2019 Superstar Shake-Up

**Evil Vito** · 04-10-2019, 07:13 PM

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.

04-10-2019, 07:13 PM	#1
Evil Vito President of Freedonia Posts: 58,167	2019 Superstar Shake-Up 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.