WWE: 5 Trades That Should Happen in ‘Superstar Shake-Up’
5. Sami Zayn for Baron Corbin
If his segment with Kurt Angle wasn’t a send-off from the recent Hall of Fame inductee, then I don’t know what else qualifies as a farewell. Angle praised Sami Zayn for representing the “Three I’s” (intelligence, intensity, and integrity) before giving him a match with Jinder Mahal. As always, Zayn played the underdog role perfectly, somehow convincing fans that Mahal had a shot at winning that match. Then again, Mahal was one of the final two in the “Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale”, so you can’t rule anything out anymore.
Zayn doesn’t seem to have a place on Raw, and last night’s main event proved it. Samoa Joe, who was Zayn’s last feud partner, has trained his focus on Seth Rollins, whom he injured in the build-up to WrestleMania. Meanwhile, United States Champion Kevin Owens, whom Zayn has fought far too many times during his WWE career, will likely feud with the returning Finn Balor.
If Zayn isn’t in the title picture, there’s no reason for him to be on the Raw roster. I’d somewhat controversially argue that the red brand actually values Zayn’s contributions as a face, but he’d be involved in much better programs if he joined the SmackDown roster.
WWE has teased Zayn being traded to SmackDown before, and this resulted in an absolutely impeccable promo with Mick Foley in which Zayn memorably quipped that he is worth “a thousand Eva Maries”. Imagine the matches he would have with Dolph Ziggler, who desperately needs a program with someone who can wrestle, or The Miz. Zayn, of course, lost at Survivor Series via shenanigans from Maryse in an Intercontinental Championship match, and both Zayn and The Miz built tension perfectly in that match. I’d like to see that reprised as a real rivalry.
As for Baron Corbin, I get the fact that he’s found his footing on SmackDown to the point where he is legitimately one of the most fearsome monsters on either roster. Corbin wreaks havoc, his “End of Days” finisher is arguably the most lethal in the WWE, and he has actually found a fully-fledged character that fans can care about.
The problem is that he just doesn’t fit on the blue brand. His program with Dean Ambrose is going nowhere, and even though it seems like this rivalry will continue after Corbin won a “Street Fight” against Ambrose (this is the match that should have happened at WrestleMania), I just don’t see the payoff here for either of these two. Corbin deserves to win the Intercontinental Championship, but do we really want to see him in matches against Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger? I’m not so sure about that.