The "Superstar Shakeup"

[mr.wrestling iv]

First, addressing the commentary switch: I was pleasantly surprised by last night. Maybe it's the Mauro situation or maybe without Cole Saxton has more room to stretch himself, but it was good to see (or hear rather) JBL not verbally eviscerate Saxton at every turn. Maybe they'll be alright after all.

On the surface, Otunga/Saxton is, ok, we don't like either, so what. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it from this stand point. The Saxton/Graves dynamic got tiresome. Saxton being away from that, there wasn't once last night I thought, meh. You could tell he was more excited, that being away from Graves is a Godsend. Time will tell if Otunga/Graves will work. It's a good start.

As for the in-ring talent trades it worked out pretty well on the face of things. SmackDown needed some strength in depth and they've got that with the likes of Owens, Zayn, Rusev (when he's back) and New Day along with the additions of Nakamura and Tye from NXT. They also got Charlotte off RAW which works for both shows - she's feuded with everyone she can on RAW and has a whole fresh set of opponents to tangle with.

Zayn & Rusev were under valued on RAW. Zayn got a few nice wins here and there, nothing ever happened. Ru Ru suffered from being Reigns whipping boy and losing out to Enzo and Cass. Would have made it mean something if Zo/Cass won the RAW Tag Team Titles. Meh, all for not. Owens is a top star, more credible top heel then Bray Wyatt. New Day... well... the tag division needs star power. Definitely that. I feel they will break up by the end of the year.

Can we just give Charlotte the Women's Championship now? Have her hold it for a year, maybe?

RAW in turn has got new characters, something that they were lacking (and will be with impending departure of Jericho and Owens move to SD) and with Miz & Maryse, Ambrose, Bliss and Wyatt they've got good talkers and entertaining personalities. Oh, and Rhyno & Heath Slater. They're pretty fun too. They should mesh in quite nicely.

My initial reaction was, Smackdown didn't get the better end of the deal unless they somehow even things out. Miz and Maryse was the second best thing on Smackdown besides AJ Styles. Sad to see him off SDLive. Its debatable if he will get the same run on RAW. Bray Wyatt? He benefited greatly from the storytelling on Smackdown. Raw storytelling, as we have seen constantly, hasn't been on Smackdowns level. Feel it will be the same story with Bray until proven otherwise. Build him up for someone else to tear him down.

What will be most interesting is, if Bray wins the WWE Championship, does he go back to SDLive? Isn't the stipulation for Jericho/Owens, whoever is the US Champion is Smackdown bound?

Bliss, I want her with the Women's Championship... now please. It will be interesting where the hierarchy is. Nia Jax, Alexa, and Emma are all quality heels. Who will be the Queen Bitch on Raw? If you turn Sasha heel, that will make four Queen Bitches. There is a lot of bitchiness to go around, someone has to move you'd think. Should have moved Emma to SDLive, I digress.

Both sides benefited and while it wasn't perfect - Zayn and Owens being on the same show once again is kinda funny but they're going to drive any interest in their matches squarely into the ground if they don't resist the urge to leave the feud alone - it worked for the most part. Looking forward to seeing how it all pans out in the coming weeks and months.

Agreed.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I liked some things about this "Superstar Shakeup" and disliked other things. On one hand it was cool to see all of the Raw additions on one night then all the Smackdown additions the next night. On the other hand though, I really missed the old randomizer screens they would do with pictures of everyone, it always reminded me of the Choose Your Character screens in Mortal Kombat or similar games. As for the moves that were made....


The Miz & Maryse to Raw
This was a bad idea. I'm not the biggest Miz fan but even I know he was good on Smackdown (in his promos). I doubt he will do well on Raw. Then again I don't like the guy so it's no major issue to me if he doesn't get a big push there.

Dean Ambrose to Raw
All the former Shield members on the same show.... Hmmm.... This could be good. I thought Ambrose was better off on Smackdown but will definitely give this move a chance.

Curt Hawkins to Raw
He was a jobber on Smackdown. He'll be a jobber on Raw.

Apollo Crews to Raw
Depends on how it goes. A change of shows could end up being good for him. We'll see.

Kalisto to Raw
He'll get Cruiserweight Championship shots and likely lose but he'll do well on the purple portion of Raw.

Rhyno & Heath Slater to Raw
I see them splitting after a tag team title shot. I found this to be a move that was a bit puzzling and I'm not sure how well they'll do on Raw compared to Smackdown.

Bray Wyatt to Raw
Another very strange move. I'll give it a chance though I think he was better off on Smackdown.

Elias Samson to Raw
It seems too soon but I was expecting it after he lost the Loser Leaves NXT match.

Alexa Bliss to Raw
Once Smackdown got Charlotte this became a very good move. She'll be a perfect fit for the top female heel on Raw. Give her the Raw Women's Championship push immediately.

Mickie James to Raw
A good move. The women on Raw will benefit from working with a veteran like her and a Raw Women's Championship reign wouldn't be out of the question.

Kevin Owens to Smackdown
A very good move. He'll become the top of heel of Smackdown soon.

Sami Zayn to Smackdown
Not sure why Sami and Owens have to be on the same show again though unlike Raw, if this feud was revisited I have confidence Smackdown's creative team would somehow be able to make it refreshing. Regardless, Sami should thrive on the blue brand.

Charlotte Flair to Smackdown
One of the biggest moves of the night. She'll inevitably be the top heel of the division just like she was on Raw. They'll probably revisit the Becky feud too.

Tamina to Smackdown
Don't care, honestly. There are so many women on the roster now who are more talented than her. Maybe she could do the bodyguard thing again for Charlotte like she did for AJ a few years back.

Primo & Epico to Smackdown
Couldn't care less. They sucked on Raw so they'll still suck on Smackdown.

Sin Cara to Smackdown
I'm indifferent here. We'll see what happens.

Rusev to Smackdown
In the long run I think this will be a good move. He wasn't really doing much of anything on Raw recently.

Lana to Smackdown
Much like with Rusev, the change of shows should likely end up being a good thing for her.

New Day to Smackdown
Why not. They are a fun team and Smackdown's Tag Team division needed a big name.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Raw

Wyatt - He was doing good on SD until he lost to Orton. A feud with Balor should be good although Wyatt really doesn't need to lose again.

Miz - What about his feud with Bryan? I know there can't be an actual match, but Miz might get lost in the shuffle on Raw.

Ambrose - He's one of my favorite wrestlers in the company, but he's just missing something. Maybe a heel turn could do him wonders. He had some great interactions with Cena, so it's a shame they didn't get a proper feud. All three Shield members are now on the same show, so I'm expecting a reunion sooner or later. A feud with HHH's new stable or Balor and the Club could be awesome, but remember this is Raw.

Kalisto - Good addition to the cruiserweight division. Not like he was doing anything on SD.

Hawkins - Just a jobber.

Rhyno & Slater - Raw really doesn't need another tag team. Still it's not like SD was doing anything with them.

Samson - When did this even happen? I don't know anything about this guy.

Alexa - One of the best women in WWE. She had nothing else to do on SD.

Mickie - She can feud with Sasha and Bayley. She really wasn't doing much on SD.

SD

Kevin Owens - The best heel in the company. Can't wait to see him feud with Styles, Nakamura, and Orton. Heel vs. heel with Corbin could also work.

Sami Zayn - Really underrated and wasted on Raw. At least Stephanie won't be making him look bad every week.

New Day - They needed a change of scenery. Great add for SD's tag division.

Charlotte - I'm not the biggest Charlotte fan, but she is a star. A feud with Becky should be really good.

Lana - I would have kept her with Rusev, but this could be interesting.

Rusev - Hey look another talent who was wasted on Raw. He's fallen pretty far, but this move should do him some good.

Sin Cara, Tamina, Primo & Epico, Jinder - They're all jobbers.

Overall

I don't have many complaints with this. Yeah, SD got the short end, but Styles/Nakamura/Owens/Zayn on the same show? Take my money!

The Shield, Wyatt, Balor, and Miz is a lot of talent, but Raw will probably misuse them.

Not much will really change. It's the same situation. SD has less talent but does more with it. Raw has more talent but does less with it.