Following last night’s SmackDown Live, the 2018 ‘Superstar Shake-up’ has come to its conclusion, and I think it would be fair to say, it was quite good.
You can check out all the new Raw faces here, but continue reading this to find out all the returns and debuts that went down on the blue brand last night.
The Miz
It is an understatement to say that the last 12 months of The Miz’ WWE tenure were career-changing. After being drafted to Raw in the 2017 ‘Superstar Shake-up’ he earned the respect of the WWE fans by making the WWE Intercontinental Championship relevant.
Kurt Angle made the announcement that the ‘A-Lister’ would be deflecting to SmackDown Live on Raw during Miz TV, also confirming that Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, the Miztourage (I assume the name is going to change) will be staying put on Monday nights.
As it stands, The Miz is just 22 days away from boasting the accolade of having the most combined days in possession of the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but it looks like chasing that particular goal may have to wait as it seems Rollins will be keeping the Intercontinental title on Raw.
However, there is the Greatest Royal Rumble on its way, and if The Miz or Samoa Joe (who we’ll get to later) were to win the Intercontinental Championship fatal four-way ladder match for the strap, which also includes Finn Bálor and current champion Seth Rollins, the belt could find its way onto the ‘Land of Opportunity’.
Jeff Hardy
What a couple of days it’s been for Jeff Hardy. On Raw, he successfully answered the challenge of WWE United States Champion Jinder Mahal to win the gold for the first time in his career, and become a ‘Grand Slam’ Champion.
Fast-forward 24 hours, and the ‘Charismatic Enigma’ was answering another open challenge, but this time it was Shelton Benjamin’s, and it was on SmackDown Live. In the process, be it intentionally or inadvertently, planted some seeds for a potential feud with the ‘Viper’ Randy Orton.
Orton won a number one contender match for a shot at the United States title at WWE Backlash 2018, having lost it in a fatal four-way at WrestleMania 34 and will face either Mahal or Hardy in his rematch; the latter two men will face off at Greatest Royal Rumble in Mahal’s contractually obligated rematch. Don’t ask why Mahal gets one and Orton doesn’t because no-one has a clue.
Absolution – Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
With the Riott Squad being drafted in the opposite direction, it only makes sense that Absolution are kept away from Logan, Morgan and Riott and join their former leader Paige on SmackDown Live.
With Paige being announced as the new General Manager of SmackDown Live last week, could we see any interesting interactions between the ‘Anti-Diva’ and her former proteges?
Samoa Joe
Given recent developments between Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns on Raw, this one might be somewhat of a surprise.
The ‘Samoan Submission Machine’ made his SmackDown Live debut by convincingly defeating Sin Cara, before setting his sights on the likes of Daniel Bryan and a familiar foe for Joe, the WWE Champion AJ Styles.
Styles and Joe had a rich history in TNA (Impact Wrestling) and to see them fight it out in a WWE ring might be something a few of us thought we might never see.
Despite now being a part of the blue brand, Joe is still scheduled to be a part of the WWE Intercontinental Championship fatal four-way ladder match at Greatest Royal Rumble, and will still face Roman Reigns at WWE Backlash 2018, which, if Reigns wins the WWE Universal Championship in Jeddah, could be a match with a very interesting dynamic.
SAnitY – Eric Young, Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe
What an underwhelming way to announce SAnitY’s arrival on the WWE main roster.
The group consisting of Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain should have made an impactful debut. Maybe interfering in a match, or conducting a brutal backstage assault on the New Day.
But instead, a video package aired with the stable claiming to bring “chaos” to Tuesday nights. I’m not sure about you, but if I was planning to create “chaos”, I wouldn’t warn anyone in advance, that would seem a bit too courteous.
It’s also important to note that it seems Nikki Cross has not been promoted along with her former stable-mates. How frustrating.
Nonetheless, with the talent within this group, there is every chance they will succeed in the ‘Land of Opportunity’, but last night doesn’t stand them in good stead by my reckoning.
Big Cass
Despite reports that WWE have filed a trademark application for the name “Colin Cassidy”, it seems he will still be going by “Big Cass”, at least for the time being.
Cass had been out since the day after Summerslam 2017 with a knee injury, and made his big return by targeting Daniel Bryan and calling him a “little man”.
Enzo Amore’s former tag team partner also interfered in the main event match, again targeting Bryan, but this time with a brutal assault instead of playground insults.
He also seems to be aligned with Shinsuke Nakamura for some reason. Nonetheless, SmackDown Live going off the air with the (alleged) seven-footer standing tall can only mean big things for Big Cass.
Asuka
It looks like all our nightmares are coming true, because now that Asuka’s streak is over, she is literally just another body in the women’s division.
The ‘Empress of Tomorrow’ made her permanent switch known by saving Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair from new WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella and the IIconics. Is it me or have we seen this before?
Asuka had made sporadic appearances on SmackDown Live in the build-up to her WrestleMania 34 match against Charlotte Flair, but she is now a permanent fixture on SmackDown Live.
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
The ‘Good Brothers’ have been somewhat lost in the shuffle on Raw‘s tag team division in recent times, and many of us thought they would move to SmackDown Live to put that right.
However, it would have also made sense if they were to have been joined by Finn Bálor following recent teases of a full Bálor Club run, but that now seems out of the question with Gallows and Anderson being separated from the ‘Extraordinary Man who can do Extra-ordinary Things’.
The Bar – Cesaro & Sheamus
Another tag team switch, but this time one that may have caught a few more people off guard, as Sheamus and Cesaro have also joined SmackDown Live.
If you think that SmackDown Live‘s tag team scene is getting pretty stacked, let me put it in perspective:
- Rusev Day – Aiden English & Rusev
- The New Day – Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
- The Bar – Cesaro & Sheamus
- The Colons – Epico & Primo
- SAnitY – Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain
- The Bludgeon Brothers – Harper & Rowan
- The Usos – Jey & Jimmy
- Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
One word: Wow.
Nonetheless, the Bar will be squaring off against ‘Woken’ Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at Greatest Royal Rumble for the Raw Tag Team Championships, so we could be left in a very interesting situation if the Bar regain the titles. It’s unlikely though.
R-Truth
“What’s up?”
I don’t care and neither do you.
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and Zelina Vega
Much like SAnitY, Almas’ main roster debut should have been huge, possibly putting him in the position Big Cass was in, or at least something more than a video package.
Almas had a fantastic run with the NXT Championship after he defeated Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: War Games and embarked on a five-month long reign until he was bettered by Aleister Black at TakeOver: New Orleans.
Following what has happened in regards to Paul Ellering and Nikki Cross, at least Zelina Vega has been included in the Almas main roster presentation, as she played a huge part in turning the Mexican’s career around.
Hopefully, Almas will become a big name on SmackDown Live, but much like SAnitY, I don’t feel very positive given the manner in which his promotion was announced.
What do you think of the 2018 Superstar Shake-up? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter here, and as always, have a spiffing Rusev Day.
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