The WWE’s overall talent pool runs deep. Both brands have an embarrassment of riches. Unfortunately, now that the 2023 WWE Draft is over, it’s become clear that SmackDown’s stars shine brighter than RAW.
At present, Friday nights have a laundry list of stars like Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Edge, and The Latino World Order. Bianca Belair is joined by two future Hall of Famers, Charlotte Flair and Asuka.
Mind you, we’re just getting started.
This isn’t to say RAW is embarrassingly out-starred, as you could argue that it has a deeper. But, in terms of who’s at the top, RAW is a little outclassed. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are two of the most popular WWE superstars, but they’re just two people. We don’t exactly see a good storyline happening between both of them unless the WWE rehashes their rivalry from last year.
Gunther is a future WWE superstar in the making if he already isn’t but Rhodes isn’t about to “step down” and challenge for the Intercontinental Championship. It’s more likely that the WWE will set Gunther up as one of the main contenders for the World Heavyweight Championship after he sets a new record as the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion.
Drew McIntyre could be another name that the WWE throws at Rhodes on his road to redemption but his contract situation is still in limbo, the last we heard.
Besides, McIntyre’s main contention reportedly is that the WWE isn’t putting him over, so we highly doubt he’ll be happy to help build up Rhodes.
Rhea Ripley and the rest of The Judgment Day may help, but again, just like Rhodes, she lacks any legitimate rivals outside of Becky Lynch unless she and the WWE build them up first. This is a somewhat ideal setup for Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss to come in or for the NXT call-up, Indi Hartwell, to prove her worth, but, again, that’s going to take a lot of work.
The good news is that WWE RAW has nowhere to go but up from here. Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, and Drew McIntyre are all legitimate contenders for the World Heavyweight Championship. RAW is not going to have problems finding a face for that belt. Of course, we shouldn’t forget about the Usos, who are eager to prove themselves to The Tribal Chief. Then, there’s the defending unified tag team champions, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, as well as others like Shinsuke Nakamura.
And, oh, forgive us for forgetting about the biggest heel in the WWE right now. The Ex-Con son of the WWE Hall of Famer, Dominik Mysterio will eventually lose some heat now he’s on a separate brand from his father, Rey Mysterio. This is why the WWE should capitalize now by making him a surprise World Heavyweight Championship contender and putting him on a collision course against Finn Bálor.
It’s a long shot for sure but so was the thought of Dominik Mysterio being universally reviled in the WWE a year ago.
Ultimately, unlike the top-heavy SmackDown, RAW will need creative booking moves to give the incumbent talent a chance to shine. The good news is that this is all doable and the WWE will be all the better for it if it can pull this off successfully.
With a babyface-laden roster, the RAW roster is prime for some upheaval, and who better to come up with the perfect heel swerves than Triple H himself?
