5 Theories why WWE split up Erick Rowan & Luke Harper
WWE has confirmed that the undrafted Luke Harper has moved to SmackDown as a free agent signing, meaning he is no longer on the same brand as new RAW recruit Erick Rowan.
The two men, formerly known as The Bludgeon Brothers, had not teamed together for over a year after they both required surgery after SummerSlam 2018. Harper then made a surprising return at Clash of Champions in September 2019 to help Rowan pick up a victory over Roman Reigns.
WWE continued the storyline at Hell in a Cell, where Rowan and Harper joined forces in a losing effort against Reigns and Daniel Bryan, and it soon became apparent that the company’s decision-makers might split them up after they were listed as individual Superstars, as opposed to a tag team, in the 2019 Draft Pools.
Rowan went on to be drafted to RAW at #15 in the third round of the draft on October 14, while it was revealed on WWE show The Bump that free agent Harper had signed with SmackDown.
In this article, let’s take a look at five theories why WWE has decided to separate the former SmackDown Tag Team Champions just one month after they reunited.
#5 RAW needs a new monstrous heel
Between September 2018-April 2019, much of the television time on RAW was dominated by the brand’s top three heels: Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre.
Either as singles competitors or as allies, the trio seemed to be involved in almost every major RAW story involving male Superstars for over six months.
That pattern looked as though it might change after McIntyre moved to SmackDown in the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, but the ‘Wild Card Rule’ meant that all three men continued to reign supreme on RAW up until Lashley and McIntyre suffered injuries in the summer.
Needless to say, with more scrutiny on WWE’s storytelling than ever before, it is about time the company shook things up on RAW, especially when it comes to the brand’s top heel Superstars.
Erick Rowan has been one of the breakout stars of 2019 following his work with Daniel Bryan on SmackDown and his emergence as a believable heel singles competitor.
With Corbin now on the blue brand, a space has opened up on Monday nights for Rowan to become one of RAW’s top bad guys.