3 possible replacements for Cody Rhodes on WWE RAW if he moves to SmackDown
This past weekend Cody Rhodes moved one step closer to finishing his story in WWE as he won the men's Royal Rumble match at Tropicana Field in Florida.
Following the matchup, Rhodes all but confirmed which champion he would be facing at WrestleMania 40 as he pointed straight at the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
With Rhodes currently on RAW and Roman on SmackDown, the American Nightmare may have to move to the blue brand to challenge for the belt.
If Cody moves to SmackDown, it would be interesting to see which superstars would get traded to the red brand in return.
Here's a look at three WWE SmackDown stars who could be traded to Monday Night in exchange of The American Nightmare:
#3 - Monday Night RAW becomes a no yeet zone
Apart from Reigns and Rhodes, another match that many fans are expecting to see at WrestleMania 40 is the showdown between the Uso brothers: Jey and Jimmy
The two brothers have been at odds with each other since SummerSlam 2023 after Jimmy screwed Jey during a WWE Universal Championship fixture against the Tribal Chief. Fans got a taste of their potential matchup this past weekend at the Rumble as the duo kicked off the men's traditional match.
During a recent interview with Billboard, Jey Uso was asked about facing Jimmy in the future, and the former responded by stating that ''Jimmy's at the top of the list.''
"Right now, I feel like Jimmy’s at the top of the list. He’s gotta get this work. He’s still ducking me right now. He knows what it is. If I could talk from Josh (Jey's real name) and me, it’s my dream match. If this does happen, I’d be so grateful and happy. I would just look at him like look what we doing. Look at this! Those are special moments in the ring that nobody in the world knows."
Currently, Jey is on Monday Night RAW while Jimmy is on SmackDown. Therefore, we may see the latter move to the red brand for Rhodes as he sets his sights on his brother for a potential showdown at The Show of Shows.
#2 - The Celtic Warrior sets his sights on WWE's Ring General
For the past year and a half, former World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus has set his eyes on capturing the Intercontinental Championship from Gunther to become a Grand Slam Champion.
The Celtic Warrior has locked horns with the reigning champion on three occasions, most notably at Clash At The Castle in 2022, with Gunther coming away with the win in each contest.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda's WrestleBinge, Gunther stated that Sheamus' distractions away from the ring may be one of the reasons why he has not been able to defeat him for the Intercontinental Title.
"His weakness is nothing really in the ring. He's weakness is up here (mind) and in the heart. He's got a soft heart, he doesn't have mind strength, and he seems frustrated. I see him popping up on Twitter every second day, making comments. I don't think he's focused enough on what he really wants and tries to figure out different ways to reach his goal."
Sheamus has been out of action for several months due to a shoulder injury. The former champion suffered the same during a match with Edge on SmackDown. For him to get a final shot at Gunther, WWE management may look to bring him into the red brand in a swap deal for Cody Rhodes.
#1 - The Megastar moves to Monday Nights
One of the fastest-rising stars in WWE over the past 12 months has undoubtedly been LA Knight. The Megastar went from an obscure male model to becoming one of the biggest performers on SmackDown.
In recent months, the 41-year-old has challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. However, he would come short of winning the belt in both matchups.
With Reigns now seemingly set to face Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, LA Knight may be a perfect fit for WWE RAW as a new challenger for the brand's World Heavyweight Championship.
Speaking on Taskmaster, former WCW head of creative Kevin Sullivan said that Knight could thrive as a World Heavyweight Champion before eventually winning Undisputed Gold.
"Yeah, I definitely do. Don't you? It's almost like you can see that they've stuck their toe in the water a couple of times, and they've debated, 'Oh, is it too cold, not cold enough?' or whatever. So let's stick our ankle in and give him the other belt first. That's what I see, too."
A move to Monday Night RAW for LA Knight would also provide the Megastar with a list of fresh matchups against top names like Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, and Damian Priest.
Do you think Cody Rhodes will move to SmackDown in the coming weeks? Shoot in the comment section.