2019 Superstar Shake-Up

[Evil Vito]

Well, the shake-up is next week. It's a bit daft seeing as they pretty much threw the brand split out the window this week, but if the last couple of years are anything to go by they'll probably keep the brands mostly separated again until Survivor Series, aside from the Women's Tag Champs and, for the moment, Becky Lynch.

And if the rumors are anything to go by, FOX wants to keep the brand split in place because they don't want to essentially be cross-promoting with USA by sharing the same roster. So like it or lump it, the split seems to be here to stay.

So with all that said - who do you think will be changing shows?

Daniel Bryan w/ Rowan
for
Drew McIntyre

I'm pretty confident on this one. It seems they already telegraphed Drew moving with him randomly turning up on SmackDown to align with The Bar against New Day. Not sure what the point of that would be if not to set something up. Moreover after Drew steamrolled the Shield for a month only to job to Roman at Mania I could see them trying to get them off of the same show.

Bryan on the other hand was nowhere to be seen on TV this week and given there was no sort of continuation between him and Kofi I think he's ticketed to the red brand to be Rollins' first challenger for the Universal Title, which could be a lot of fun.

Samoa Joe
for
Finn Balor

Another thing they telegraphed this week was Braun coming after Joe. That could be a sign that Braun is being moved over but I actually think it'll be the other way around with Joe going back to Raw. They've never been shy about switching around the IC and US belts.

The counter to this would be Balor to SmackDown which I'm in total support of. My natural inclination is to want to see him work with AJ again. But you could also potentially set up him against whichever guys remain on SmackDown amongst Rey, Andrade, Ali, etc.

The Usos
for
The Revival

This seems like another natural trade as both teams just dropped their respective tag titles. The Usos have been on SmackDown since the beginning of this most recent brand split and I think they've done all they can do there. As great as the matches were I have no interest in seeing them against The New Day or The Bar again. I could see them winning the Raw belts as soon as this Monday.

The Revival just lost to Hawkins and Ryder on consecutive nights and while both losses were perceived as flukes I think it was a prelude to have them switch shows. Revival/Hardyz and Revival/New Day could be fun.

Asuka
for
Sasha Banks

For some reason my gut tells me Asuka will be headed back to Raw. It's really hard to believe there were weeks at a time where she wasn't seen on SmackDown and I think it's clear that Vince doesn't really "get" her. But nevertheless I think she'd be the "big" move for the Raw women's division.

Sasha to SmackDown would be the token tag-team split up that seems to happen in the draft every year. For whatever it's worth she's been pretty outspoken online about feeling like she hasn't been given enough to do, so maybe WWE view sending her to the "B-show" as a punishment even though they're about to get a boatload of money from FOX?

Naomi
for
Ember Moon

If The Usos are going to Raw, then Naomi is obviously going over too. With Bayley/Sasha being broken up I could see Naomi teaming with Bayley or rekindling her team with Asuka, or something.

Ember just returned in the women's battle royal. She might be able to get into the title picture on SmackDown. But let's be honest, you know WWE's mindset here is just "let's trade the black girls for each other".

Lars Sullivan, Heavy Machinery, Nikki Cross, EC3 assigned to Raw

Ricochet, Aleister Black, Lacey Evans assigned to SmackDown

Raw gets more of the "free agents" but it's definitely a quality over quantity thing. I see Lars squashing enhancement guys for a few months before feuding with Strowman. Ditto for Heavy Machinery until AOP are back for a good 'ol fashioned hoss fight. Hopefully they can find something for Nikki to do. EC3 is already dead in the water and the only possible way I can see him being salvaged is if Bryan slaps him backstage.

I initially had some of these switched with RicoBlack going to Raw instead since they're clearly the biggest names of this crop of recent call-ups but the more I think of it the more I could see Ricochet being the type of guy FOX really wants on SmackDown to show off some of his flashy stuff in ads. A roster that includes Ricochet, Black, Styles, and Balor + more sounds A-OK to me. I feel like Lacey and Charlotte will end up being aligned eventually.

Miscellaneous

Nothing else really jumps out. I suppose if they break up a men's tag team it'll be Rusev and Nakamura who are really singles guys who got thrown together for no reason other than creative had nothing for them. Maybe Nakamura to Raw to feud with Reigns or something?

I could maybe see Orton going to Raw to give Rollins another potential opponent but Randy's one of the few guys on the roster who probably has enough sway to stay on SmackDown if he prefers their travel schedule. As it is he doesn't work a lot of live events anymore so it's really just a case of if he'd rather work Monday or Tuesday.

Oh yeah and they'll definitely move some of the undercard geeks just in the name of SHAKE UP! Sanity going to Raw wouldn't be a surprise so Nikki Cross can be with Killian Dain. Plus they just had whatever shred of credibility they had left killed dead by Miz in a 3 on 1 handicap match. The fucking B-Team is probably a fair roster trade for them at this point.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Balor/Andrade IC feud good god yes

[Mr. Nerfect]

Doesn’t matter, they all appear everywhere anyway.

[Evil Vito]

Well it'll be interesting to see how tight FOX are about that. If FOX can actually get the Survivor Series "brand pride" bullshit squashed because they don't want Raw advertised on their show that would be excellent.

[Evil Vito]

Balor/Andrade IC feud good god yes

That would be fucking incredible, provided they don't act like a bunch of stupid heads and send Andrade to Raw to feud with Lucha House Party.

[Droford]

They're gonna break up Kofi from Big E/Woods

[Evil Vito]

I'm not so sure. New Day still sell a ton of merch.

[Sepholio]

Feel like Bray is going to end up with Sanity. That new promo makes me think they may literally take his gimmick to the extreme and have him try to play a literal insane person. Putting him with Sanity gives him a stable, which he is FAR better with than solo, and it lets him be the architect behind building Sanitys credibility back up. Although I would also love to see him show up with Luke Harper at his side. RAW seems a likely home, either way.

I think Roman or Seth one is going to Smackdown. You know they are going to push Roman to the title picture, and I don't think they want to do Seth v Roman any time soon. So if he's going to be back in the main event sooner rather than later, I think SD is the better fit. Then again, they could do the double champion swap here and trade Seth for Kofi. With the deal with Fox coming up I could see them wanting the big title on SD. Dean is going to attack one of them at some point too and I'd wager it's gonna be Roman, so he probably comes back to RAW whenever they decide to play out this obvious storyline of him leaving.

Becky is going to end up being mainly on RAW because Charlotte is going to get the SD title back in the near future when Lacey interferes and causes Becky to lose. Lacey to RAW obviously to feud with Becky.

I see a surprise team split coming in the form of Black and Ricochet. Black is going to get a solo run and Ricochet will end up tagging with someone else, maybe Mustafa Ali on SD! So I'll say Black to RAW, Ricochet to SD!

Kevin Owens is going to RAW and he will be one of the first people to feud with Seth.

No idea where Zayn ends up, but logic dictates that he follows Owens to RAW if nothing else is in play.

[GD]

Doesn’t matter, they all appear everywhere anyway.

Only your hypothetical self-masturbatory posts matter, Noid.

[Droford]

I'm not so sure. New Day still sell a ton of merch.

now they can sell new day stuff with big e/woods and kofi stuff

2x the merch

[Mr. Nerfect]

Only your hypothetical self-masturbatory posts matter, Noid.

I wasn’t taking a shot at Vito, but WWE. There is an endless stream of evidence to suggest they don’t have any real plans.

[GD]

I wasn’t taking a shot at Vito, but WWE. There is an endless stream of evidence to suggest they don’t have any real plans.

I was a bit disappointed with all the meaningless inter-promotional matches that we've gotten recently. I sincerely hope they maintain two distinct rosters once we are done with the "International Superstar Shake-Up". Either that or stop pretending and unify the championships. I am in favor of the brand extension considering the amount of talent they're hoarding at the moment.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’ll give it a go:

* Braun and Joe will end up on the same show. They’ve teased the feud. Probably on Raw — US Title makes the most sense on the USA Network show. Could always switch later or just make all champs floating at some point.

* This would suggest Balor to SmackDown. He could easily lose the IC Title on Raw to Elias or something though.

* Always thought that Cole and Phillips would switch in the next draft. I’ll stick with that.

* The Miz to switch to the USA Network show to promote his reality program. Probably means more Shane on Raw, but that’s not really a move.

* The Usos may have lost the belts to move to Raw, or just to turn heel again. I’ve thought for a while they would get “promoted” to Raw, so I’ll guess that. Naomi probably goes where they go.

* The Bar to NXT as the “shocker.” Not really, but maybe. I could see their main event losses being a “thanks” moment before they head down there to help train/coach on the job. Won’t be forever, but I can see them against the War Raiders at a Takeover easy.

* Pete Dunne will get called up. Maybe to 205 Live.

* Kairi Sane will get called up.

* I’m going to guess the random signing of Tajiri too. No reason why, I can just see “International” featuring him. He got some attention WrestleMania weekend, and hey, they brought back Rhyno and Shelton.

* I see Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy being promoted from 205 Live. Murphy will probably get Raw, given that Alexa is there. So maybe Alexander to SmackDown?

Everything else is up in the air. I always thought Brock would move to SmackDown, but I can’t see him being part of this.

[Mr. Nerfect]

My problem is that the roster split really doesn’t make anymore guys than people suggest as a positive to it. The ONLY time I think you can really argue the case is with Batista and Cena, MAYBE, but after the initial pushes to concurrent Mania wins, it was really Cena’s show once Big Dave ended up on SmackDown.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Does anyone really benefit from a brand split? Like, you can point to tiny events like Slater winning a belt, or Becky doing the same when it first happened, but it’s clear Vince has emphasis. Everything else just dilutes.

[Mr. Nerfect]

His new toy is Lars. This would be the same if they had one two-hour show. It doesn’t matter if he’s on Raw or SmackDown.

[GD]

I’ll give it a go:

* Braun and Joe will end up on the same show. They’ve teased the feud. Probably on Raw — US Title makes the most sense on the USA Network show. Could always switch later or just make all champs floating at some point.

* This would suggest Balor to SmackDown. He could easily lose the IC Title on Raw to Elias or something though.

* Always thought that Cole and Phillips would switch in the next draft. I’ll stick with that.

* The Miz to switch to the USA Network show to promote his reality program. Probably means more Shane on Raw, but that’s not really a move.

* The Usos may have lost the belts to move to Raw, or just to turn heel again. I’ve thought for a while they would get “promoted” to Raw, so I’ll guess that. Naomi probably goes where they go.

* The Bar to NXT as the “shocker.” Not really, but maybe. I could see their main event losses being a “thanks” moment before they head down there to help train/coach on the job. Won’t be forever, but I can see them against the War Raiders at a Takeover easy.

* Pete Dunne will get called up. Maybe to 205 Live.

* Kairi Sane will get called up.

* I’m going to guess the random signing of Tajiri too. No reason why, I can just see “International” featuring him. He got some attention WrestleMania weekend, and hey, they brought back Rhyno and Shelton.

* I see Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy being promoted from 205 Live. Murphy will probably get Raw, given that Alexa is there. So maybe Alexander to SmackDown?

Everything else is up in the air. I always thought Brock would move to SmackDown, but I can’t see him being part of this.

* Corey Graves and Renee Young need to be separated. I'd appreciate it if Graves were to become exclusive to a brand so that we can home someone like Nigel move up to Smackdown.

* 205 Live needs to move to Full Sail because it's dying a slow and painful death. Doesn't matter if it is under the WWE or NXT umbrella.

* The Usos have consistently been one of the best tag team acts in recent times. They need to be featured on RAW so that the 3-hour format becomes more palatable.

* The Intercontinental and United States Championship have gone back and forth so many times that it doesn't matter anymore. Same goes for The Miz. We need more franchise players like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, who have a innate association with the blue brand.

[GD]

Does anyone really benefit from a brand split? Like, you can point to tiny events like Slater winning a belt, or Becky doing the same when it first happened, but it’s clear Vince has emphasis. Everything else just dilutes.

While the brand specific PPVs weren't as lucrative, it gave talent a chance to perform a bigger stage. I don't know if we would've had The Usos in their current iteration, or AJ Styles and Owens as world champion if it weren't for the second brand extension.

[xrodmuc316]

I am mostly interested to see if they make moves based on the whole Fox wants more sports but less entertainment.

Means you might see some former pros like Mojo and Corbin moved to Smackdown.

I could see New Day to Raw and Seth moved to Smackdown.

Big scary monsters like Lars and Heavy Machinery probably head to Raw.

Solid workers like Ziggler end up on Smackdown.

The best entertainers like Miz probably head back to Raw.

I think Roman and Braun stay on Raw.

I think AJ and Orton stay on Smackdown.

But really, it's WWE and 90% of what they do has zero logic, just whatever Vince decided on most recently, so who knows lol.

[Mr. Nerfect]

While the brand specific PPVs weren't as lucrative, it gave talent a chance to perform a bigger stage. I don't know if we would've had The Usos in their current iteration, or AJ Styles and Owens as world champion if it weren't for the second brand extension.

But that doesn't make a better show or really help the talent other than giving them a chance to mark out for themselves. I think we'd have gotten an Usos heel turn and an AJ Styles run with the IC Title, which is what the WWE Title is now. Neither him nor Owens were in an appreciably better spot on the card this year as opposed to before their title reigns. In fact, after losing the Universal Title, Owens was challenging for the US Title at that Mania and he wasn't even on the card this year.

[GD]

But that doesn't make a better show or really help the talent other than giving them a chance to mark out for themselves. I think we'd have gotten an Usos heel turn and an AJ Styles run with the IC Title, which is what the WWE Title is now. Neither him nor Owens were in an appreciably better spot on the card this year as opposed to before their title reigns. In fact, after losing the Universal Title, Owens was challenging for the US Title at that Mania and he wasn't even on the card this year.

Marking out for themselves? The Intercontinental Championship is the same as the WWE Championship? Boy, what are you smoking?

[Mr. Nerfect]

What does the content get from Curt Hawkins being on the roster at all? I don't hate the guy or anything, but what else is giving certain talent a chance they wouldn't get if there weren't 300 places be other than giving them a chance to mark out for themselves?

And yes, the WWE Title is basically the IC Title since it's been on SmackDown. It heads the B-show schedule. It has been held by Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal since it's been over there, and has basically been interchangable with the US Title at points (see: Styles vs. Owens and Mahal vs. Orton in 2017, only to become Styles vs. Nakamura and Mahal vs. Orton in 2018, and look where all those people are now).

A promotion only has one World Championship, if any. If you try and spin it like you have two, then you've only got contenders.

[GD]

What does the content get from Curt Hawkins being on the roster at all? I don't hate the guy or anything, but what else is giving certain talent a chance they wouldn't get if there weren't 300 places be other than giving them a chance to mark out for themselves?

And yes, the WWE Title is basically the IC Title since it's been on SmackDown. It heads the B-show schedule. It has been held by Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal since it's been over there, and has basically been interchangable with the US Title at points (see: Styles vs. Owens and Mahal vs. Orton in 2017, only to become Styles vs. Nakamura and Mahal vs. Orton in 2018, and look where all those people are now).

A promotion only has one World Championship, if any. If you try and spin it like you have two, then you've only got contenders.

It's like you believe your perception is reality, man.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Dude, the IC Title has been defended in as many PPVs as the WWE Title since they’ve been doing dual PPVs.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Here’s something that won’t be reality:

* Vince McMahon opens next week’s show. He announces that with the enforcement of two distinct shows, the McMahons are taking a step back. He says Raw has a new General Manager to lead the charge. Cole... Michael Cole looks surprised. Adam Cole.

Adam Cole then becomes a cocky, but somewhat crowd-pleasing GM that uses The UE to keep order, until it was revealed to all be a scheme for him to take ultimate power.

[GD]

Shinsuke Nakamura vs AJ Styles in a “Buddy Murphy on a pole” match with a 60-min time limit. The only way to win is by retrieving Buddy and giving him fellatio. Sara Del Ray comes out of retirement and makes Balor tap like a bitch and becomes the first ever women’s Intercontinental World Heavyweight Champion of the Universe. Bischoff returns as the GM of RAW and brings back T&A...BUT WAIT...could it be? Oh my! It’s TNA! Dixie Carter rides out on a motorbike as Limp Bizkit performs Rollin’ and Johnny Impact waves the flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the ring to great elation while Vince breaks both of his quads in gorilla.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Psst, when someone makes fun of themselves, it’s bad form to try and lob the same joke at them.

[GD]

Psst, when someone makes fun of themselves, it’s bad form to try and lob the same joke at them.

Shut up, Noid.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Do better, Dave. Be better. It’s up to you.

*Insert Tyler Breeze tweet here*

[GD]

Do better, Dave. Be better. It’s up to you.

*Insert Tyler Breeze tweet here*

You're terrible. That's all I have to say. Good day.

[slik]

Since FOX will need a roster in place with plenty of time to advertise/promote before October I am think what we get on Mon/Tues will likely be MOST of the roster that will be on SDLive on FOX.

[slik]

^^^

That being said I think Roman goes to SD

Seth and Kofi switch shows
Balor and Joe switch shows

AJ goes to RAW, DBry stays on SD
Andrade goes to RAW, Rey stays on SD

Usos go to RAW, Rico/Black land on SD

Asuka/Naomi go to RAW, Sonya/Mandy stay on SD
Braun stays on RAW, LARS goes to SD

Orton, Charlotte & Ali stay on SD
Miz goes to RAW

And whenever Brock and Ronda feel like wrestling again they appear on brand blue.

[Evil Vito]

Would Rollins going to SmackDown mean the Universal Title is turned blue?

[Ruien]

Seth isn't going anywhere. He is Raw. Hope Roman goes to SD though so he isn't making Seth second fiddle. Seth needs to grow and become to face of the WWE.

[Evil Vito]

I could definitely see Roman on SmackDown. But at the same time, Vince undoubtedly still views him as the face of the company and despite the money FOX is giving them for SmackDown, he’s always gonna view Raw as the flagship and that’s why he’s always going to keep “the guy” there.

That’s why when Cena was christened as the guy in 2005, he never left Raw again during the original brand split. Raw is still Vince’s baby.

[slik]

That is exactly why I think Roman, Seth and Balor will go to SD. They are the three most over male face characters on RAW and SD will need time to gear up as the new flagship show in time for the big FOX launch.

[Ruien]

Slik I am going to need you to stop wishing for ill will towards Rollins. Thank you.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You're terrible. That's all I have to say. Good day.

As my grandmother used to say: "If you can't say anything clever, act like you've got higher ground even though you're a creepy piece of shit named Guru Dave."

[Mr. Nerfect]

I hope AEW gets drafted to TNT.

[GD]

As my grandmother used to say: "If you can't say anything clever, act like you've got higher ground even though you're a creepy piece of shit named Guru Dave."

That's just sad and cringeworthy, Noid.

You're the single worst aspect of the wrestling forum bar none. You suck the fun out of everything and just come across as a pathetic and negative individual. I am sure you're just a treat to be around in real life. The tantrums you throw when someone mildly disagrees with you or points out how outlandish your posts are is just sad. I regret every single time I've interacted with you.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That's just sad and cringeworthy, Noid.

You're the single worst aspect of the wrestling forum bar none. You suck the fun out of everything and just come across as a pathetic and negative individual. I am sure you're just a treat to be around in real life. The tantrums you throw when someone mildly disagrees with you or points out how outlandish your posts are is just sad. I regret every single time I've interacted with you.

:roll:

I'll take that as a compliment coming from a creeper like you. Nice projection. People disagree with me all the time, they just aren't whiny, creepy, sex-offending cunts like you, or can actually make a point without getting destroyed.

Keep in mind that this passive aggressive tantrum in the form of dismissal you are throwing is all because you had to try and take a swipe at me, because how could you not? You come off with this tone like you want to be seen as such a nice person, but you picked this. I responded by clarifying that I didn't take a swipe at Vito, but the company, and then you got all high and mighty about yourself and kept trying "get me."

Do you have a retort to the WWE Title basically being the new IC Title? No. You, ironically, threw a tantrum because you fucking don't and started talking about my perception and shit instead of raising a fucking point like you always do when someone calls you out for being. Fucking. Wrong.

And the worst part of the wrestling forum is mike adamle. We all know that.

(I'm kidding, adamle)

[Mr. Nerfect]

I also love the way you keep calling me Noid, like it wasn't my username for years and I didn't publicly request a change in the name change forum, like it's supposed to bother me or something. It's not a secret, pal.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Come on, Dave. Have another go.

[GD]

:roll:

I'll take that as a compliment coming from a creeper like you. Nice projection. People disagree with me all the time, they just aren't whiny, creepy, sex-offending cunts like you, or can actually make a point without getting destroyed.

Keep in mind that this passive aggressive tantrum in the form of dismissal you are throwing is all because you had to try and take a swipe at me, because how could you not? You come off with this tone like you want to be seen as such a nice person, but you picked this. I responded by clarifying that I didn't take a swipe at Vito, but the company, and then you got all high and mighty about yourself and kept trying "get me."

Do you have a retort to the WWE Title basically being the new IC Title? No. You, ironically, threw a tantrum because you fucking don't and started talking about my perception and shit instead of raising a fucking point like you always do when someone calls you out for being. Fucking. Wrong.

And the worst part of the wrestling forum is mike adamle. We all know that.

(I'm kidding, adamle)

You kinda lost me in the first paragraph with your casual racism.


I also love the way you keep calling me Noid, like it wasn't my username for years and I didn't publicly request a change in the name change forum, like it's supposed to bother me or something. It's not a secret, pal.

This is hella weird, man. Don't confuse your perception for reality. You are way off.

[GD]

Shut up, Noid.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You kinda lost me in the first paragraph with your casual racism.

Um, what? I'm going to call you out on your bullshit right there. What did I say that was racist? Stop trying to gaslight, it says a lot about your character.


This is hella weird, man. Don't confuse your perception for reality. You are way off.

Again with the perception shit. Again with the "Shut up, Noid" retort. Again nothing of substance. Just waiting for the classic eye-roll and we'll have the Guru Dave trifecta.

[GD]

Um, what? I'm going to call you out on your bullshit right there. What did I say that was racist? Stop trying to gaslight, it says a lot about your character.


:roll:

I'll take that as a compliment coming from a creeper like you. Nice projection. People disagree with me all the time, they just aren't whiny, creepy, sex-offending cunts like you, or can actually make a point without getting destroyed.

Keep in mind that this passive aggressive tantrum in the form of dismissal you are throwing is all because you had to try and take a swipe at me, because how could you not? You come off with this tone like you want to be seen as such a nice person, but you picked this. I responded by clarifying that I didn't take a swipe at Vito, but the company, and then you got all high and mighty about yourself and kept trying "get me."

Do you have a retort to the WWE Title basically being the new IC Title? No. You, ironically, threw a tantrum because you fucking don't and started talking about my perception and shit instead of raising a fucking point like you always do when someone calls you out for being. Fucking. Wrong.

And the worst part of the wrestling forum is mike adamle. We all know that.

(I'm kidding, adamle)

I believe I've brought up this concern before as well. This isn't the first time.

[Mr. Nerfect]

What is racist about that, you fuck?

[GD]

What is racist about that, you fuck?

You have zero recollection, don’t you?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Nope. None. Zilch.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Is your perception affecting your reality again?

[GD]

I am done interacting with you, Noid.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I hope that people who bother to read this realize that Guru Dave provided no evidence of any racist comments. He is a liar.

[Ruien]

Noid you the worst poster on TPWW easily.

[#1-norm-fan]

Noid’s great. People are suddenly really sensitive when it comes to negativity about WWE, which is bizarre considering the majority seems to acknowledge WWE is shit.

I also like Guru Dave and don’t believe him to be a sex-offending cunt. It’s certainly not RACIST to call him that though. THERE’S MY TWO CENTS, GANG.

[Evil Vito]

It's not that Noid's negative. Negativity around WWE is perfectly justified.

It's that he'll make 100+ posts in the Raw thread about how much it sucks despite claiming to not watch the product.

[Evil Vito]

A real world (and far more important in the world) equivalent would be political posts on Facebook. Like 80% of my friends are left leaning. For pretty much all of 2017 I saw statuses all the time about all the terrible shit Trump was doing, and I was right there too joining in.

At some point last year, everybody on my friends list stopped posting about Trump. I actually talked about it with my most liberal-minded friend about it and she was like "we already know how terrible he is, and the people who still support him aren't ever going to change their mind so at this point posting nonstop about how we're fucked doesn't do anything but make people who are already paying attention even more depressed".

It's outrage fatigue, essentially.

I'm the type of person who, if I don't watch Raw, will look at the results, make one post "well looks like I didn't miss anything", and call it a day. Not spend time categorically breaking down why each segment is shit and pissing off people who already agree with me via hammering the same points over and over again.

[#1-norm-fan]

I can see the outrage fatigue on Facebook since it’s not meant as a political forum. On a wrestling forum when wrestling is bad though, if I’m coming here, I’m assuming I’m gonna see a shitload of posts about how and why wrestling sucks and not much else.

Now why he was posting so much in a Raw thread despite not watching the product might be questionable. But meh. I watched a large part of WrestleMania despite not considering myself a “watcher of the product”. I just wasn’t passionate enough to post. There was nothing to remark about. I think I’m at the point where I struggle to even find the passion to be outraged that good wrestling on a grand stage is dead. But that’s just me.

[GD]

I really hope they break apart the upper midcard/main-event performers from Monday Night RAW since they've (almost) exhausted all combinations.

[Ruien]

It's not that Noid's negative. Negativity around WWE is perfectly justified.

It's that he'll make 100+ posts in the Raw thread about how much it sucks despite claiming to not watch the product.

This. And hes been doing it for like 2 years.

[Mr. Nerfect]

A real world (and far more important in the world) equivalent would be political posts on Facebook. Like 80% of my friends are left leaning. For pretty much all of 2017 I saw statuses all the time about all the terrible shit Trump was doing, and I was right there too joining in.

At some point last year, everybody on my friends list stopped posting about Trump. I actually talked about it with my most liberal-minded friend about it and she was like "we already know how terrible he is, and the people who still support him aren't ever going to change their mind so at this point posting nonstop about how we're fucked doesn't do anything but make people who are already paying attention even more depressed".

It's outrage fatigue, essentially.

I'm the type of person who, if I don't watch Raw, will look at the results, make one post "well looks like I didn't miss anything", and call it a day. Not spend time categorically breaking down why each segment is shit and pissing off people who already agree with me via hammering the same points over and over again.

Thanks for telling me how to live my life, man. You're a grade-A human for giving me instructions on how to better myself. I could do what you do, or I could do whatever the fuck I like. Hmm.

Why is everyone on this board so fucking concerned with how other people deal with their fandom? It's this fucking weird gatekeeping thing that doesn't make sense to me. You can comment on a Raw thread once, if that's what you want to do, but if I want to play around in a Raw thread to amuse myself and/or others, that's what I'll do.

Why is it so important to people that Noid acts like they do? It's fucking weird. Especially considering most of you are either really unintelligent or awful people. Just saying.

This. And hes been doing it for like 2 years.

Hey! Great! Fuck off then? If I wasn't posting here there'd be like...no one here. By the way, I very rarely go into the Raw boards, like you claim I have -- I've done it a few times over the past year because of work changing dates -- but generally speaking I am working on a Tuesday when Raw is on here. So, basically, I do do what Vito outlies as the greatest way to be a fan. That is genuinely my pressing memory of Raw threads.

I'm not going to be assed to go back through them and prove it, but the people who hang out in there will be able to attest -- I am not always in there and very often I will post at the end of a work day making a farting noise or something.

Not that any of this matters. It's clear you guys have a perception of me, and that's fine. I like Vito, actually, but I can't remember the last interesting Ruein post. But the thing is, if you're going to criticize me and then lay out standards you think would be acceptable, then maybe you shouldn't boo me, and maybe you should boo yourselves?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Gotta extend public thanks to #1-wwf-fan again. For a long time one of the best posters in here -- one of the smartest, and someone that sees things pretty clearly.

You know what? I probably shouldn't call Dave a probable sex offender. I do it in jest because of some of the sleazy-ass things he's said in the past, but I don't know. I'll take that back, Dave. I don't know if you're a sex offender. BUT I do want to re-emphasize that nothing about that is racist (wtf even was that from you?) and that you are still a liar and a moron.

[Mr. Nerfect]

This is a wrestling forum. You talk about wrestling here. I can't believe so many people get butt-hurt when shit wrestling gets shat on. I've done this spiel before, but I'll do it again:

I am a wrestling fan. I can't just give it up and switch it off. It would be nice if I could just not give a fuck about the wrestling landscape. But I do. My obsessive nature compels to me follow something about the industry. So fuck you right off for telling me I should just not follow if I don't specifically like Raw every week. Fuck you right in the holes. It might be that easy for you, you fucking cunt, but it's not for me. I've stopped following about as much as I can, and for someone who used to fucking watch Heat and Velocity with an active mind, that is a huge personal step.

I hope that wrestling gets better. I have been super-positive in the AEW thread, because I am hanging out for something from them. I started the AEW thread. But when it is shit, I will call it shit, and if you don't want to read it? Don't. But, please -- stop trying to make people's fandom for wrestling behave the same as yours. And stop blanket-projecting qualities onto people based on their online personas.

Now I'm going to go on a bike ride up to the mountains, because I live such a miserable life. I might stop for an ugly coffee and enjoy the wildlife too. So sad it's impossible to be negative about the state of WWE and not let it spill into other areas of your life. I guess you have to be a sad-sack when you just don't like fucking Elias or something. Morons.

[GD]

I really hope they break apart the upper midcard/main-event performers from Monday Night RAW since they've (almost) exhausted all combinations.

Any combination of Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Roman Reigns, and Baron Corbin seems uninspiring. Same goes for their tag team division. None of the combinations are exciting anymore. Would be interesting to have The Usos (and possibly The Bar) move up to RAW. Maybe disband the B-Team, and Roode and Gable.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Any combination of anything is going to feel uninspired because talent are featured for 5 hours a week in 50/50 booking scenarios and have been put against each other a billion times. That's why it's a great time to be announcing you have a two-hour prime time slot that is going to make cohesive sense and focus on certain star individuals.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Did some thinking on this while tending to my garden. Here are the moves I can see:

To Raw:
* Aleister Black
* The Bar
* Buddy Murphy
* Daniel Bryan & Rowan
* EC3
* Fire & Desire
* Heavy Machinery
* Lacey Evans
* Luke Harper
* The Miz
* Naomi
* Rusev & Lana
* Samoa Joe
* Sanity
* Shinsuke Nakamura
* Sin Cara
* Tom Phillips

To SmackDown:
* Apollo Crews
* The Authors of Pain
* Baron Corbin
* Bayley
* Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush
* Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman
* Cedric Alexander
* Ember Moon
* Finn Balor
* Lars Sullivan
* Lucha House Party
* Michael Cole
* Mojo Rawley
* No Way Jose
* The Revival
* Ricochet
* Roman Reigns
* Ronda Rousey
* Sasha Banks

I think they will load up SmackDown with the Four Horsewomen and Ronda so they can tell that story on FOX should it arise. Because of that, I don't think they need that many stars on SmackDown, so I have Sonya, Mandy and Naomi moving the other way. I had Asuka going too, but I think they will want one Japanese star on SmackDown, and I think Kairi is going to Raw for some reason.

Because FOX is network TV, I can see them loading up Smackers with people they feel have "cultural appeal." I've got No Way Jose, The Authors of Pain and Lucha House Party moving over for that reason. Apollo Crews, Bobby Lashley, Lio Rush and Ember Moon cover the African-American audience, and I can see them thinking Naomi and Moon plug into the same role, as sad as that is.

Mojo and Baron move over because "NFL." Baron was nobody there, but they do want to give him a push, so I can see him being a focal point. Sorry. Balor and Joe trade places, with Lars settling on SmackDown because there are smaller people for him to toss around. And I can see Vince wanting to plug him into a main role there pretty quickly, even if he doesn't go the full hog. Brock goes there to freshen up his environs a bit, and I think he'll be a big focus for SmackDown when they move to FOX. Can see him walking into that show WWE Champion and maybe losing the belt to Roman Reigns with some Rock assist.

I've got The Bar and Revival trading places, because I think Revival against both The Hardys and The Usos is pretty fresh -- even if The Usos end up turning heel against The Hardys. The Bar can work with Hawkins & Ryder, get countless more title reigns, and maybe even do some stuff with Gable & Roode. Could see the alliance with Drew McIntyre continuing.

The story between Orton and Styles, while not explicitly so, felt like "SmackDown isn't big enough for the two of us." Orton has been on Smackers since the start of the draft too. Can see him moving to "liven him up," regardless of whether or not that happens. He could make a stop-gap opponent for Rollins too. I've also got Bryan moving, just because I don't think they'd have much else for him to do on SD. Plus it puts all the members of The Wyatt Family together. Hell, you've even got Orton, Bryan and Braun there too. I could see a six-man dark match with them all teaming up.

Buddy Murphy and Cedric Alexander move up from 205 Live. I see Pete Dunne being sent there to replace them. I see them splitting up Black & Ricochet, and Ricochet on SmackDown just "feels right." I can see Rey vs. Ricochet at Mania next year. Black can run around kicking The Bar/Wyatt Family in the face.

Everyone else I've just kind of thrown onto Raw because it's a three-hour show and they need bodies.

[DaveWadding]

Hello everyone, just so you know, any time Guru Dave gets called out by anyone, he tries to make it a hate crime. Carry on.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Ha, I’ve learned that now.

[GD]

Apparently Sami Zayn is being considered a free agent since his return from injury.

[Mr. Nerfect]

He appeared on both Raw and SmackDown. It’s exhibit A in why the draft doesn’t really matter.

[GD]

Apparently Sami Zayn is being considered a free agent since his return from injury.

While Matt and Owens were drafted to Smackdown upon returning from injury.

[Mr. Nerfect]

They could all appear on Raw the week after the draft anyway.

[GD]

I absolutely loved the draft lottery format.

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[slik]

RAW:
Kofi
Big E
Xavier Woods
Samoa Joe
The Usos
AJ Styles
Naomi
Mandy Rose
Sonya Deville
Andrade
The Miz
Asuka
KO
Lacey
Aleister


SDLive:
Seth
Finn
Roman Reigns
Sasha
Bayley
Ember
Ricochet
Elias
LARS

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Have heard there are a number of travel issues involving WWE personnel and talent for tonight's show in Montreal. &quot;Things are being rewritten as a result&quot;. No word on what effect this will have on tonight's show.</p>&mdash; John Pollock (@iamjohnpollock) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamjohnpollock/status/1117854695299530752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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