It's been about a year since WWE decided to split the brands again, having separate stars for Raw and separate stars for Smackdown. Like with anything WWE has done, there were some winners and there were some losers. Some stars flourished with the opportunities they were given while others...well....didn't capitalize. Let's talk winners and losers.
Winner
AJ Styles
This list isn't ranked but was there honestly wasn't anyone who did more with the brand split than AJ Styles. He became the face of Smackdown Live. Styles was already in a heated feud with John Cena, which he won at SummerSlam with a clean victory over the face of WWE. Styles was a heel at the time as well. He backed up that win at the first ever Smackdown exclusive PPV with a victory over WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, giving Styles one of the only World Titles in the world he hadn't held yet. He remained champion until January, where he finally lost to Cena in a one on one match, giving Cena his 16th World Championship in the process. He failed to win the title back in the following months and got into a feud with Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon, which led to a strange decision, a match between the two at Wrestlemania. Though there were several other amazing options and being put on first, Styles made the most of the situation and put on an absolutely show stealing performance with Shane. Styles gave Shane his respect on the following Smackdown and started his face turn in the process. Styles stayed around the midcard afterwards, winning his first United States Title from Kevin Owens at a house show in Madison Square Garden.
Styles is proof that WWE knows how to book a talent. His transition from defeating Cena clean to becoming WWE Champion in a month's time is legendary. Styles consistently rose the bar on Smackdown and brought out the best of everyone he came into contact with. With his intentions to bring back the US Open Challenge in the future, Styles is only going to keep upping his game in the year to come. And of course, I'd be crazy to not talk about the dream 2nd meeting between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. Their first match in New Japan was amazing and I can't wait until they tear the roof down at the Barclays Center (SummerSlam), Toyota Center (Survivor Series), the Wells Fargo Center (Royal Rumble) or the Mercedes Benz Superdome (Wrestlemania) as those are the only places that could hold such an amazing match-up. Big winner.
Loser
Sami Zayn
It pains me to type this out but Zayn has been a bust thus far in the draft. I don't know who to blame but putting him on Raw from the start was a bad idea. Too many monsters on Raw at the time and too many mega stars. Zayn was up against guys like Reigns, Rollins and the debuting Balor. There was no way he was going to stand out among those guys. And he had a great start too! At Battleground, he defeated Kevin Owens in a great match to end their feud but WWE didn't capitalize on it. At the next PPV, Zayn teamed with Neville to face The Dudleys on the pre show. He then was just thrown into random feuds, never winning any of them. Zayn was moved to Smackdown in April, the show he should have started on to begin with but the damage has been done already. Zayn hasn't done anything yet. He was once given Jinder Mahal to defeat in a squash match and now Jinder Mahal is the one squashing Zayn. It's scary.
Zayn should have definitely been booked better. Placing him on Raw was a horrible mistake. If he was on Smackdown to begin with, he could have gotten into a lengthy program for the IC Title with Miz and/or Ziggler. Could you imagine the great matches Ziggler and Zayn could have had? It leaves a lot to be desired. There's still time for Zayn but for the first year of the draft, Zayn was a bust.
Winner
Braun Strowman
With guys like Kane, Big Show and Mark Henry all on the backend of their careers, it leaves a real big gaping hole for a monster heel. Enter Braun Strowman. Strowman got split from Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan as they were placed on Smackdown and for the first time ever, Strowman was by himself to start his singles career. It started with Strowman destroying jobbers, which is how James Ellsworth came to be in the WWE as well. Strowman would eventually enter a feud with Zayn, which ended in a Last Man Standing match on the first Raw of 2017. Strowman stated his intentions to win the Royal Rumble one night during Raw before being dual speared by Reigns and Goldberg. This led to Strowman attacking Reigns during his Universal Title match, which caused Reigns to lose. Before the match at Fastlane, Strowman was featured in the main event of Raw against The Big Show. This turned out to be one of the best matches in Strowman's young career and Braun went over Show, looking massively strong. He would get his first singles loss at Fastlane against Reigns, who was preparing to face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Strowman would rebound eventually, crashing Show through the ring and beating Reigns clean at the Payback. Strowman got sidelined with an injury but once he came back, he beat Reigns again, this time in an Ambulance match. Reigns then tried to kill Strowman but Braun being the lovable guy that he is, was able to walk away from the attempt and is now a likely contender for the Universal Title at SummerSlam.
WWE had a monster heel problem because there were no stars who fit that role. They no longer have that problem on Raw. Braun Strowman has become a legit star and mega main event player on Raw. While he's being getting mostly cheers to feuding with Roman Reigns, when he does feud with the top babyfaces such as Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, the crowd will turn. Strowman going solo seemed strange at first, but he's actually doing fairly well for himself. I'm all behind putting the title on him come SummerSlam, if that's the direction they're going with a Fatal Four Way.
Loser
Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews shouldn't have been called up after Wrestlemania 32. It wasn't the right time for him. He could have had a great run in NXT, especially with Balor leaving. Crews moving to Smackdown looked to be a good idea and they started pretty strong with him. He challenged for Miz's Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam. Miz won, and then Crews was lost for the rest of his time on Smackdown. He was in a brief feud with Dolph Ziggler but that went nowhere fast. Crews deserves better and was one of the bigger losers in the draft.
Winner
Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens' success during the year came by accident. Finn Balor just became Universal Champion but then news broke that he had a major injury, which caused him to relinquish the title one day after winning it. Kevin Owens qualified to compete in a massive Fatal Four Elimination match for the title, featuring Roman Reigns, Big Cass and Seth Rollins. Triple H showed up during the match and cost Reigns the match and just when it looked like he was going to help Rollins win, Hunter screwed Rollins, basically giving Owens the title. Owens flourished in his new role, wearing suits, hanging out with Chris Jericho and being a fantastic heel. He started a dream feud with Rollins and beat him on several different occasions. He also defeated Reigns at two different PPVs. Trouble came when he had to face Goldberg for the Universal Title. It was during this time Owens went from funny heel to serious heel as he turned on friend Chris Jericho at the Festival of Friendship AKA one of the best Raw segments of the year. Jericho distracted Owens and Goldberg capitalized, defeating Owens for the title in seconds. Owens got revenge by taking Jericho's United States Title at Wrestlemania in his singles debut. Owens was moved to Smackdown during the shake-up and looks to make Smackdown an even better brand.
Kevin Owens is a workhorse and one of my legit favorites in WWE. He's great on the mic, fantastic in the ring and just has the heel factor we all love. Taking advantage of a bad situation, Owens made the most of the opportunity and became a central part of Raw for basically the whole time he was on it. With Owens on Smackdown now, my dream of seeing Owens with the WWE Championship has increased exponentially. The man has been champion for A LOT of his time in WWE. The WWE Championship is within reach for him.
Loser
Rusev
Rusev deserves much better. He's an amazing talent and has the ability to be a major foreign heel. I loved how they used Rusev when he first came onto the main roster, destroying anyone who challenged him in the name of the US. Then, of course, he ran into Cena and that was it. Rusev should have been a big deal. He was the reigning US Champ, a top heel on a stacked brand of former NXT talents. Rusev's biggest hurdle was running into Roman Reigns, who ended up taking the title from Rusev. Rusev just was lost after that. He feuded with Enzo and Cass, formed an alliance with Jinder Mahal and didn't benefit from it. It's really a shame when Mahal got the push that Rusev really should have had in the first place. Being moved to Smackdown looked to benefit Rusev but he wasn't used at first and now the first thing they do with him is throw him at a returning John Cena. Have they not learned their lesson from 2 years ago? There's still hope for Rusev though. He's on a show that's filled with opportunity, one that has his former associate as WWE Champion. While Rusev probably won't be WWE Champion by the end of the year, simply because I see Mahal/Cena/Corbin/Styles/Owens dominating that scene but hey, anything is possible.
Winner
Alexa Bliss
WOW, talk about a shocker. Of the 6 call ups from NXT, Alexa Bliss was definitely the most successful. Bliss faced Becky Lynch in her debut and was successful in defeating her. She had a chance to become the first ever Smackdown Women's Champion but wasn't successful in her attempt. She gained attention for her ring gear that night, which mirrored the 2016 Suicide Squad version of Harley Quinn. Bliss always stayed relevant on Smackdown, even though she wasn't always in the main event scene. Her big break came when she became #1 contender for the title during an episode of Smackdown. She challenged Becky Lynch at TLC in a Tables match and in one of the more shocking moments of the night, Bliss powerbombed Lynch through the table to win her first championship in WWE. She became the 2nd NXT female alumni to win a main roster women's title without winning the NXT Women's Title. She defeated Lynch in multiple rematches, even winning a Cage match that was the main event on Smackdown. It saw the return of Mickie James as well. NO big deal. Bliss eventually lost the title to Naomi at Elimination Chamber. Naomi had to vacate the title the following week due to injury, which Bliss won back by defeating Lynch. She lost it back to Naomi at Wrestlemania and in her rematch the following Smackdown, Bliss was unsuccessful in winning it back. She was then sent to Raw in the Superstar Shake-up, became #1 contender for the Raw Women's Title and won the title in then champion Bayley's hometown at Payback. Little Miss Bliss became the first woman to have won both the Raw and Smackdown Women's Titles, a feat that only took her 5 months. Bliss still reigns supreme on Raw.
Alexa Bliss came to the main roster apart of the draft but wasn't featured on the two hour episode of Smackdown. She went in with everyone else, not with the heavy hitters but she ended up doing better than everyone else from NXT who was drafted before her. Yes, even Finn Balor. Sorry, I know Balor won the title in his first shot but as a whole, Bliss did much more. She was around the whole year, put on some of the best heel promos of the year (and one of the worst in the Bayley, This is Your Life) and steadily improved in the ring. Her matches with Bayley and and Sasha at Payback and Great Balls of Fire have been her best matches. Bliss will only improve as she continues to wrestle and get better. The shining star of the NXT draft picks.
Winner
Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks
It was only a matter of time before Sasha Banks and Charlotte feuded on the main roster. Their NXT feud was epic and one of the reasons why women's wrestling on the main roster was so looked forward to. They were the focus of the women's division on Raw for most of the first year of the draft. On the first night of brand split, Charlotte defended her championship against Sasha Banks in their first one on one title match since NXT a year before. It was a barn burner of a match, one that saw Sasha use some tactics from her hero Eddie Guerrero. Sasha would not be denied and in the middle of the ring in her first one on one shot for the championship, she won it. The crowd erupted, Sasha was visibly excited for her win and her post match speech was the icing on the cake. There was so much raw emotion in it, it was a high note on the year 2016. This would be the first of many matches Sasha and Charlotte had in 2016. I believe their feud was 6 matches and 6 months long spanning multiple history making moments. Sasha and Charlotte main evented Raw in October , a first between two women wrestlers since Trish and Lita. They battled inside Hell in a Cell in October as well, marking the first time ever two women battled inside the structure. What was even more important was that Sasha Banks and Charlotte main evented the entire Hell in a Cell pay per view, something no other female competitor has done. They went ahead to main event another Raw in November in a Falls Count Anywhere match. They concluded their feud in December in a 30 minute Ironman match, another first for the main roster women. Sasha had previously competed in the match type with Bayley in NXT. After the two ladies parted ways, Charlotte went on to feud with Bayley, who she lost the title to in a Raw main event in February and again at Fast Lane in March. She was apart of the women's title match at Wrestlemania in a losing effort. She was apart of the Superstar Shakeup and was sent to Smackdown and turned face in the process. She hasn't had a massive impact on Smackdown just yet but wait on it. Sasha feuded with Nia Jax in the meanwhile but hasn't gotten to the same level after losing to Charlotte. She was involved in the Wrestlemania women's title match but that was mainly about Charlotte/Bayley, not Sasha and Nia. And even with the opportunity to turn Sasha heel, they haven't done it yet.
Sasha Bans and Charlotte ruled the women's division on Raw. They have 7 title reigns between them from July to December. It became overkill after awhile but you can't deny the great amount of matches they had, in particular, their first match on Raw in July and the Ironman match in December. They had the best women's feud on the main roster since Trish and Lita and are proof that if even an opportunity, the women can main event and steal the show. All eyes are on the next big feud, whether that be Sasha/Alexa or even better, Sasha/Bayley.
Loser
The rest of the Raw Women's Division
With Sasha and Charlotte hogging all of the spotlight, (they were the only two women fighting over the title for months) the other women suffered greatly. Raw's women division is vast, filled with massive potential. Women like former Divas Champion Alicia Fox, NXT standouts like Emma, Dana Brooke and Summer Rae and once the Superstar Shakeup happened, the most revered woman in the entire division right now, Mickie James. Now, yes, I understand. The other women may not be as experienced as Sasha or Charlotte but it's about giving opportunity. There is no reason why Emma shouldn't be a top star of the division. She has the ring prowess, cocky attitude and put on great matches in her two tenures in NXT. Summer Rae as well. While maybe not as technical in the ring, she still deserves a chance to prove herself. She teamed with Charlotte and Sasha during her NXT days so that should say something about her. Dana Brooke has the physique WWE officials like and she's gorgeous as well. In need of a female powerhouse that's not Nia Jax, Dana could fit that profile. There's just no reason why Sasha and Charlotte should have gotten all the spotlight with all the talented women on the show. The title picture should have been much more diverse and more people should have gotten shots. Even still, the title picture revolves around Alexa, Sasha, Bayley and Nia Jax. They're even doing a rematch from two PPVs at SummerSlam, despite having Emma, Mickie, Dana and Summer Rae just doing nothing. It's ashame. They need to spread the love around if they want to survive and compete with Smackdown's much better women's division.
There are other winners and loser but I'm going to leave it here. I think this is enough, especially since I'm like a month late.
Let's see who become the big winners this year!
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