Another WWE Draft is upon us, and with everyone on the roster eligible to be moved, it has the chance to be a very memorable edition.
I will say, I miss the versions when Raw and SmackDown had separate general managers and there were storylines around the draft and top talent who become “free agents” when they didn’t get picked.
It made what went down feel less random and more meaningful to the on-screen product.
With that being said, there are a ton of different things WWE can do starting with Night 1 of the draft on SmackDown this Friday (8 p.m., Fox) and then Monday on Raw (8 p.m., USA Network) to shake things up.
So here are five bold moves Triple H should consider:
Break up the Street Profits
It’s time for Montez Ford to get a run on his own, just like it was Big E’s time in 2021 when WWE broke up The New Day.
No one is itching for Ford and Angelo Dawkins to have any kind of traditional breakup angle.
This way they are forced apart and get some babyface sympathy from the audience.
Dawkins gets sent to SmackDown and Ford remains on Raw with his wife Bianca Belair after the team got what felt like a farewell win earlier this week.
With the new World Heavyweight championship in play, it’s time to rip the Band-Aid off with Ford, and this is the best way to do it.
Gunther and Austin Theory swap brands
The Intercontinental and United States champions need new homes.
Both men don’t feel like they are losing their respective championships anytime soon, and this gives them a chance to get a fresh batch of opponents.
It would also put Gunther — who would bring Imperium with him — on the same show as Brock Lesnar for an eventual feud, and it could line him up to be the person Ford eventually beats for a singles championship.
Gunther and Cody Rhodes have Royal Rumble history, so that could come into play later this year or in a potential World Heavyweight championship chance.
For Theory, he can feud with a Drew McIntyre, L.A. Knight, Shinsuke Nakamura or even Xavier Woods if they remain on SmackDown.
All would feel fresh. Maybe Knight is the one to finally beat Theory in a babyface push.
Draft Charlotte Flair to Raw
Bianca Belair needs a big-time opponent for SummerSlam, and the only person worthy of that right now — with Trish Stratus likely tied up with Becky Lynch — is Flair.
She is the only member of the Four Horsewomen The EST hasn’t beaten.
Flair got a win in NXT back in 2020, and their two main-roster matches have ended in DQ.
Belair finally topping Flair will make an eventual match with Rhea Ripley mean that much more.
NXT call-ups
NXT’s current creative doesn’t seem like it will allow for a number of its big names to make the jump to the main roster.
But that doesn’t mean Triple H can’t add some impactful names.
Tyler Bate has been tossed around, and he’d make a solid addition to the Brawling Brutes or Alpha Academy if Otis ditches Chad Gable.
What I’d like to see is some talent with clear characters get the nod, so they will have less of a chance of just being lost on the main roster.
To me that means Cameron Grimes, Pretty Deadly’s Carter and Chance, and Wendy Choo.
You add two very good teams and two characters who can immediately stand out.
Why not pair Choo and Dana Brooke?
I’d love to see Grayson Waller or Roxanne Perez — both losers at NXT Spring Breakin’ — get the call, and hope that re-promoting an Apollo Crews or a Jinder Mahal aren’t the big NXT moves.
Draft Damage CTRL to SmackDown
Iyo Sky is getting her Raw women’s championship match at Backlash, and after she loses, there isn’t much left for the group on Mondays.
You move them to a different brand.
It can be billed as a fresh start for Damage CTRL after their WrestleMania loss and recent individual setback.
It would eventually all implode on them as the group will break up after Iyo and Bayley feud.
One of them can then be Rhea Ripley’s SummerSlam opponent.
Ripley and Sky have history going back to NXT, and Ripley and Bayley had just one singles match between them back in March.
