Jey Uso officially became a member of the Monday Night Raw roster this week, ending his brief hiatus from television. It was explained that the move was made via Cody Rhodes, using what little backstage power he had to bring the former tag team champion to the Red Brand after being screwed out of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam last month. Adam Pearce then noted later in the show that SmackDown would receive “trade compensation” as a result of giving away “Main Event Jey.” That means at least one wrestler from Raw will be headed to the Blue Brand in the near future. But who will it be?
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In order for the trade to make sense, Raw would need to give up someone who isn’t necessarily a champion but can be inserted into a main event program. Seth Rollins and Gunther are obviously off the table, as are the various members of The Judgement Day. And unless WWE wants to start breaking up tag teams Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, Imperium, The Viking Raiders, American Alpha and Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano (whenever Gargano finally makes it back to TV) won’t be moved either. And since his storyline with Rollins clearly isn’t over, Shinsuke Nakamura isn’t going anywhere.
That only leaves a few viable options, but most of them wouldn’t seem like a fair trade unless they were packaged with other wrestlers. Braun Strowman would make sense but he’s still out with a neck injury. Bronson Reed is an imposing force but is 0-3 in his last three TV matches. Indus Sher could move over as a trio but they have struggled to get TV time lately. That narrows down the roster to three viable options:
Who Will Move From WWE Raw to SmackDown in the coming weeks?
- Cody Rhodes — Rhodes was directly connected to the Jey Uso trade when it was first announced, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he pushed for the trade in favor of himself getting moved to SmackDown. This will not only put him on the same roster as Roman Reigns — potentially setting the stage for that WrestleMania rematch — but also puts him on Friday nights alongside John Cena. A match between those two in the coming months has been rumored.
- The Miz — He’s still feuding with LA Knight and WWE can spin it as SmackDown gave away Jey Uso for a former two-time WWE Champion.
- Drew McIntyre — While WWE seemingly keeps teasing a heel turn in his storyline with Matt Riddle, there’s always the possibility he gets moved back to Fridays.
Who do you think will get moved in the trade? Tell us your pick in the comments!
WWE Payback 2023 Results
- Becky Lynch def. Trish Stratus (Steel Cage Match)
- LA Knight def. The Miz (John Cena as special guest referee)
- WWE United States Championship: Rey Mysterio def. Austin Theory
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) def. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
- Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley def. Raquel Rodriguez
- World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura
