The WWE Draft commences on the April 26 episode of SmackDown. The draft will move several superstars across all three of the company’s brands, but four moves make the most sense moving forward.
WrestleMania 40 changed the WWE’s landscape. The Undisputed Universal Championship and World Heavyweight Championship got new title holders. New feuds and superstar returns took shape during and after the promotion’s flagship wrestling event.
In the aftermath of WrestleMania 40, there are several dominant storylines could be enhanced with a series of swaps between Raw and SmackDown.
These four performers would thrive in new environments if they were to move in the upcoming WWE draft.
Bobby Lashley joins Raw for World Heavyweight title shot
Bobby Lashley is a WWE legend, best known for his historic run in the defunct ECW. He has held the WWE Championship, as well as the Intercontinental Championship twice. But he does not have a World Heavyweight Championship to his name.
Over on Raw, Damian Priest is advancing his young reign as World Heavyweight Champion while leading the villainous stable, The Judgment Day. He is a gargantuan competitor who has ruffled the feathers of many within the brand and is attempting to forge an unbeatable path within the company.
While Raw has several talents that could try to dethrone him like Jey Uso, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, and CM Punk, Lashley is due for a chance to claim another world title.
Cody Rhodes is likely to hold on to the Undisputed Universal title for some time, so Lashley could venture over to Raw and steal Priest’s crown as a prominent babyface on the brand.
Jimmy Uso intensifies feud with Jey Uso on Raw
After Jey Uso defeated his brother Jimmy Uso at WrestleMania 40, the brothers’ bad blood failed to be put to rest. To make matters worse, an internal war erupted within The Bloodline, the stable that both were formerly members of.
Now that Jimmy Uso is no longer allied with The Bloodline after Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga turned on him on the April 11 episode of SmackDown, the Raw brand could use his presence.
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“Main event” Jey is Damian Priest’s nex opponent for his World Heavyweight Championship. In the event that he wins, Jimmy Uso would be the perfect rival for Jey to start a long lasting back-and-forth with, and could give one of Raw’s most popular superstars his most compelling storyline yet.
This would also prime Jimmy to win his first world title and create even more crossover narrative around The Bloodline in future pay-per-view events.
Gunther joins SmackDown for shot at two championships
Gunther’s historic reign as Intercontinental champion from June 4, 2022 until April 6, 2024 came to an end at WrestleMania 40 at the hand of Sami Zayn. The Austrian wrestler proved that he has the gravitas to be a major title holder in the WWE.
The company could opt to keep Gunther on Raw and have him regain his Intercontinental crown. Or, they could trade him to SmackDown to prop him up as a rival to Logan Paul for the United States Championship.
While he could be kept on the secondary title ranks, there’s also room for Gunther to be given an outside shot to dethrone Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed Universal Championship down the line.
It only took him two months to claim the Intercontinental title after being called up to Raw from NXT in 2022. Clearly the promotion has belief in him as a featured talent. The WWE draft needs big names to trade in order to create lasting buzz, and Gunther is one that would aid those efforts.
Braun Strowman captures Triple Crown glory on SmackDown
Braun Strowman has been out with a neck injury since May 1, 2023, but that doesn’t change his status as one of the fastest rising superstars in WWE history. Strowman has an Intercontinental Championship and two Tag Team titles on his resume. This means that he is a world title away from becoming the 19th Triple Crown champion ever.
In order for him to enter rarified air, he would have to down Rhodes for his Undisputed Universal Championship. Rhodes will need a collection of contenders to fend off to make his run memorable.
Like Big Show before him, Strowman is a colossal figure that can be used as an immovable foe for Rhodes to war with. The former member of the Wyatt Family faction would thrive in that scenario once he returns to action.