Hot on the heels of Survivor Series 2024, WWE successfully started planting the seeds for what's already shaping up to be another newsworthy Road to WrestleMania with excellent episodes of Raw and SmackDown.

CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins is among the matches expected for the event. Despite Punk telling Rollins on the Dec. 2 edition of Raw that he no longer has an interest in facing him, Punk's promo heavily hinted at how that marquee match could come to fruition.

That's assuming both former world champs end up on the same show heading into 2025 with it being announced last Friday night that the "trade window" has officially opened, allowing Superstars to swap brands between Raw, SmackDown and NXT.

A number of notable names could benefit greatly from a change of scenery, even if the draft isn't until after WrestleMania. Fresh faces and feuds are desperately needed as part of the upcoming roster shakeup, coinciding perfectly with Raw's imminent move to Netflix.

This installment of Quick Takes will discuss which talent should be traded, All Elite Wrestling having to tread carefully with The Hurt Syndicate, a hard reset for The New Day, and more.

Booking CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins to WrestleMania 41

WWE's inability to book CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins for WrestleMania 40 due to the former's untimely injury worked to the company's advantage in the end. Holding off another year has made the match an even bigger attraction.

A 'Mania match between them this past year would have had a simple story with the World Heavyweight Championship up for grabs, but if gold isn't at stake this time around, the animosity they have for each other will be that much greater.

Punk refusing to fight Rollins on last Monday's Raw and instead shifting his focus toward the world heavyweight title will give The Visionary all the more reason to cost The Second City Saint the prestigious prize, ideally at the Royal Rumble.

Rollins leaning heel would be the best route to take as he'd be willing to do anything necessary to settle his score with his rival once and for all.

Another option would be for The Visionary to eliminate Punk from the men's Royal Rumble match and dash his dreams of winning a world title at WrestleMania that way, but the endgame remains the same regardless.

Nothing needs to be on the line for this match to feel special. That's a WrestleMania-worthy encounter on its own, so before The Best in the World transitions into a program with Roman Reigns or anyone else, he and Rollins must resolve their rivalry first.

The New Day Need a Hard Reset as Heels

WWE pulled off a true shocker on the post-Survivor Series Raw by turning Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods against Big E, effectively ending The New Day as we knew it for the past decade.

Barring a total split for the stable, it was perhaps the perfect payoff to Kingston and Woods teasing tension for months on end. If Big E can ever be cleared to compete and return to the ring, he'll have a huge feud waiting for him as well as the adulation of the audience.

Until then, The New Day must be booked completely different than they've ever been booked before. A complete overhaul is needed for them to be taken seriously for the first time ever, even if that means ditching the name entirely.

Kingston and Woods can be a top priority on Raw if they're portrayed as top talent on the show. Chasing and eventually winning the tag team titles again would be old hat for them, whereas engaging in storylines as singles stars with popular babyfaces such as Sami Zayn and Jey Uso would be far more compelling.

It's imperative WWE follow up on the incredible angle with The New Day accordingly by having them flip the script and go all-out as heels.

AEW Must Tread Carefully with Hurt Syndicate as Heels

The Hurt Syndicate have quickly become one of the strongest all-around acts on AEW programming, surpassing The Death Riders and The Elite with ease as the top heel faction despite not being booked as such just yet.

Bobby Lashley, MVP and Shelton Benjamin immediately picked up where they left off a few years back and have left nothing but destruction in their wake.

MVP is a natural in the managerial role, Lashley is back to being a destroyer, and Benjamin is ripping it up every time he steps inside the squared circle.

In coming across as "cool heels," The Hurt Syndicate are at risk of organically turning into fan favorites.

The group is almost impossible to root against with how they tend to excel in every category. Lashley suffered similar issues just last year in WWE when he attempted to turn heel with The Street Profits but was forced to embrace the audience again due to overwhelming fan support.

AEW has enough upper-echelon heel factions at the moment that it would hardly be frowned upon for The Hurt Syndicate to go babyface before long. At the rate they're wrecking shop, it's inevitable.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn Is Perfect Filler Feud Ahead of 'Mania

Drew McIntyre's absence from WWE TV following his Hell in a Cell loss to CM Punk at Bad Blood left fans wondering when he'd back and how he'd be reintroduced. The Dec. 2 Raw provided the answer to that question and saw him reemerge with a bang.

With his hot program with Punk done, the Scot needed something significant for when he was ready to return. A storyline with Sami Zayn is exactly that.

McIntyre is bound to explain his actions soon, but it's logical why he'd target Zayn before anyone else.

The two have unfinished business from a year ago when McIntyre put Zayn on the shelf until the Royal Rumble, and The Underdog from the Underground was never able to exact revenge before they went in different directions for WrestleMania 40.

Renewing that rivalry is an effective use of both men right now, especially if the idea is to keep them busy through WrestleMania season. It's possible it will be blown off at The Show of Shows, but it's likely to be short-lived so they can move on to other opponents.

In case one of them winds up switching shows as part of the upcoming talent exchange, it's wise for the two men to finally finish their feud before then.

Best Candidates to Switch WWE Brands During Trade Window

WWE opening up the trade window at the onset of the new year will reinvigorate the rosters at a time when Raw and SmackDown could use a slight shake-up.

Chad Gable proved with his performance on Friday's SmackDown that he could thrive on the blue brand if he and the rest of American Made were to be traded. They've been treading water on Raw for most of 2024 and could use the change of scenery.

Drew McIntyre, meanwhile, has done all he can do on Raw beyond resolving his rivalry with Sami Zayn. Once that runs its course, the Scot should find himself on SmackDown where he can challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

All of the current champions can stay put, but if anyone needs a new batch of titles to challenge for, it's LA Knight and Bayley. Moving to Monday nights would give them plenty of fresh feuds and opponents to work with.

On the NXT front, Trick Williams, Roxanne Perez and Ethan Page are all main roster-ready and should be bound for Raw or SmackDown by early January. Williams and Perez will first need to lose their titles, which should happen by New Year's Evil so they can officially debut at the Royal Rumble.

Not going through with a formal draft will also ensure no valuable television time is wasted with one of most important stretches ever on the horizon.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.