WWE surprised fans last year with a brand split that established Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins as Raw's top stars and AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose as the faces of SmackDown.
Although the latest brand extension has had plenty of positives, like the greatness that is SmackDown, it has somewhat exposed the rosters for their lack of depth. The unfortunate result of having limited rosters for both shows is that it is more difficult to consistently give fans fresh feuds, matches and storylines.
Thus, WWE will need to do something to shake up the rosters at some point in 2017, whether that's through another draft (though it may be too early for that) or a slew of superstar trades. This will give superstars who are struggling on their respective brands a new opportunity to succeed and also will breathe new life into both shows.
Here are five superstars who must switch brands in 2017.
Sami Zayn
Don't let Sami Zayn's recent storyline with Braun Strowman fool you into thinking he's finally being booked right because, well, he isn't.
Zayn has been misused about as badly as anyone since the brand split, having virtually no important storylines unless you count the Strowman one that really hasn't done him any favors. Even though Zayn is a world class in-ring performer and an incredible babyface who knows how to draw sympathy from fans, Raw has, at times, completely forgotten that he exists.
Talk about a monumental waste of talent. Zayn delivered show-stealing bouts with Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, just to name a few, in 2016, and his talents would best be utilized on the blue brand, which has highlighted great wrestling since the brand split.
WWE has teased moving Zayn to SmackDown during his storyline with Strowman, and that needs to become a reality in 2017, so Zayn can have must-see feuds against guys like AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose.
Kalisto
Other than a feud with Baron Corbin, Kalisto hasn't done much of note on SmackDown, which, on paper, should be a good place for the luchador but ultimately hasn't been.
Kalisto has gone weeks at a time without appearing on TV, hasn't picked up many notable wins and has gotten lost in the shuffle behind the blue brand's top babyfaces. Luckily for him, however, he could be a star in the Cruiserweight division if WWE ships him to Raw, which is where he should have been in the first place.
Yes, the Cruiserweight division has its problems as well, but it has reinvigorated Neville and could do the same for Kalisto, who is the epitome of the type of performer that the Cruiserweight division should launch to superstardom.
Kevin Owens
Quick, try to think of a recent World champion who was booked worse than Kevin Owens has been as Universal Champion. Difficult, isn't it?
In a weird way, Owens winning the Universal Championship has almost completely erased everything WWE did to build him up prior to winning the title. He rarely wins, much less doing so clean, and he's often fell victim to the pushes of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins as WWE tries to protect Raw's top two babyfaces.
Other than perhaps a babyface turn, it seems the only way to revamp Owens' character is to move him away from Chris Jericho, who has done more harm than good to Owens' perception as a legitimate tough guy and a top star. That should happen when Owens is shipped to the blue brand, which does a much better job of booking its heel champions (see: The Miz and AJ Styles) and tends to have more depth to its storylines.
Rusev
Like Kevin Owens, Rusev has fallen victim to Raw's terrible booking of its supposed top heels.
Although Rusev has proven to be an incredibly charismatic and well-rounded superstar, he's often served as fodder for main event babyfaces, such as Reigns or John Cena. That's a shame because Rusev has virtually everything you would want out of a top heel, from the prototypical look to the in-ring skills to the ability to generate massive heat.
WWE has been unable to capitalize on that, however, and we may have reached the point where Rusev won't be able to salvage his career on Raw. A trade to the blue brand, which books heels very well, could rejuvenate Rusev and resurrect what was once a very promising career, one that has lately been marred by WWE's reluctance to push him to where his talent level indicates he should be.
On SmackDown, Rusev would have a better chance of being booked like he was during his first year on the main roster, when he was WWE's most unstoppable villain not named Brock Lesnar.
AJ Styles
AJ Styles is the No. 1 reason why SmackDown has been so good since the brand split, and that's precisely why Raw needs him so badly.
You could argue that Styles is WWE's best overall performer, one who has gotten over with the masses while still appealing to the diehard fan base that tends to be very vocal. Raw's main event picture has been incredibly stale over the last several months, and Styles is exactly what the red brand needs to stop relying so heavily on the quartet of Rollins, Reigns, Owens and Jericho.
SmackDown's booking has been of such high quality that it can recover from the loss of Styles by getting another talented star in return (maybe Owens?) and booking him as well as Styles has been booked. Moving Styles isn't meant to strip the blue brand of its biggest full-time star, but rather, provide a much needed boost to a struggling Raw show.
After all, doesn't Raw need all the help it can get?
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to the Forbes @SportsMoneyBlog, where he focuses on the WWE, NBA and NFL. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.
