across the main roster.
Last week, we discussed the Superstars Raw should pick up, and now it’s time to focus on the blue brand.
SmackDown gets two picks for every three Raw does, so Fox representatives are always at a slight disadvantage. That third hour of Raw hurts the Friday show’s chances to pick up as many big names and the roster can look weak in comparison.
Keeping in mind suggestions from our Raw article, here are some must-have picks SmackDown would need to draft in order to improve and maybe become even stronger than the red brand.
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Asuka is currently out with an arm injury, but she should be kept away from Charlotte Flair on Raw when she returns.
The Queen has already proved herself to be an unstoppable force that The Empress of Tomorrow is unlikely to topple any time soon. And without that potential to be champion, Asuka is left with nothing to do.
On SmackDown, though, a feud with Becky Lynch makes perfect sense. They can pick up where they left off when The Empress’ win at Money in the Bank gave her The Man’s title last year before she went on pregnancy leave.
They shared a mutual respect then, but Lynch has turned heel, meaning it will be two warriors chasing the top prize on the blue brand.
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One of the goals of every draft should have is to inject new life into a roster by bringing up people from NXT.
Among the candidates to help out with the women’s division, Dakota Kai is one of the most-seasoned talents who can handle an upgrade to the main roster.
She isn’t likely to win the NXT Women’s Championship any time soon after failing to beat Raquel Gonzalez, which leaves her primed for a switch.
Assuming Tegan Nox stays on SmackDown, she and Kai can reignite their previous feud, which didn’t have a definitive conclusion. WWE could even reform their tag team and allow Shotzi Blackheart to join Raw.
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Roman Reigns needs competition, and nobody is better suited to that than Drew McIntyre.
The Scot clashed with The Tribal Chief at last year’s Survivor Series but came up short. However, he put up one hell of a fight and has learned more lessons over the past year that he could use to overcome Reigns next time.
Few Superstars have the clout McIntyre does, as well as the imposing size to challenge Reigns. He’s also one of the highest-ranked names in terms of main event credibility who could dethrone the universal champion.
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The crowd popped when it seemed Jeff Hardy was going to win the United States Championship at Extreme Rules on Sunday. The Charismatic Enigma clearly still has a loyal fanbase.
That support will be more than willing to follow him to SmackDown where he can be a bigger fish in a smaller pond, rather than getting lost in the shuffle as he did on Raw after the last draft.
On the blue brand, he could also be another challenger for Reigns. Hardy recently told the Wrestling Inside the Ropes podcast (h/t WWE on Fox) that facing The Tribal Chief would be a dream match before he wraps up his career.
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Johnny Gargano could well be a lifer with NXT or gone from WWE entirely when his contract runs out in December, but that fact itself may be a signal for the company to change things up.
NXT 2.0 is going to focus primarily on newer talent and a shift in philosophy. There won’t be the attention to indie wrestling there once was. Some holdovers of the previous regime will stick around, but there are fewer and fewer spots for them, and Tommaso Ciampa is already king of the mountain.
Where The Way is concerned for Gargano, wife Candice LeRae will soon be taking pregnancy leave. Indi Hartwell’s romance with Dexter Lumis has evolved past the group, and Austin Theory has been largely absent from the faction.
That doesn’t leave much for Johnny Wrestling to do other than rehash what he’s already done or be a veteran who puts over other talent.
Now that Bryan Danielson is no longer in WWE, the only person who could realistically echo similar vibes is Gargano. As a babyface, he’s an ultimate underdog and one of the best wrestlers on the roster.
He would be an amazing addition to SmackDown.
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Both Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley need to get away from Charlotte Flair as soon as possible. They’ve had more than enough chances to take down The Queen and rehashing those feuds isn’t going to lead to an interesting story any time soon.
As women’s tag team champions, they can go between the two rosters at will, but a new home on SmackDown could serve them well when they inevitably split.
A.S.H. held the Raw Women’s Championship briefly, which gives her enough credibility to challenge Becky Lynch on the blue brand. And Ripley could be the one to take down The Man in a WrestleMania-worthy match.
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Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown isn’t quite the land of opportunity and in-ring based program it once was, but it’s still a chance for people to get a fresh start.
Ricochet is a perfect candidate for this. He’s been floundering on Raw without direction for months and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. On SmackDown, though, he may get a push to the midcard title scene.
If WWE doesn’t do something with The One and Only soon, he’ll likely leave for a promotion that can give him better opportunities, such as All Elite Wrestling.
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Credit: WWE.com
Our Raw must-have draft picks discussed the idea of moving Bianca Belair and The Street Profits to the red brand. If that happens and there isn’t an exodus of other teams, the roster will be too crowded for a team like The Viking Raiders.
Erik and Ivar could be great opponents for The Usos, though. They haven’t feuded yet and it’s important to keep things fresh. Considering how talented both teams are, it’s almost guaranteed that their matches will be excellent.
It would be fun to see them lock horns with some of the other teams on the blue brand as well. They could even turn heel and face Dominik and Rey Mysterio.
The alternative would be to continue facing AJ Styles and Omos, losing to Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo and fighting for the third, fourth or even fifth babyface spot on the red brand.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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