5 WWE Raw and SmackDown Predictions For Rest of 2026

To suggest this year has been an uneven one for WWE would be an understatement.

As the company prepares for the final third of the year, it has set itself up to put an exclamation point on 2026 and give fans reasons to be excited about the future.

From revamped divisions to the elevation of a long-deserving Superstar, here are five predictions for the company's top two shows, Raw and SmackDown, for the rest of the year.

Reshuffling the Decks

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Giulia

Now that SmackDown has reverted to two hours, there simply is not enough time for the talent on that show to receive a proper spotlight.

Superstars such as Giulia, Ilja Dragunov, Ricky Saints, and Rey Fenix are struggling to find consistent television time, thus devaluing them and adversely affecting whatever connection they had already forged with the audience.

Raw has recently suffered somewhat from stale matchups, with several of the same names meeting in singles and tag team matches every week.

Expect that to change in the coming weeks and months, though.

While the company has proved to be less inclined to produce a full draft after the last two have been so critically panned, do not be surprised to see talent jumping ship, with a handful of stars heading to Monday nights to help freshen things up and vice versa.

It will benefit not only the red brand but also the stars who have struggled for relevance on Friday nights, where there is rarely enough time for everyone to receive meaningful exposure.

Bloodline Domination

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The Bloodline

WWE did not put the World Heavyweight Championship back on Roman Reigns and revive The Bloodline story only to keep it from dominating the airwaves through the rest of the year and beyond.

The Tribal Chief appears to be assembling his own version of the Avengers: reuniting The Usos, bringing Jacob Fatu back into the fold and teasing a link with Solo Sikoa. Zilla Fatu's recent arrival in NXT also opens up the possibility that he could eventually join his cousins on the main roster.

After watching WWE limp through 2025 without them, Reigns and Co. are back in a position of power. They figure to be heavily factored into the most prominent creative plans for the foreseeable future.

A Rejuvenated Women's Division

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Becky Lynch and Stephanie Vaquer

To say the women's division in WWE was in dire straits—worse than it had been in years—this past spring and early summer would be an understatement.

Liv Morgan went 100 days without defending the Women's World Championship as the creative team struggled to come up with a contingency plan in the wake of Stephanie Vaquer's injuries.

Rhea Ripley also suffered an injury, leaving SmackDown without a champion.

Add to that a lack of clear commitment to Paige and Brie Bella as women's tag team champions, and you had a rough few months for what had been the most consistent element of WWE programming to that point.

Now, with Vaquer and Becky Lynch both back and vying for Morgan's title and Chelsea Green developing into the biggest babyface of all, there is reason to be optimistic.

Throw in an intriguing storyline involving Green and Tiffany Stratton, which intensified Friday after the former failed to help preserve the latter's Women's United States Championship reign, as well as the sudden dominance of Fatal Influence, and you have a division across both shows looking healthier entering the back third of 2026.

LA Knight Gets His Shot

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LA Knight, left, and Roman Reigns

It was three years ago that LA Knight saw his stock rise amid his connection with the audience. He teamed with John Cena and challenged Roman Reigns for what was then the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Since that loss to The Tribal Chief, he has been treading water—winning the United States Championship, wrestling more matches than any other Superstar on the men's roster and remaining immensely popular with fans—while consistently operating outside the main event scene.

We have already seen hints of that changing, with Knight eyeing Roman Reigns' World Heavyweight Championship.

Unlike the last time he sniffed the top prize in the company, this stint in the main event scene may not be fleeting.

Look for The Megastar to finally become a top-tier babyface on Raw and a huge thorn in the side for The Bloodline as the group looks to retain control of the flagship show.

That does not necessarily mean he wins the title from Reigns, but Knight will be at the top of the card for the remainder of 2026.

Cody Rhodes Embraces The Dark Side

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No, that does not necessarily mean Cody Rhodes turns heel—at least not completely.

Throughout 2026, though, we have witnessed The American Nightmare show hints of a darker, more aggressive side. It happened at WrestleMania 42, when he pulled out some underhanded tactics in his battle with Randy Orton, and it has continued with a nastier approach to his rivalries.

This is a Superstar who has felt pressure to be the hero everyone loves and respects but also to regain an Undisputed WWE Championship that has repeatedly slipped through his grasp.

Rhodes looked like a man possessed to close out the most recent episode of SmackDown, with officials holding him back from dealing Orton a blow that may have shortened The Viper's career.

Look for the tension and pressure to continue to affect the second-generation star and to give us the edgiest version of the top good guy in pro wrestling that we have seen to this point.