With the new season of WWE starting just last week, Vince McMahon announced a Superstar Shake-up that would see the rosters of both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live get freshened up. Several Superstars and two announcers were part of the Shake-up, with Raw seeming to get the upper hand early on. With SmackDown Live showcasing their new Superstars last night, how did the changes affect each show?
Results:
Monday Night Raw: Dean Ambrose (Intercontinental Champion), The Miz, Maryse, Kalisto, Bray Wyatt, Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, Apollo Crews, Curt Hawkins, Heath Slater, & Rhyno
SmackDown Live: Kevin Owens (United States Champion), Charlotte Flair, Rusev, Lana, Sami Zayn, The Shining Stars, Sin Cara, Jinder Mahal, Tamina, The New Day
The Undercard
While the Superstar Shake-up created excitement and speculation over what big names are going to get switched, there were a bunch of Superstars with a lesser amount of star power that got traded as well. On Raw’s side, they received Apollo Crews, Curt Hawkins, and Kalisto. SmackDown Live’s undercard acquisitions include Sin Cara, Jinder Mahal, and arguably the Shining Stars.
First, let’s look at Raw. They have only used one of these three Superstars so far: Curt Hawkins. Hawkins arrived on Monday Night Raw this week only to get immediately knocked out by The Big Show. So far, not a great start for him. Apollo Crews has been doing a bunch of nothing on SmackDown ever since he lost the Intercontinental Championship match against the Miz at SummerSlam. Kalisto, who allied with Apollo Crews in their feud with Dolph Ziggler, should benefit greatly from this move. He lost a feud to Baron Corbin, but now the former United States Champion can make waves on 205 Live. There is also a chance Raw now has “The Drifter,” Elias Samson, but that is still unclear.
As usual, SmackDown Live knows how to use every one of their stars. Jinder Mahal had his debut match for the blue brand against Mojo Rawley, and they played back to the Rob Gronkowski incident at WrestleMania. He confronted Gronk again (they were in Boston), and ended up getting shellacked by the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner. The Shining Stars made their presence known by attacking American Alpha after the former SmackDown Tag Team Champions lost a title match to the Usos, showing a much-needed change of attitude for Primo and Epico. Sin Cara has not been used yet, but he hasn’t been on television for months so nothing has changed.
The Women’s Divisions
This was a pretty even split in new women for each show. SmackDown Live has been using every single woman on their roster fairly well, which upped all of their stock values significantly. Raw was predominantly a two-woman turned four-woman show that was in need of an overhaul. Raw got the stars they needed in two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and six-time WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James. SmackDown received the “biggest acquisition of the draft” (according to Shane McMahon) in the four-time Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte, as well as the returning Tamina.
Alexa Bliss is the perfect Superstar for Raw. She can cut a promo better than most of the division and she provides a new opponent for Sasha Banks and Bayley. Mickie James seemed to jump to Raw as a face, which has been unclear over the past few weeks. James is the most decorated woman on the entire roster, and her accolades will help elevate the division.
Charlotte has done almost anything and everything she can on Monday nights. She was in the title picture for about two years, and in that time, she made history on the regular. SmackDown was lacking in-ring ability (compared to Raw) aside from Becky Lynch, and Charlotte can help women like Naomi put on top notch matches. Tamina is a welcomed addition to the roster, and the second-generation Superstar will help add a new brawling style to the mix. With the new environment of SmackDown Live at her disposal, she could reach her full potential that wasn’t possible back in the days of Team B.A.D. Of course, there is also Lana, who outside of WrestleMania 32, has never been in a televised match.
The Upper-card
The big names that switched shows weren’t astronomically shocking, but they were big enough names to help push each show in the right direction. The U.S. and Intercontinental titles switched shows and Superstars that were consistently putting on great performances got a new platform to do so. Raw rounded out their side with Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, and The Miz (with Maryse), while SmackDown gained Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Rusev and the New Day.
The Miz went from good to great last year, so there’s no surprise that he is wanted on Raw. Dean Ambrose always adds excitement, and that is much-needed for a show that runs three hours long. Bray Wyatt is an interesting choice, but he adds to the choices of Superstars that excel in promo and character work. On top of that, he could be taking the WWE Championship away from SmackDown if he beats Randy Orton at Payback.
SmackDown’s upper-card was already in good hands with AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Shinsuke Nakamura, but the additions take that even further. Kevin Owens is one of the best Superstars in WWE today, and he can help elevate other Superstars through his United States Championship run. Sami Zayn puts in the most work out of anybody, which fits perfectly in the “land of opportunity.” Rusev has always been underrated, and perhaps the brand switch can bring him back to his glory days. Tuesdays nights finish with the New Day, who are one of the greatest tag teams of all-time and can help the division that is slowly regaining prominence.
Verdict:
Overall, every switch was fairly positive. For every possible loss a show had, something evened it out. Sure, there are moves like Sin Cara and Apollo Crews that have no effect yet, but the Superstar Shake-up succeeded at its main purpose: freshen up each brand and keep things exciting.
