The following editorial was written by Anthony Mango and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Anthony’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post and follow him on Twitter @ToeKneeManGo.
Mass hysteria, total chaos and a complete disregard for previous booking decisions has been the theme of the month in WWE and there was no better example of this than the way the Superstar Shake-up went down.
Everything from The Bar being on SmackDown despite competing for the Raw Tag Team Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble event to the topsy-turvy nature of the United States Championship and the way both midcard titles could potentially still swap due to GRR and Backlash make for several major headaches to try to keep track of.
However, in the midst of all that frenzy, the trades between the rosters has accomplished its goal in setting up the potential for some fantastic new feuds going forward and plenty of opportunities for people shine who may not have had the platform to do so in the past.
Of course, in theory, anything can happen in WWE and at any point, anybody could get a push if lightning strikes, and we know there are going to be regular standbys who hold down the fort just as they always did, but this time around, I can see a handful of wrestlers really being able to branch out and expand their horizons.
These are just a few of those names who stand out to me, for any particular reason:
If you look back on The Lone Wolf’s career in WWE, he’s had a number of pushes that seemed to be “the push” but fizzled out very quickly.
After stacking up plenty of wins in NXT, he moved to the main roster with an Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal win and promptly did nothing but linger in the midcard for months after that. Eventually, he would fight for the Intercontinental Championship, but come up short, possibly almost entirely due to WWE’s wishes to bring Dean Ambrose to Monday Night Raw at the time.
Then, he had his Money in the Bank win, which amounted to nothing but a loss to John Cena. He followed that up with a United States Championship reign that wasn’t memorable or lengthy at all, and now he’s in need of a fresh start.
It would seem foolish to believe that history won’t repeat itself, but I’m taking the bet that this time around, Corbin is going to receive a much more solid upgrade to his credibility, as I feel like he’s been positioned on Raw to fill the void that Samoa Joe left behind, as well as potentially Brock Lesnar, if he’s going to be leaving.
The key is whether The Beast Incarnate is sticking around. If he isn’t, Corbin is going to quickly jump up to one of the top heel spots on Raw and assuredly feud with the likes of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley and Finn Balor among others.
On the other hand, if Lesnar is going to remain in WWE until SummerSlam or later, that push for Corbin may not come quite as strong, nor as fast, but he’ll still be a prominent upper-midcard talent and a solid choice as far as predictions go for a potential new intercontinental champion down the line.
NEXT PAGE: 5 Superstars To Watch Out For Following The WWE Superstar Shake-Up (Cont.)
