Amongst the big surprises that took place at the Royal Rumble, one of the standout shocks of the night came when Alexa Bliss made her long-awaited return to the ring and WWE TV. Bliss entered the Rumble match to a huge ovation and proceeded to make an impact right away, and after the event, many assumed she would be joining Monday Night Raw, as her return had been rumored for the show previously. Tonight though WWE finally revealed which show she would call home, and it turned out to be the blue brand SmackDown.
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That was confirmed when WWE announced several SmackDown-specific qualifying matches for the Elimination Chamber, and one of those matches was between Bliss and Candice LeRae. That could have been a one-off of course, but later in the show, WWE featured Bliss’ return at the Rumble and commentary spoke of her being on SmackDown.
It was also mentioned on commentary that the transfer window is now closed, so while there could always be a swerve coming, Bliss is likely staying put for a while at least. She wasn’t the only Superstar confirmed for SmackDown either, as tonight Drew McIntyre was also confirmed as a SmackDown Superstar from here on out. McIntyre would also have an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match later in the night, with the Scottish Warrior facing LA Knight and Jimmy Uso for the chance to be in the mix.
Earlier in the night General Manager Nick Aldis was seen in his office talking to two more new SmackDown recruits as well, welcoming Kayden Carter and Katana Chance to the SmackDown roster. They were rudely interrupted by Carmelo Hayes, though he ended up having to face a Raw superstar in Tozawa, who he attacked at the Rumble before he could even get to the ring for the match.
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Now that the Transfer Window is closed, SmackDown experienced a nice shake-up with its new recruits. The superstars that joined SmackDown include Bliss, McIntyre, Carter, Chance, Damian Priest, R-Truth, The Miz, Zelina Vega, and the Wyatt Sicks. The extra boost will only help the show fill its new 3-hour runtime for the first part of the year, and there’s always the possibility that a few other NXT call-ups happen ahead of WrestleMania.
After WrestleMania will likely be when WWE holds the next Draft, so these rosters will likely get shaken up in a much bigger way then. There are also several NXT call-ups that usually happen with the draft, so that will factor in as well.
As for Bliss, with her move to SmackDown, there is a thought that perhaps she will align with the Wyatt Sicks in some way. The Wyatt Sicks haven’t actually made their SmackDown debut yet, so it remains to be seen what WWE has in store for them and if they will be working with Bliss in some way when they do return.
Are you happy with Bliss being on SmackDown? You can talk all things wrestling with me in the comments or on Bluesky @knightofoa!
