Csonka Looks at The New Raw Roster Additions

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss the new additions to the raw roster made on last night’s WWE Raw. I think that the Raw roster got stronger, while Smackdown also got stronger by some smart subtraction. Feel free to make your picks in the comment section. Thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

* Mojo Rawley: Mojo Rawley won the Andre Battle Royal and they apparently had big plans for him, but he’s largely done nothing since other than a heel turn. The heel turn has helped, but he’s largely remained just a guy on the roster. The move gives him fresh match-ups, but I don’t see a lot of upward movement for him on Raw.

* Chad Gable: They announced the move of Chad Gable on Twitter, which ends his team with Benjamin. The two ended up a good team, and it’s a shame that they didn’t do more with them. Gable has tremendous upside as a singles performer, we got glimpses on Smackdown, but I fear his size will hold him back. I’ll be curious to see if they reunite him with Jordan, not that I want to see it, but it could be a possibility.

* Mike Kanellis: Mike Kanellis has been MIA on WWE TV forever, working to get into the best shape of his life, working live events, continuing to fight off his past addiction issues and being with Maria as they expected their first child. Without Maria, he feels like fodder for the big stars and a mainstay on Main Event.

* Zack Ryder: I really like Zack Ryder, he works hard, does his job well, but committed the sin of getting himself over and never recovered from that. He’s a more than solid hand that if they really want to, can be heated up for a mini-program for a mid-card title or slip back into a tag team. Or Kane can just ruin his life like old times.

* The Ascension: The move of The Ascension to Raw feels, at the time of this writing, to set the stage for Sanity to move to Smackdown. They had some potential early on, but the booking killed them almost immediately, but will likely take the place of the solid low card tag team that can put up a fight before losing.

* Natalya: I for one am thrilled to see Natalya moved away from Charlotte so that we can stop pretending that they always have these great matches. She will play the role of the veteran of the division, and likely even work with Rousey to help continue her growth as a performer. At this stage of her career, and her friendship with Rousey, that feels like the best role for her right now. They set them up as friends, so she’ll be a babyface until she turns on Rousey.

Jinder Mahal w/Sunil Singh: Many of the Smackdown moves to Raw share a similar trait in that they felt stagnant and needed to move in order to get some fresh match-ups, and Jinder Mahal is one of those guys. I feel that Mahal is a perfectly serviceable mid-card heel that can compete for the IC or US title. He has a good look and presence, and as long as they keep him in his lane, he’ll be a fine addition to Raw in that role.

The Riott Squad: I like The Riott Squad moving to Raw. After a strong debut on Smackdown, they quickly became stagnant and had nothing to do. They will get fresh match-ups on Raw, Morgan & Logan can be cannon fodder for Nia, while Ruby gets to shine as the star of the group, which she is. Morgan & Logan have a lot of room to grow, and with Raw being a longer show, they should, in theory, get more opportunities to work on TV. Hopefully they get to work a lot with Mickie James on TV & the road, because she will be a great asset to continue their growth as performers.

Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens: I wasn’t the biggest fan of the booking of Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens on Smackdown. It was way too uneven for my liking, and they never felt as if they were given a chance to run as a duo. As of this writing, they have seemingly been brought in as a package deal, and if they stay that way, they could be an awesome addition to he tag division at first. Of course both are more than capable of singles runs in the mid-card or even for the big gold, which after a nice run as a team and split, I hope they both get.

The Fashion Police: The Fashion Police are great, they are two guys who WWE has no clue what to do with, but have worked hard and made the absolute best out of the situation. They have largely managed to stay over with the crowds, and when given the chance, have shown that when given the chance, can have quality matches. But unfortunately, I see them largely being used the same way that they were on Smackdown, and that’s a shame. I hope that I am wrong, because I feel that they could really add to the tag team division.

Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre: To be honest with you, haven’t been interested in Dolph Ziggler since his great feud with the Miz on Smackdown. His latest run on Smackdown was absolutely trash, and he’s felt unmotivated to me. I am a huge fan of Drew McIntyre, and with them coming in together, I feel that they, along with Owens & Zayn will be a great addition to the tag roster on Raw. This maybe exactly what Ziggler needs to get motivated again, and introducing McIntyre in a tag team to begin isn’t the worst idea. But my fear is that it sticks around long past its expiration date, with the Shawn & Diesel dynamic so that Ziggler can continue to do a Dollar Tree cosplay Shawn Michaels, and I have no time for that.

Baron Corbin: Vince McMahon is reportedly very high on Baron Corbin, and Corbin moving to Raw was no surprise. He’s worked with everyone on Smackdown and desperately needed a change of scenery. I do not share the same opinion of Corbin as Vince McMahon does, as I find him an extremely average performer at best. But with Vince being a big fan of his, I can see him being a fixture in the mid-card title scene, with possible cameos challenging for the big belt as they continue to give him chances, because he’s big.

Bobby Roode: Bobby Roode was another guy that needed a change of scenery, as he had worked most of the main guys on Smackdown. He is also in desperate need of a heel turn and the move to raw may allow for that. Roode is a rock solid hand, and will be a fine a fixture in the mid-card title scene, but again, he desperately needs a heel turn to refresh the character and use him to his full abilities.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”