Well, it has been a memorable 5 days of events from Orlando and we are finally getting a chance to catch our breath a bit. After Smackdown Live last night, let’s take a look at what has changed, the big moments and what to look forward to heading into next week on WWE RAW.
New Additions to RAW and Smackdown Live
WWE RAW provided us with two tag teams coming to the red brand. After the shock that was Matt and Jeff Hardy at WrestleMania, we got a chance to enjoy The Revival getting called up to WWE RAW. In their debut match, they defeated The New Day and the roster began to really develop with some depth and intrigue.
The Revival are excellent and I love watching them wrestle. They are not a gimmick tag team like The Ascension or The Vaudevillians, but there should be some worry that they may not translate quick enough with the common crowd. Look at Enzo and Big Cass, two guys who get over speaking. It is sad, but Dash and Dawson may be hurting in that area for the first few months.
Also, we now have The Hardy Boyz, Gallows and Anderson, Sheamus and Cesaro (duh duh duhhh), The New Day, Enzo and Cass and The Revival on WWE RAW. Looking at the “Superstar Shakeup” next week, I can easily see WWE moving The New Day over to Smackdown Live. Also, I can expect Enzo and Cass to potentially do the same. As much as we would love to see Cesaro and Sheamus go blue, they are getting a championship match and they are going to be needed to continue to have at least some depth in this division.
Smackdown Live got a “Perfect Ten” in Tye Dillinger. His debut on Smackdown Live solidifies a mid card struggle that WWE has had there. All we really have is Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and Dean Ambrose to really make us think they could be IC Champion. Adding Tye gives the fans a shot of adrenaline and Tye an opportunity to shine. It was well deserved and overdue for a guy who can really be a viable asset to Smackdown Live. His chant gets him over, but he is a strong wrestler in the ring and very athletic for his size. He should fit in very well with some of the names previously mentioned.
Shinsuke Nakamura is a game changer. He debuted on Smackdown Live by coming out to his violinist and immediately got the world buzzing. With a second straight loss to Bobby Roode at NXT Takeover, Nakamura’s debut was imminent. If he fits in with a program with The Miz, this is WWE thanking The Miz for how great he has been. The Miz is also an excellent promo and Nakamura can capitalize on the biggest heel Smackdown has to offer at this time. There will be a championship match featuring Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam. You can bank on that.
With all of these men getting the chance to step away from WWE NXT, I do think that there is good vibes coming from all three of them. As much as they will be missed in NXT, now is the time for NXT to focus more on Roderick Strong, No Way Jose, Sanity, Bobby Roode, Kassius Ohno and others. They still have some depth and look for NXT to really push the UK talent in the middle of 2017.
