WWE is expected to move talent from SmackDown to Raw within roughly the next month, with the arrivals of Tatum Paxley and Lola Vice tipping the blue brand’s roster further out of balance.
Joey Votes of WrestleVotes was asked in a recent Q&A whether the company would send wrestlers the other way to create room for incoming NXT call-ups. He said that is the plan, and put the timeline at the next month or so.
“They are gonna try to even out the rosters,” Votes said, citing at least two talents on the way up from NXT.
Paxley completed her call-up on the August 7 episode of SmackDown in Philadelphia, turning up during the Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill main event and aligning with Flair and the returning Alexa Bliss.
Vice is expected to land on the same brand. Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer reported last month that she had been called up and would likely go to SmackDown, and WWE filed a trademark for “Vice City” on August 4, the same day Kendal Grey beat her in an NXT Underground match.
Why Raw Is The Side That Needs Bodies
SmackDown is back to two hours after a run at three, which leaves less television time for a women’s division that was already the deeper of the two. Raw is now the longer show with the thinner roster.
Injuries have stretched the gap further. Rhea Ripley is out after knee surgery, and Chelsea Green’s status is uncertain following her injury on SmackDown, with WWE already treating her interim title reign carefully on television.
No names have been attached to the expected moves yet, and WrestleVotes did not indicate how many wrestlers could be involved.
