WWE Draft 2020: 5 wrestlers who should go to SmackDown

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WWE, Ricochet (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images) /

The 2020 WWE Draft will be taking place on this Friday’s SmackDown and concluding on the October 12th edition of Raw.

SmackDown has alternated between being the ugly duckling of WWE programming to the best wrestling show on television since its 1999 inception. Despite a surge with Kofi Kingston reigning as WWE Champion, the brand’s FOX debut that was meant to put it right on par with Raw started a months-long downturn in the show’s quality.

The absence of WWE’s polarizing figurehead, Roman Reigns had only exacerbated the lack of quality that was being showcased on a weekly basis. With Reigns back and already putting in excellent character work as the “Tribal Chief”, SmackDown appears to be on the up-and-up.

Often, SmackDown’s bright years such as 2009 and 2016 have been followed by drafts such as 2010’s and 2017’s that openly deprives the show of the elements that made it worth tuning in. Here are some names that SmackDown could get in return to keep their upward trend going.

1. Ricochet would have new life on SmackDown after the WWE Draft

Ricochet’s run on Raw has been up-and-down, more so down. His United States Championship win over Samoa Joe at Stomping Grounds hinted at better things to come but turned uneventful after he lost the title three weeks later.

As unlikely as it was that Ricochet would derail the plans for Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, a 94-second loss to Brock Lesnar at February’s Super ShowDown served no purpose other than destroying his credibility.

Ricochet—along with Apollo Crews—have been almost constantly in matches against The Hurt Business and on the losing end of most of them. With The Hurt Business seemingly moving on to feud with Mustafa Ali and Retribution, that leaves Ricochet with no loose ends on Raw and a clear path to a fresh start on SmackDown.

Assuming Sami Zayn stays on SmackDown, Ricochet could fit right into the Intercontinental Championship picture as a potential challenger. With the workhorse presence on SmackDown including Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, Ricochet could serve up match of the night contenders on the regular.