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The results are in and the second Superstar Shake-up produced some ground-breaking for both the Raw and Smackdown Live brands. From NXT call-ups, to exciting changes for big names, WWE made an effort to provide us with some interesting transitions and debuts in 2018. However, which brand now has the capability for more fresh match-ups than the other? Let’s run down the list and see how they both did.
2017 Superstar Shakeup
Before we get into 2018, let’s first recap the 2017 iteration. The first year with the new “shake-up” format, WWE decided to just let stars show up on the opposite brand as a replacement for a formal draft. I was personally not a fan of this because of the great memories I have watching the draft specials, but it’s essentially the same thing without the middleman of a few general manager back and forth segments.
Some highlights from 2017 include Dean Ambrose, Miz, Alexa Bliss and Bray Wyatt all moving to Raw while SmackDown got Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, Charlotte and Sami Zayn. The whole shakeup in my opinion was not necessarily a fair one given the drastic difference in starpower between the two shows as I thought Raw got the better end of the deal. However, 2018’s shakeup had a bit more to work with.
Raw
Raw’s haul of new stars was met with lots of starpower, but was also the recipient of much of SmackDown’s D-List talent (Mojo Rawley, Mike Kanellis, Ascension, Zack Ryder, etc). The real highlights of Raw’s new roster though are the returning Drew McIntyre, Bobby Roode, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jinder Mahal. Not a bad list of competitors. There are many ways these new additions could be built to the top of an intriguing three-hour program on Monday nights.
The most notable of these acquisitions to me is the return of Drew McIntyre to the main roster. The thing is though, he did not return alone. Dolph Ziggler also made the jump to Raw, which in any other situation would be just another lackluster year for the show off, but this time it seems he’s going after tag team glory with the former Chosen One. This tag team has the ability to turn Dolph Ziggler’s career around as it has the ability to introduce McIntyre to newer fans. Look what forming a tag team did for Sheamus and Cesaro, now maybe that same idea can work to return Ziggler to relevancy.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had to go to Raw based on storyline progression as they lost to Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania, but the move to Raw could be a refreshing one. We now have two dastardly heels to run the game and get involved with the likes of Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley and other babyface names on Raw. The Yep movement definitely has a place on Monday nights especially since The Miz is no longer a part of Raw.
I believe that the move will also be beneficial for Jinder Mahal, who achieved such success on Smackdown and can now try out his formula in a new space. Say what you will, but 2017 legitimized Mahal as a mid-card competitor at the very least, and now we can see what he can do on Raw.
NEXT PAGE: Which Brand Won The Superstar Shake-Up: RAW or Smackdown Live? (Cont.)
