Aleister Black and WWE Superstars Who Would Benefit from Switching Brands

While the WWE brand split is still in place, there has been no shortage of roster moves in recent weeks and there could be more on the way.

AJ Styles moved from Raw to SmackDown as part of a trade for Superstars who would be named later, and he went on to win the tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship.

That trade was officially completed on Monday's Raw, when Dolph Ziggler announced he and Bobby Roode had switched from SmackDown to the red brand in exchange for The Phenomenal One.

And the move could prove to be a good one for Ziggler's career, as he is already set to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules.

Here are a few other Superstars who could receive a similar instant boost if they were traded to the other brand as well.

Aleister Black

Aleister Black is one of the most talented in-ring performers and unique characters WWE has to offer, and he seemingly has all the tools needed to become a world champion in the near future.

As good as he is, though, he is stuck in a middling position on Raw. With McIntyre serving as WWE champion and the top babyface on the red brand, The Dutch Destroyer has been relegated to being an auxiliary part of the rivalry between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio.

Black deserves the spotlight all to himself and it is more likely he could get that on SmackDown, especially given the state of the main event scene on the blue brand.

Universal champion Braun Strowman is embroiled in a rivalry with Bray Wyatt, and if Wyatt beats him for the title at Extreme Rules or SummerSlam, he will be in need a new opponent.

There is perhaps no better fit in all of WWE to do battle with Wyatt than Black. Much like Wyatt, the Dutchman has a dark and sinister character, but he leans more toward the babyface side with Wyatt playing a heel, so they would be perfect adversaries.

Assuming Wyatt goes with The Fiend character for a feud with Black, it would feature two of the most dominant forces in all of WWE doing battle for the Universal Championship.

Even if Black has to bide his time before getting into a rivalry with Wyatt, there are plenty of intriguing opponents available to him elsewhere on the SmackDown roster, including Daniel Bryan, Styles, Matt Riddle and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Black moving may be unlikely since his wife, Zelina Vega, is a Raw Superstar as well, but there is little doubt going to the blue brand would give him the best chance to ascend to a top spot.

Sheamus

Sheamus has been a key part of SmackDown in recent weeks due to his heated rivalry with Jeff Hardy, but there is some uncertainty regarding how he will be positioned once that feud ends.

The Celtic Warrior hasn't necessarily been a top guy over the past few years, as WWE has opted to use him as a tag team wrestler or midcard heel for the most part. He has a Hall of Fame resume, though, and the company could get even more out of him in the right scenario.

That scenario exists on Raw where McIntyre is WWE champion. The Scot needs big, nasty heels to clash with, and there are few who fit that description better than Sheamus.

The two men are close friends in real life as they came up together through the European wrestling scene before signing with WWE. As such, they have a long history of working together in the ring.

Even so, McIntyre and Sheamus haven't had a singles match since 2012, so a feud between them would feel fresh and different from the fans' perspective.

On top of the history they have with each other, they each boast a devastating kick as a finisher. McIntyre has been running through opponents with the Claymore Kick, while Sheamus has won many championships during his career with the Brogue Kick.

A feud between the two would be perfect on many levels, and there is no doubt Sheamus would benefit from moving to the red brand once his program with Hardy has run its course.

Shayna Baszler

Shayna Baszler made her WWE main roster debut to plenty of fanfare when she finished as the runner-up in the women's Royal Rumble and then attacked Raw women's champion Becky Lynch several weeks later.

That led to a title match between the two women at WrestleMania 36, in which Lynch prevailed. The Queen of Spades has been seen on television less and less since then, and she hasn't been on Raw at all in the past few weeks.

The red brand has been focusing on Asuka, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, The IIconics and others in the women's division instead, so it may be time for Baszler to go to greener pastures on SmackDown.

The blue brand is all about the WWE women's tag team champions in Bayley and Sasha Banks. Bayley is also the SmackDown women's champion and has run through just about every challenger the blue brand has to offer.

It seems SmackDown is ultimately building toward Bayley vs. Banks with the latter taking the title from the former, but the blue brand needs to build up a legitimate threat for The Legit Boss once the time comes for her to break away from her friend.

Moving Baszler to SmackDown and having her run through the likes of Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Tamina, Dana Brooke and others would be a quality secondary feud in the women's division.

It could even lead to a rivalry between Baszler and Sonya Deville, with the winner eventually going on to feud with The Boss.

It is abundantly clear there are more opportunities on SmackDown than Raw for stars to emerge in the women's division right now, and Baszler's ascent would be the perfect complement to what Bayley and Banks are doing currently.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).