Luke Harper and 5 Superstars Who Must Go Solo After WWE Raw-SmackDown Draft

WWE splitting its rosters in half when Raw and SmackDown each draft a collection of Superstars in July should free Luke Harper from a faction that is holding him back.

As one-fourth of the imposing Wyatt Family, Harper is not allowed to reach his full potential. He's a marquee star relegated to being in an ensemble cast. The Raw-SmackDown draft needs to be the catalyst for changing that.

With the upcoming return to the brand split, WWE has a shot to invigorate a number of careers. End teams that are not working. Be done with alliances that aren't mutually beneficial.

That kind of shakeup will allow wrestlers like Harper to start fresh after the WWE draft, to see how high they can climb with no leash around their necks.

Charlotte

Too much of Charlotte's character has been defined by other people.

Early on, she was one-third of Team PCB, sharing the spotlight with Becky Lynch and Paige. She was the Brit's sidekick until that alliance imploded. WWE then paired Charlotte with her father. Ric Flair's presence dominated from then on.

Charlotte was booked as an extension of The Nature Boy, not her own entity. 

The women's champ has since dumped Flair but immediately found another second to take his place. After the champ split from her father, Questionable Critics writer Kevin Berge tweeted, "At least Charlotte is finally done with Ric. Too bad he was just replaced by Dana Brooke."

Brooke doesn't carry the shadow that Flair did, but she distracts regardless. Now Charlotte's gimmick has evolved from heel who depends on Flair's interference to heel who depends on Brooke's aid.

The brand split is an ideal excuse to split up this duo and have Charlotte blossom on her own. Let her find her own underhanded ways to escape defeat. Let her persona be built around something other than her allegiances. 

WWE should send Brooke and Charlotte to different shows.

Brooke is a better fit in Emma's corner anyway. And Charlotte already got the boost she needed from Flair; the Brooke relationship is unnecessary. 

Curtis Axel

Raw and SmackDown splitting once again is a chance to rebuild Curtis Axel.

He's been floating around with several doomed gimmicks from the mock Mega Powers to The Social Outcasts. He isn't charismatic enough to be a top-level star, but he can be a valuable addition to either Raw or SmackDown's midcard.

Axel is simply too good for the bungling Social Outcasts. That faction is a congregation of bottom-feeders asked to lose just about every time out. 

And after Adam Rose's release, WWE has showcased the group far less. They have wrestled on Raw just twice in the last two months, per CageMatch.net.

Why not then end the experiment? Why not have Axel return to midcard title contention? He's a strong worker who will add depth to that scene.

Sticking with The Social Outcasts keeps Axel's ceiling far lower than it should be.

Kalisto

Kalisto has long outgrown the off-and-on tag team pairing with Sin Cara. The King of Flight's run as United States champ made it clear that he was the bigger star of the Lucha Dragons.

Matches against Rusev, Ryback and Alberto Del Rio showed him to be an exciting solo act.

WWE has seemed unsure of where to put him, though. He is still wrestling alongside Sin Cara, but not all the time. That has him left in limbo at the moment.

The brand split should lead to a full-fledged solo career for Kalisto.

Rather then have him stuck with midcard tag team duty, the high-flyer should instead be challenging for championships, continuing the momentum he generated earlier this year. Kalisto's electric in-ring style can have him be one of the faces of the much ballyhooed new era.

Luke Harper

Luke Harper doesn't need The Wyatt Family; Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman do.

Rowan and Strowman are perfect fits as Bray Wyatt's goons. They stand menacingly behind him, grunt a few threats and throw big, clubbing fists when called upon. And they are good at it.

Harper is too talented to be limited to that type of role.

On his Solo Monster podcast last year, Jason Solomon said that Harper may be the most underrated guy in WWE. That remains true today.

A compelling bruiser with surprising athleticism, Harper is miles better than Rowan and Strowman in the ring. Yet he's often forgotten about, lost in the shadow of the Wyatt clan and forced to play second in command to Wyatt.

The brand split is WWE's opportunity to free Harper, to give him a more sustained solo run than he had at the end of 2013.

While Harper has recovered from a knee injury, The Wyatt Family have looked just fine. Having him venture on his own wouldn't ruin the group. Instead, it would free one of the more promising talents on the roster.

Viktor

The Ascension simply needs to be blown up. The former NXT tag champs just haven't made an impression since arriving to the main roster.

Viktor and Konnor receive barely audible reactions. They don't have a memorable match on their resume. Trying something else with them when the WWE draft arrives would feel like a mercy killing of sorts. 

We are already getting a glimpse of what that would look like. During Konnor's current suspension, Viktor has tweaked his gimmick. As seen on F4WOnline.com, Viktor is sporting a new look and is being referred to as "demonic."

Having Viktor attempt to get that act over on his own while repackaging Konnor makes plenty of sense. Rather than have this team keeping its head against the wall, rerouting them is the best move.

That's just the kind of low-key move WWE needs to make with the draft.