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Henry's Universe Mode #63: The 2016 Universe Mode Talent Exchange

Here it is folks, the first ever Universe Mode Talent Exchange. In this post, I detail all the moves made by each GM. There are some shockers, and one brand made a lot of trades, so let's get going.





Raw

Trades:

Stone Cold Steve Austin to Smackdown for Dean Ambrose
Kane to Smackdown for Batista
Sting to NXT for Finn Balor
Ricky Steamboat to Smackdown for Kurt Angle
The Usos to NXT for Enzo and Big Cass
Lita to Smackdown for Nikki Bella
Sheamus to Smackdown for Alberto Del Rio
Bobby Roode to NXT for Hideo Itami
Ryback to Smackdown for Rusev
Naomi to Smackdown for Ivelisse

Thoughts:

Paul Heyman opened with a shocker, sending former world champion Steve Austin to Smackdown. Even more intriguingly, he acquired former US champion Dean Ambrose, uniting three member of a former faction on the same brand(wink). He got the biggest threat to his client Brock Lesnar's title, Kane off the brand in favor of Batista. He broke up the Balor Club on NXT to acquire former NXT Champion Finn Balor, and also got former NXT champions in Enzo and Cass. He got some good talent from Smackdown in Kurt Angle, Nikki Bella, Alberto Del Rio and Ivelisse. Two very interesting moves saw him pick up Hideo Itami and Rusev, the latter of which will not accompanied to Raw by Lana. Overall, a pretty good day for Raw. 10 Total Trades



NXT

Trades:

AJ Styles to Smackdown for Daniel Bryan
Finn Balor to Raw for Sting
Paige to Smackdown for AJ Lee
Ricochet to Smackdown for Rey Mysterio
Enzo and Big Cass to Raw for The Usos
Hideo Itami to Raw for Bobby Roode
Tyler Breeze to Smackdown for Austin Aries
The Ascension to Smackdown for the Prime Time Players
Fandango to Smackdown for Bad News Barrett
American Alpha and Apollo Crews to Smackdown for the New Day

Thoughts:

Experience seemed to be the main theme for William Regal, and he opened big, sending the suspended AJ Styles to Smackdown for Daniel Bryan, and Finn Balor to Raw for Sting. Paige was a former champion, but she caused a lot of problems with her ego, so she was sent to Smackdown. Regal added Rey Mysterio and The Usos, sending away Ricochet, Enzo and Big Cass. He also added Bobby Roode and Austin Aries for Hideo Itami and Tyler Breeze. Former tag team champions in the Prime Time Players arrived, as well as Bad News Barrett. Their final trade was very intriguing, as American Alpha and Apollo Crews agreed to form a temporary group, heading to Smackdown in exchange for former tag team champion the New Day. It certainly is a new day and a new era coming to NXT. 10 Total Trades




Smackdown

Trades:

Dean Ambrose to Raw for Stone Cold Steve Austin
Daniel Bryan to NXT for AJ Styles
Batista to Raw for Kane
Kurt Angle to Raw for Ricky Steamboat
AJ Lee to NXT for Paige
Rey Mysterio to NXT for Ricochet
Nikki Bella to Raw for Lita
Alberto Del Rio to Raw for Sheamus
Austin Aries to NXT for Tyler Breeze
Rusev to Raw for Ryback
Prime Time Players to NXT for The Ascension
Bad News Barrett to NXT for Fandango
New Day to NXT for American Alpha and Apollo Crews
Ivelisse to Raw for Naomi
Booker T to Raw for Zack Ryder

Thoughts:

Trading away Dean Ambrose was a big opening move, but Teddy Long definitely got value back with a former world champion in Austin. Long made a shrewd move, understanding that AJ Styles was only suspended by Regal, and not by the Board of Directors. Daniel Bryan is a fine competitor, but obviously Teddy didn't want him on Smackdown. He added starpower and experience with Kane and Ricky Steamboat, and youth with Paige and Ricochet. Long added more experience with Lita and Sheamus, and some very solid talent from NXT in Tyler Breeze, The Ascension, Fandango, American Alph and Apollo Crews. Adding Ryback, Naomi and Zack Ryder were good ideas, and getting rid of an uhappy Booker T was a nice touch. Smackdown was easily the busiest brand during the Talent Exchange, involved in 15 of the 18 trades made, and the roster remains stacked. 15 Total Trades


I hope you've enjoyed this recap of this inaugural edition of the Universe Mode Talent Exchange. We'll be back to normal Universe Mode content next week, so I'll see you then.





Want to follow the series, but missed a few posts? No problem! Check out my brand new Universe Mode Wiki, constantly updated to keep you up to speed with the latest Universe Mode happenings.
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