Five Superstars Who Could Benefit The Most From WWE Draft
With the 2021 WWE Draft in the books earlier this month and new roster officially in place as of the last week, we can take a look back and see who switched brands.
Some switches were for the best, while others not so much. Those given new surroundings have the possibility for great things to happen in the coming year. Let’s take a look at five people who could benefit the most from the WWE Draft in no particular order.
Liv Morgan
Moving Morgan from Smackdown to Raw was a great decision. As I’ve mentioned in my Women’s Revolution 2.0 column, Morgan has the potential to be a big star in the WWE. By being on Raw, she’s away from Charlotte Flair and can be built up as a legitimate title contender by the end of next year. Morgan has a good following. All she needs is a decent push. Morgan is a likely future Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble winner. All WWE needs to do is get her away from the dead-end feud she’s currently stuck in with Carmella.
Shayna Baszler
New scenery was definitely needed for Baszler. She had wrecked almost the entire women’s division, including being freed from her meaningless tag team with Nia Jax on Raw. With Baszler on Smackdown, she can reset herself and return to the women-wrecking beast that she was down in NXT. As I pointed out in my Women’s Revolution 2.0 column, Baszler can be that crafty veteran the division needs in order to build up new talent. With the Smackdown Women’s Division roster so thin, it can use all the help necessary to build back up. The possibilities are endless for Baszler, if finally used properly.
Ricochet
Ricochet was floundering on Raw. He hasn’t really been prominently featured since his feud with Brock Lesnar in 2020. Ricochet has the ability to generate a big following on the blue brand, but I wonder if the time limitations that Smackdown faces could hinder him in the long run. Ricochet’s style can match up with just about anyone on the Smackdown roster to create some really good matches. He could have some great matches with Mustafa Ali (again) and could serve as a mentor to Mansoor. It would be interesting if Ricochet plays into the Roman/Brock feud like he sorta did back when Drew McIntyre started his push towards the title.
Alpha Academy
Alpha Academy was not split up in the draft, with both Otis and Chad Gable getting drafted from Smackdown to Raw. I think they have a better chance at a tag team title run on the red brand. On Smackdown, The Usos are likely going to be holding the tag titles for some time as heels. RK-Bro on Raw are faces and the two teams would be a fresh feud. Gable and Riddle match up well skills-wise, creating a nice little feud. I would really like to see Alpha Academy get a tag team title run and I think that would have better odds on Raw instead of Smackdown.
Smackdown’s NXT Female Callups
I know this is cheating a little bit by lumping Xia Li and Aliyah together since they are not a tag team. Both are very welcome additions to a very thin Smackdown Women’s Division. I think this year will be all about building Li and Aliyah up and introducing them to the main roster audience. Neither will likely be in the title picture so it’ll be all about building up the new faces to the audience. Li’s NXT character has potential to translate into success on the main roster. Aliyah can work well as a heel or a face. I think Li will continue as a heel and Aliyah will be a face. Let’s just hope Flair and/or Baszler don’t ruin them before they can get going.
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There you have it. Do you agree or disagree with my selections? Is there someone I missed? Let’s talk about it on Facebook or Twitter (@ciscowebwiz76).