WWE Draft 2017: 10 Trades To Expect
9. Natalya To Raw
Fans can probably expect to see a handful of women’s wrestlers switch brands next Monday night. As great as Raw’s “big three” of Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte Flair are, WWE can only keep booking them against each other for so long, and staleness is also starting to creep into SmackDown’s heavily-featured division. Thus, it’s time for a reshuffle, with Natalya heading to Raw likely to be near the top of the list.
While SmackDown still lacks star power, Raw lacks numbers. Nattie hasn’t come close to winning the SD Women’s Championship since July, but she remains one of the company’s most dependable performers, and she’d be a welcome presence for Raw’s upper-mid level. She’d be a great foil for any of the brand’s faces, and her skills would help avoid the in-ring drudgery that arises whenever Raw’s middling women’s wrestlers are featured.
It doesn’t look like SD are ever going to push Natalya as champion, so they’d lose little by sending her to Monday nights. Now entering her 10th year with WWE, Nattie has very much settled into a gatekeeper role in the company, which is precisely what Raw’s top-heavy division needs at the moment.