Csonka Looks at The New Smackdown Roster Additions

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss the new additions to the Smackdown roster made on Tuesday’s Smackdown. I think that the Raw roster got stronger, while Smackdown also got stronger by some smart subtraction after Monday’s WWE Raw. But after Smackdown, feel that the blue brand came out the real winner, as it looks like a really exciting show, hopefully, Road Dogg doesn’t fuck it up. 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.”

My thoughts on the additions to Raw are here.

Big Cass: Big Cass is back from injury and is seemingly getting a program with Bryan right away. This will be a big test for Cass, because if he can’t have good matches with Bryan, there is not much hope for him. This is also a test for Bryan to see if he can get something of quality out of a completely unproven and still largely green performer in Cass. I hope Cass spent his time off watching his Barry Windham tapes while he was out. Maybe he can be Miz’s new muscle since Axel & Dallas were left on Raw.

Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose: Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose basically swapped places with Riott Squad, which reunites them with Paige. They both look to Paige as a mentor so it makes sense in that regard. I think that both have a lot of potential and that a change of scenery will be good for them, as they will get to work with a new group of women.

The Good Brothers: The Good Brothers moving to Smackdown is a blessing for them as they were completely underutilized on Raw, and pigeonholed as losers who occasionally hang out with Finn Balor. I will never claim that they area great tag team, but they are much better than where they were slotted at on Raw,

R-Truth: R-Truth is here to play the veteran role and to fill a spot at live events. I like Truth, he’s silly sure, and he’s not going to mean anymore on Smackdown than he did on Raw, but he’s a good guy to have around to work with younger talent and to appear in the opener of live events.

Prepare for inSAnitY… #SDLive #SuperstarShakeup #SAnitY@KillianDain @TheEricYoung @TheWWEWolfe pic.twitter.com/e3AJuVaglS

— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018

Sanity (Young, Wolfe, & Dain): As many predicted, Sanity (Young, Wolfe, & Dain) finally got the main roster call up, and suddenly get added to a now loaded Smackdown tag title scene. They will freshen things up, using the various pairings to create a lot of new match-ups, and come in as a well-oiled machine as far as working together goes. Dain also has potential to break out as a singles star, which is also a nice addition to the roster. Personally, I was sad that Nikki Cross didn’t get called up, but I understand it. I get the feeling that they didn’t want to strip the NXT women’s division entirely, and left Cross because she’s not only talented but is over big with the NXT audience. That and she’s really not had big-time singles feud and Takeover match to hang her hat on, which will now likely comet her staying behind. But I won’t lie; Sanity won’t quite be the same without her.

The Bar: The Bar is a great story of two guys that were kicking the shit out of each other because creative had nothing for them. But they found common ground in their love of hitting people really hard and developed into a damn fine tag team. The change comes at a good time for them as they get to work with the Bludgeons, the New Day, the Usos, and Sanity. The Smackdown tag division feels rejuvenated with proven teams and a new team in Sanity with a lot to prove. It’s a good move for the tag division, and if needed, both can be used as singles performers down the line.

Andrade Almas w/Zelina Vega: Andrade Almas is a name that has caused a lot of discussion. He was reportedly going to be called up last year, but those plans were canceled and for the better. His pairing with Vega has been amazing and caused a complete turn around for what had been a disappointing NXT career. But when Vega came in, Almas’ confidence grew and he became the guy many of us that saw him as La Sombra knew he could be. In my opinion, he’s the reason that WWE doesn’t need Alberto back, because we already have the better Alberto with Almas. I do worry that WWE will be way too hesitant with pushing him due to his size, and I also worry that he’ll get lost in the shuffle with Miz, Bryan, Styles, Orton, Nakamura, Joe, Hardy and others. But if used properly, Almas is a really great addition to the roster.

Asuka: Asuka moving to Smackdown makes sense, although I honestly expected Alexa Bliss to move before her. Asuka ran through the entire Raw roster with ease, and if they want to give Nia a chance to succeed as champion, they needed to get Asuka away from her since she’s owned her several times already. The Asuka move also sets her up for a return program (down the line) with Charlotte, which I am all for after their Mania match. Asuka brought out a Charlotte we hadn’t seen in a long time at Mania, and I also down for Asuka vs. Becky matches, maybe she can bring out the Becky we haven’t seen in some time as well. God knows the booking isn’t helping Becky at all.

Samoa Joe: SAMOAN JOSEPH is on Smackdown and this greatly pleases me. He did well on Raw, but Reigns and Strowman will always be ahead of him in the pecking order. Joe to Smackdown gives us fresh matches with Hardy, Orton, Almas, AJ, Bryan, and others. Also, Joe has been on fire promo wise, and while I appreciate his death machine performances, I also love a good and fired up promo. If he can stay healthy, Joe may end up as one of the big winners of the Shakeup.

US Champion Jeff Hardy: Jeff Hardy to Smackdown made perfect sense to me. Vince has always seen money in Jeff as a singles star, and with Matt doing his broken universe gimmick on Raw, separating the Hardys makes the most sense at this time. Jeff will get the chance to sink or swim, and I think we can all agree that the concerns aren’t in the ring or with him getting over; it’s outside the ring. His recent drunk driving case is cause for concern after he had seemingly been doing well and staying clean. While WWE is seemingly rewarding him now, unless there are a ton of injuries, or the company gets desperate, the US/IC title area may be the most he gets, due to WWE worrying about another “mistake” happening.

The Miz: Overall I think that the Miz may be the best move out of the entire bunch. First of all, Miz feels like he’s done all that he can on Raw, and he was slotted as the high mid-card guy that was not going to surpass Reigns or Strowman, on Smackdown, he can obviously maintain the same role, but with the roster makeup, has a much higher ceiling to aim for as working with guys like Styles as champion is completely believable. And of course, there’s the Daniel Bryan angle. They had history from NXT, that carried on past that, and then when Bryan was retired, there was the awesome August of 2016 Talking Smack angle with the two that ended up being just a big tease as Bryan couldn’t be cleared back then. But now, that match is a reality with Bryan back and cleared. If they can recreate half the magic they had in that segment and recapture the fire, we may be in for something special. The fans want it, both guys want it, and I for one am excited for their feud.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”