WWE: Paige Should Go to SmackDown Live If She Returns
Paige would be much better off on the blue brand than on RAW.
The return of Paige to WWE as an active wrestler is still up in the air. She’s embroiled in a high-profile ‘situation’ with fiancée Alberto Del Rio, and she appears to be still recovering from major neck surgery. It’s sad to see Paige’s personal life being on people’s minds more than her professional (wrestling) life.
If WWE clears her to return to the ring, the big question would be, ‘on which show will Paige wrestle?’ Both shows have their strengths and weaknesses. RAW’s Women’s division is very strong, with the likes of Sasha Banks, Bayley, Nix Jax, among others. SmackDown, meanwhile, has Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Natalya, and a few others. The question of which show Paige should appear on is important, because her success (or lack thereof) will depend on to which she returns.
Ultimately, however, Paige should go to SmackDown.
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It would make much more sense for Paige to wrestle for SmackDown going forward for several reasons. Firstly, the SmackDown roster is relatively ‘thinner’ than its RAW counterpart, which means that it’s in greater need of top stars to maintain its relevance and prestige.
Despite being so young, Paige is a 10-year veteran that’s capable of putting on a great match with virtually anyone. Her matches on RAW prior to the Women’s Revolution were some of the best on the card, and she’s more than capable of doing the same now.
Second, SmackDown is in much better need of an experienced women’s wrestler like Paige. The SmackDown women’s roster is incredibly thin, with only seven full-time workers in the entire division. Because of these small numbers, the women don’t have the same opportunities to create new rivalries or develop more intriguing match-ups.
More often than not, they’re all thrown together in multi-woman matches because there aren’t enough of them to make things more diverse. Paige would be a great remedy to this, as she could be added to the mix and feud with any one of the current women on the SmackDown roster.
It would be especially interesting to see Paige wrestle Becky Lynch or Charlotte, as these were her two main teammates two years ago when they were known as ‘Team PCB’. Since Paige has long claimed that ‘This [WWE] is my [her] house’, there’s a ready-made feud for her to engage in with either of these two women (especially Charlotte) over dominion over the SmackDown Women’s Division.
And even if WWE doesn’t go down that route directly, it could always be interesting to see Paige wrestling one of the less-experienced women on the roster to help them improve as performers.
Third, SmackDown has once again proven itself to be a ‘wrestling-focused’ show, with less emphasis on contrived storylines and over-the-top theatrics and drama. Despite the drama she’s experiencing in her personal life, Paige is a wrestler, first and foremost. She needs to be on a show that would allow her to show off her talents, instead of shoe-horning her into something that doesn’t play to her strengths.
If Paige was to go to RAW, she would find herself being mocked by someone on the roster for the events in which she finds herself embroiled now, and would probably be put into a tack romance storyline with another RAW wrestler, just so that the people in power on RAW could take digs at Alberto del Rio.
These problems have a much lower chance of happening on SmackDown, especially since that show is in Brian ‘Road Dogg’ James’ control, and his track record thus far appears to concentrate on in-ring action and simpler storylines, both of which are more interesting than RAW’s cheesy dramas, anyway.
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Ultimately, Paige would benefit much more from being on SmackDown than on RAW. The red brand’s roster and creative strategy wouldn’t benefit Paige as much as being on the blue brand, and her star power and abilities would be appreciated much more greatly on the Tuesday show anyway.