4 WWE Superstars/Tag Teams That Need a Brand Switch

Trace Johnson

Last summer’s initial brand split shook up the WWE to its core with superstars finding a new home on either Monday Night Raw or Smackdown Live.

And things in WWE were shaken up once again following WrestleMania 33 with a superstar shake up, sending several Raw stars to Smackdown and vice versa. Many superstars have flourished on their new brand, but others have struggled to stay relevant.

With the rumors of another possible superstar shakeup at the end of the year or the beginning of next year, that same issue could present itself once again. There are a number of superstars that could stand to change brands and some that would be much better suited on another brand.

It’s always an interesting dilemma trying to contemplate which superstars need to trade colors to either Raw or Smackdown and the hypothetical situations at hand could be intriguing, to say the least. The WWE has done a solid job over the past year of putting superstars on the appropriate brand, but another shakeup could be in the best interest of the WWE and the superstars in general.

With that being said, let’s take a look at four superstars/tag teams that need a brand switch to either Raw or Smackdown.

Smackdown. Photo by WWE.com

Randy Orton from Smackdown to Raw

The Viper Randy Orton is one of the most decorated WWE superstars of all-time with numerous accolades and history-making moments on his impressive resume. But at this point in his career, he’s becoming stale on Smackdown and appears to have nothing left to accomplish on the blue brand.

Orton has already been the WWE Champion on Smackdown and has been in feuds with the likes of Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal over the past several months, but there’s not much else for him to do on Smackdown and a switch back over to Raw could do wonders for the apex predator.

Orton has run out of fresh opponents and storylines on Smackdown, so bringing him into the fold on Raw could present many different opportunities. He could have fresh matches with the likes of Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor and others while helping develop younger stars as well.

Orton’s return to Raw could help spruce up his career and the brand itself. He could even help the importance and prestige of the Intercontinental Championship if the WWE would put him into that role as the company did with John Cena and the United States Championship in 2015.

Orton to Raw could be just what the doctor ordered.

credit: wwe.com

Dolph Ziggler from Smackdown to Raw

Out of all the superstars the WWE has seen over the years, Dolph Ziggler’s career might be the most unusual of anybody. As incredibly talented as Ziggler is in the ring and as much as he has proven to be a valuable and reliable commodity to the WWE, he has never truly broken through the proverbial glass ceiling.

He’s a two-time world champion, but he has never been treated the same as other top guys in the WWE. Ziggler’s current storyline on Smackdown is strange, to say the least, as he imitates present and past WWE superstars and acts as if he has been betrayed by the company and the fans.

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson from Raw to Smackdown

The tag team of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson shook up the wrestling world during their time in Japan and so did their WWE debut in 2016. The Club has one Raw Tag Team Championship reign under its belt.

But since losing the championship at WrestleMania 33, Gallows and Anderson have had little to no direction and seem to just operate as fill-ins when WWE needs another team for a multi-man tag team match. They are much better than that and deserve a chance to shine once again in the tag team championship picture.

The perfect solution for this problem would be to send The Club to Smackdown. The Smackdown tag team division doesn’t have the depth of the Raw tag team division as it is, so this would be a welcomed addition. It could give Gallows and Anderson a much-needed shake-up back to prominence and could add another talented team to the Smackdown tag team division.

The New Day and The Usos are tearing up the tag team division on Smackdown right now with numerous outstanding matches, but after their feud ends, another team will have to step in the picture. And The Club could do just that while providing more stability to a tag team division in need of another top team.

Samoa Joe stares down John Cena. Credit: WWE.com

Samoa Joe from Raw to Smackdown

The Smackdown main event picture has been unexpected over the past few months with the emergence of Jinder Mahal as the WWE Champion. And while Smackdown has several main event-caliber talents, not all of them are currently in the main event picture.

Samoa Joe has done great things since debuting on Raw prior to WrestleMania 33 including an outstanding one-off feud with Brock Lesnar. That feud legitimized Joe as a big-time player, but with how crowded the Raw main event picture is currently, he could easily get lost in the shuffle.

Especially considering Joe is out with an injury now and will remain out of action until after the No Mercy pay per view. When he returns to Raw, his direction could be very unclear. A Joe switch from Raw to Smackdown would be a big shakeup for the blue brand.

And depending on when or if the WWE wants to do another superstar shakeup, he could still accomplish more on the Raw brand in the meantime. But in terms of his future as a main eventer, he would be much more stable on Smackdown. Putting Joe in the ring with a Shinsuke Nakamura or an A.J. Styles or a Kevin Owens would be something the WWE universe would savor and would result in some outstanding matches.

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Joe to Smackdown would make sense on many different levels and give the blue brand another marquee superstar.

Trace Johnson

My name is Trace Johnson. I live in Hurricane, West Virginia and graduated from Marshall University in 2016 with a degree in sports journalism. I am an avid WWE follower and started following the WWE midway through the Attitude Era. I look forward to providing unique and quality content involving the WWE.