7 WWE Brand Switches After WrestleMania 42

Published: Apr 10, 2026 by SP3 | Last Updated: Apr 10, 2026 by SP3

Born in Harlem, New York and now living in the Bronx, Sid Pullar III aka SP3 is a lifelong wrestling fan who has been covering the industry for over nine years as a podcaster and writer. His passion for the industry has been documented with over 3,000 videos on YouTube and 8,000 written pieces across multiple outlets, such as WrestleTalk, Sports Illustrated and more.

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WWE

WrestleMania 42 is a little over a week away and the two-night event is set to drastically alter the landscape of WWE.

Following WrestleMania, there should be some stars who are not only making their main roster debut, but also switching to another brand.

Stars shifting from Raw, SmackDown and NXT will shake things up and create new, tantalizing matchups for fans to enjoy moving forward.

Here are seven potential WWE brand switches after WrestleMania 42.

7. Rhea Ripley

At WWE Elimination Chamber 2026, Rhea Ripley defeated Tiffany Stratton, Raquel Rodriguez, Kiana James, Asuka and Alexa Bliss to win the Women’s Elimination Chamber and get a shot at the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42.

“Mami” will now look to be back on top of WWE by defeating Jade Cargill for the top prize for the Friday Night SmackDown women’s division.

Despite challenging for the WWE Women’s Championship, Ripley is still an official member of the Monday Night Raw roster.

With a win at “The Show of Shows,” Rhea would make her move to SmackDown official as the new WWE Women’s Champion.

6. Sol Ruca

Over the past few months, Sol Ruca has been making her presence felt on the WWE main roster.

Whether it be at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, or her strong performance in the 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble, Ruca has proven herself more than ready for the main roster spotlight.

Considering everything she has accomplished during her time on the WWE NXT brand over the past four years, it feels like the right time for Sol to get called up to the main roster.

Ruca getting a move to Raw or SmackDown after WrestleMania 42 will catapult her towards potential championship success in 2026.

5. Tiffany Stratton

At WWE Royal Rumble 2026, Tiffany Stratton made her return to the company for the first time since November as an entrant in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match.

Since then, Stratton has returned to the Friday Night SmackDown brand and set her sights on Giulia’s WWE Women’s United States Championship.

However, after spending two years on the brand, Stratton has exhausted many of the potential matches she can have with the stars on Friday nights.

This should see the former WWE Women’s Champion make the move to Monday Night Raw sometime after WrestleMania 42.

4. Jacy Jayne

Over the course of the past year, Jacy Jayne has become the most dominant female star on the NXT brand.

Jayne is a former two-time NXT Women’s Champion and once held the TNA Knockouts World Championship as well.

At WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2026, Lola Vice defeated Jayne and Kendal Grey to win the NXT Women’s Championship. This has led to a rematch between Jayne and Vice being announced for the upcoming NXT Revenge two-week event.

After this bout, there should be nothing standing in the way of Jayne getting called up to the main roster and becoming a presence on either Raw or SmackDown.

3. Ethan Page

Another WWE NXT star who seems more than ready to make the move to the main roster is Ethan Page.

“All Ego” has established himself as one of the top stars on the NXT brand since signing with WWE in 2024.

With reigns as NXT Champion and NXT North American Champion under his belt in the last two years, Page has proven himself worthy of a main roster callup.

Being an established main roster act, Page has cemented himself as someone who could mix it up with the main event level talent on either Monday Night Raw or Friday Night SmackDown in no time.

2. Finn Balor

On the March 9 episode of WWE Raw, The Judgment Day turned on Finn Balor in a four-on-one beatdown, excommunicating him from the faction.

Now, Balor is set to face Dominik Mysterio in a singles match at WrestleMania 42 to finally settle the score.

Following Mania, there feels like not a lot left for Balor to accomplish on Monday Night Raw and may need a fresh change of scenery.

Balor moving to Friday Night SmackDown could see him position himself in the Undisputed WWE Championship picture and challenge the winner of Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton at Mania.

1. GUNTHER

GUNTHER has more than solidified his spot as one of WWE’s biggest stars on the roster today.

“The Ring General” is now set to face Seth Rollins in a high profile singles encounter at WWE WrestleMania 42.

After establishing himself as “The Career Killer” over the past year, it might be time for GUNTHER to face off with a fresh new crop of main event level talent on Friday nights.

GUNTHER moving to SmackDown would open the door for his revenge on Cody Rhodes or potentially proving his dominance over Randy Orton to claim the Undisputed WWE Championship for the very first time.