2 weeks Ago By Graham GSM Matthews
If Raw and SmackDown do expand to three hours each at the onset of 2025, WWE will have to beef up its roster considerably across both brands. NXT call-ups are inevitable, but more effort must be put into getting more wrestlers over with meaningful storylines. While both brands already boast star-studded main event scenes, the rest of the roster could use additional depth in order to make the most of the three-hour format.
The new United States Championship for the women of SmackDown is a strong step in the right direction. It may not be long before the concept extends to Raw as well, but until then, there are several Superstars who would benefit greatly from becoming the inaugural champ on the blue brand. Meanwhile, Powerhouse Hobbs' recent return to All Elite Wrestling as a babyface has fans hopeful he'll finally be utilized to his full potential this time around.
His start-and-stop pushes in the past haven't inspired much confidence, but he could have a real shot at success if he can capitalize on his current momentum. This installment of Quick Takes will tackle Hobbs' ceiling as a singles star, the front-runners to be the first-ever women's U.S.
champ, crowning new WWE women's tag team champions, and more. WWE has done an exceptional job of making Raw and SmackDown feel must-see most weeks with the two-hour format, but the rumored move to three hours for both brands in January, per Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com , calls for deeper rosters that can help effectively fill the time.
The star power the company already has accessible is greater than it's been in years, yet it isn't enough to make three hours of Raw or SmackDown sustainable on a weekly basis. As such, several Superstars will need to be called up from NXT at the onset of 2025 to beef up the respective rosters. Roxanne Perez has been main roster-ready for some time, and Trick Williams also doesn't have much left to accomplish once his current reign as NXT champion comes to an end.
Additionally, Wes Lee could use a call-up, and Oba Femi is a top prospect to keep an eye on. How WWE intends to use all of these up-and-comers is of crucial importance to ensure they aren't brought up without a plan in place. The increased television time should result in more opportunities for the talent to get over with the audience, especially with WrestleMania season set to kick off shortly after the three-hour runtimes go into effect.
AEW's prominent positioning of Powerhouse Hobbs early on in his run with the company in 2020 indicated he had a bright future ahead of him. Unfortunately, save for one brief reign as TNT champion in the spring of 2023, he's largely been booked as a background player and rarely anything more than that. His alliances with Team Taz, QTV and The Don Callis Family gave him plenty of exposure, but he's always destined to be more than a stepping stone for the rest of the roster.
Turning face may finally afford him that opportunity if he remains on the right track. He had a significant role on the Nov. 6 edition of Dynamite when he was revealed as Ricochet's mystery partner and subsequently beat the duo of Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita.
A feud with his former faction makes sense for now, but he should be slotted higher up the card in the long term. While a world title win might be unattainable given AEW's roster depth, it's imperative that it at least tries to keep him rolling in singles competition instead of relegating him to midcard mediocrity for the umpteenth time. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill have developed tremendous chemistry as partners since joining forces shortly prior to WrestleMania 40 and have dominated as WWE women's tag team champions between two reigns.
However, the time has come for them to drop the belts so they can go their separate ways and begin building toward their inevitable one-on-one encounter at WrestleMania 41. They defeated seemingly half of the division in the Fatal 4-Way tag team match at Crown Jewel, leaving Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez as the best possible candidates to take those titles from Belair and Cargill. Morgan is already the women's world champion, but she and Rodriguez have held tag gold before and becoming tag champs again would only put more heat on the dynamic duo.
More importantly, starting the split now gives Belair and Cargill an ample amount of time to get the audience invested in their story that should culminate at WrestleMania 41 on April 19-20. Of the two, Belair would make for the more intriguing heel, but Cargill will likely be the one who turns considering she excelled in that role during her time in AEW. AEW fans aren't blessed often enough with Malakai Black in singles competition on Dynamite, but he did return to the ring last Wednesday night for the expected excellent outing against Adam Cole.
Cole's quest to rack up three consecutive wins ahead of a Full Gear face-off with MJF made the outcome fairly predictable, but it did serve as a much-needed reminder of what Black is capable of inside the squared circle. The bizarre conclusion to the contest coupled with his handshake to Cole afterward caused speculation to run wild that he was either injured or on his way out of the company soon. Although Black outright denied that speculation on his own Instagram story, the writing is on the wall, regardless.
It's unknown how much longer the Dutchman's current contract lasts, but him deciding to stay would be a shocking turn of events. He has been underutilized for years now, and there's been zero indication AEW plans to push him anytime soon. Black can continue to compete at a high level whenever he is able to appear on AEW TV, but leaving for WWE and taking his chances under Triple H would be the better bet when his deal comes due.
The introduction of a women's midcard title on WWE's main roster has been long overdue, and with SmackDown set to become a three-hour program for the first time this January, the Women's United States Championship couldn't be debuting at a better time. The blue brand boasts a deeply talented women's division, despite the departures of Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox on Nov. 1.
There will be a ton of credible competition available to fight for the gold, but Chelsea Green, Michin and Candice LeRae are the top three options to capture it first. Green is always hugely entertaining in anything she's involved in and can more than hold her own in the ring. She may not be a WWE Women's Championship-caliber competitor, but she would be a fantastic fit for the midcard title.
Michin finds herself in a similar position and could be the workhorse of the division as the U.S. champ.
Lastly, LeRae's recent rivalry with Bayley has earned her valuable television time, which could translate to a title win and a guaranteed spot on SmackDown. The star-spangled prize can be a massive positive for the women of the blue brand if they're given quality storylines to work with as well. Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010.
Visit his website, WrestleRant , and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content..
