WWE Draft 2017: 10 Trades To Expect
The Superstar Shake-up is coming, but who'll be on the move?
The first Raw after WrestleMania always brings big changes ahead of WWE's "new season," and this year was no different. Finn Balor returned, The Revival debuted, and Vince McMahon made his first appearance since last May, introducing Kurt Angle as the new Raw General Manager, and announcing the Superstar Shake-up.
It'll see Angle joined by SmackDown's Daniel Bryan on next week's Raw, with Vince giving both sides the opportunity to conduct inter-brand trades and deals. It won't be as grand as last year's draft, and only a few wrestlers are expected to switch shows, but it should go a long way towards revitalising both brands ahead of the coming year of programming.
These changes have been speculated for months, and while there's still ambiguity towards how the deals will be conducted, everything points towards some of WWE's biggest names finding new homes next week.
This is a great opportunity for the company to not only address long-standing problems like SmackDown's lack of depth, but build anticipation and enthusiasm for the year ahead. If they make the right moves on April 10th, they'll accomplish both with ease.
10. Rusev To SmackDown
Injury means that Rusev won't be appearing on WWE television anytime soon, but the Bulgarian Brute is in dire need of a change of scenery. The former United States Champion has become a non-factor since feuding with Roman Reigns, and after the horrendous Lana/Enzo Amore angle, it looked like WWE had absolutely no idea what to do with him. A shame, as he could be a huge asset to either brand.
The injury might be a blessing in disguise. It has allowed Rusev to escape lower-card purgatory (at least temporarily), and means he should be able to start with a clean slate whenever he returns. This will ideally happen on SmackDown, as it’s abundantly clear that Rusev is going nowhere on Monday nights.
His injured shoulder is a stumbling block, but doesn’t completely eliminate the possibility of him moving. SmackDown’s roster resembled little more than a ragtag bunch of misfits at the time of the previous draft, and Rusev’s career requires the kind of rebuild that the blue brand has come to specialise in. Shifting him would be a smart, logical choice that would add some much-needed depth to SD’s midcard, making Rusev an obvious selection for Daniel Bryan.