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WWE Roster Update Signals Unofficial Raw-SmackDown Trade Involving LA Knight, Sami Zayn

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio G Losada | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 9:02 AM ET

WWE quietly shifted one of its biggest stars to another brand following Monday's WWE Raw.

After this week's leading WWE event was over, the promotion moved LA Knight to the Monday Night Raw roster, despite making no formal announcement on television during that show or after it ended.

The change appeared this week on the wrestler's profile on the company’s official website. The WWE’s online roster update, however, should be enough to confirm the brand change and that Knight is no longer part of SmackDown, public announcement or not.

WWE now lists “The Megastar” as a Raw talent following Monday's WWE Raw at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA, and heading into Clash in Paris on August 31, where he will challenge for the brand’s top title in a four-way battle for the World Heavyweight Championship.

LA Knight’s Growing Presence on Raw

Knight’s move may not surprise fans, as he has been a fixture on Raw throughout the summer.

After defeating Seth Rollins at a Saturday Night’s Main Event in July, Knight began appearing on the red brand consistently, lobbying for a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity.

LA Knight's persistence seems to have paid off, as he is booked in the fatal four-way at Clash in Paris against Rollins, Jey Uso, and CM Punk at the end of the month.

The website listing now cements Knight’s place on Raw, ending months of back-and-forth appearances between brands, although it's interesting that WWE didn't take advantage of the opportunity to make the official announcement on Monday's event.

Unofficial 'Trade' Balances WWE's Brands

While many fans were left wondering what's next after the WWE moved Sami Zayn to Raw from SmackDown, Monday's move seems to complete the full circle.

By moving Zayn to SmackDown and Knight to Raw, the WWE completed some sort of unofficial one-for-one talent trade between the two brands in a span of just a few days without causing any major interruption or breaking any storyline.

That said, WWE has not publicly framed the back-to-back roster moves in this manner, although the trade effectively creates a seamless exchange of wrestlers between the two flagship shows without creating any vacancies.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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