It’s finally upon us! The only night each year when WWE wrestlers get to jump from their existing brand to the opposing one. Yep, that’s right, the only time that’s allowed to happen… If you don’t count the nights leading up to Survivor Series. But that’s it! Unless you’re Becky Lynch or Charlotte. Or John Cena. Or Brie Bella. And of course the NXT call-ups regularly jump between shows. Just like Kofi, Braun and Drew McIntyre did last week. Also I guess you get to move across brands if you’re returning from injury – like Sami Zayn and Tamina did. Or if you happen to be in a position of power, either full-time or temporarily. So Shane, Stephanie, Triple H and Alexa Bliss (for the three weeks she was the host of WrestleMania 35).
But other than that, this is strictly the one single, solitary night a year when a wrestler can switch brands. Absolutely no exceptions.
In all sincerity though, outside of pay-per-views, the Superstar Shakeup is probably the event that I look forward to most each year. Even more so than the Raw after WrestleMania, the Superstar Shakeup genuinely feels like a soft reset of the status quo. It provides an opportunity for stagnating talent from one show to seek greener pastures, pursuing new feuds and fresher audiences alike.
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So with that in mind, the possibilities were endless. Who would make the jump? Would we be seeing new faces called up from NXT? Could established tag teams be split? We had our own predictions of who would be subject to ‘ye old Shakeup’, but it’s always likely that WWE has different designs in mind.
So without further ado, let’s jump into a Raw full of surprises.
The Best of Raw
The Most Obnoxious in the World
Let’s get this straight. Whether he’s babyface or heel, Shane McMahon is absolutely unbearable. But at least as a heel, I don’t have to feel bad about relentlessly booing his smug, sweaty face.
And even with a limited promo game, he was effective last night. While Stephanie has arbitrarily returned to full-blown villain status after months of being a stern yet fair authority figure on Raw, it was Shane’s obnoxious ways that drew the most crowd heat. The elder McMahon sibling antagonised MizDad for a bit, reminded the live audience that he was “The Best in the World”, repeated the sentiment in what sounded like the sort of French that he learnt two minutes before heading out to the ring, and then got jumped by The Miz.
It was a neat little segment that set up Shane as a truly detestable douche and let us know that The Miz was now a Raw talent. Which, given Miz’s uncanny ability to always be on the better show, is likely a good omen for the red brand.
Hey, EC3 is He… Oh, Nevermind
Since his call-up in January, EC3 has barely featured on WWE programming other than the occasional awkward flirt with Mandy Rose or lathering himself in baby oil backstage. So you would be forgiven for thinking that perhaps he’d be given a chance to display his talents in a rare in-ring appearance on Raw.
Well, nope, because Braun rammed him into the LED boards at the top of the ramp before tossing him off the stage and through a platform. It’s unfortunate that EC3 would be proverbially thrown to the wolves here, but I’ll gladly forgive it given the larger context.
My goodness…
@BraunStrowman just DESTROYED @therealec3! #RAW #SuperstarShakeUp pic.twitter.com/YOmUJvVubE
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 16, 2019
Braun was presented like a cartoon giant throughout most of 2018 and decidedly suffered as a result. Recent weeks have seen ‘The Monster Among Men’ treated like more of a – well, a monster – and it’s made him look absolutely awesome. This is what we need from Braun: a dangerous, unforgiving, violent destroyer.
Becky Two Belts
In a world where Braun is launching human beings through parts of the staging area, the question is ‘who would dare stand up to such a beast?’ Well, before Strowman had even left the scene of the crime, Becky’s music hit and she strolled out for her scheduled match against Ruby Riott, throwing a little nod at Braun and sympathetically grimacing at the sight of EC3’s carcass. It reminded us all that ‘the Champ Champ’ doesn’t cower, even at the sight of a grizzly, surprisingly oily murder.
Immediately following this little encounter, Lynch made short work of the Riott Squad, picking up the submission victory over Ruby. This prompted first Natalya to come out to challenge Becky, quickly followed by the ‘Sexy, Sassy, Chatty, Punchy, (occasionally Botchy) Southern Belle’, who announced that she and Natalya would be having a match to determine who would go on to challenge ‘The Man’ for her titles.
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1117988127145066496
A decent match ensued, which Lacey Evans predictably won. Personally, I’m not nearly as down on Lacey as many others are. She’s clearly super athletic, with enough strength and charisma to see her make waves in the women’s division. And man, that BME she hit on Natalya for the finish! I’m actually looking forward to her program with Lynch.
Sasha Off The Grid
We’ve all heard the rumours of discontent surrounding Sasha Banks of late. She reportedly wasn’t happy about dropping the Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania and hasn’t appeared on Raw since.
This week saw Bayley leaving a voicemail for her partner, when she was approached by The IIconics. It’s a small detail but I appreciate WWE at least acknowledging Sasha’s unexplained absence from the show.
The Haunted Doll House
I fully appreciate that whatever incarnation of Bray Wyatt ultimately debuts after all of these clips is destined to disappoint. There is no way that he lives up to the hype created first by the box bird and now new insert – AND SCARIEST THING THAT I’VE EVER SEEN – the haunted dollhouse, complete with animatronic pale doll gently swaying in a rocking chair. And then ominously laughing.
👀 #RAW pic.twitter.com/JQF3Vd4y7J
— WWE (@WWE) April 16, 2019
Having said that, these teases (as silly as they are) present a welcome change of pace in an otherwise plodding show. In an ocean of tuna, Bray’s video packages are the Sarcastic Fringeheads. Google it.
The Phenomenal Main Event
Ignoring Michael Cole’s abysmal commentary (see: “This. Is. Phenomenal” and “He’s here!”), as well as Baron Corbin again appearing in the main event of yet another Raw, the six-man tag which ended the night had plenty of positives to offer.
First off, I thought Drew McIntyre looked great. It’s a shame that he was once again sucked towards the mid-card vortex created by Corbin and Bobby Lashley, but the giant Scotsman somehow was able to overcome it and shine. For most of the match, he looked absolutely devastating, only conquered once Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins united to drive him over the guard rail.
On the other side of the equation, Reigns and Rollins’ mystery partner was revealed to be AJ Styles. The former WWE Champion is far too good to feel as tired as he was towards the end of his tenure on the blue brand, and a switch to Raw could help freshen him up. Styles is by miles the biggest star to join Monday nights and looked to have good chemistry with the more entrenched stars on the red brand, possibly setting up some pretty intriguing matchups down the road.
Ultimately Styles hit Lashley with the Phenomenal Forearm to pick up the win, leaving the final shot of the night being him stood next to Rollins and Reigns. That might be an image we should get used to seeing.
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The Worst of Raw
The… Viking… Experience
I mean, for the love of God, man.
As if that wasn’t enough, Raw decided to add another layer to this unwelcome dish – like stale garnish on a turd sandwich – by making them heels and changing Hanson and Rowe’s names to… Erik and Ivar?
Honestly, they sound like a couple of guys who sell timeshare in a three-star Nordic resort. And I’m pretty sure WWE has previously tried a tag team with a similar sort of gimmick. How did that work out for them again?
This is, without a doubt, the worst rebranding of an NXT call-up we’ve ever seen. To the point that, as excellent as the War Raiders (I’m not calling them by that goofy name) are, I’m deeply concerned that they won’t be able to overcome it.
Also, why throw them in an 8-man match? I understand it’s trivial by comparison, but it’s hard for an act to stand out when they’re surrounded by six other bodies. Just let them debut in a standard tag bout – as babyfaces. It gives them the best chance of showing off their skills.
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Drift Away
It’s not so much Elias that wears me out, as it is the formulaic segments he features in. Every week we see the same ordeal play out: Elias strums his guitar, unloads some rather unkind words about a local sports team’s playoff chances, and then gets interrupted by… someone. It’s harmless fun that kills a few minutes, but really, who does it serve?
Elias is barely more than a comedic jobber at this point, who certainly doesn’t have the credentials necessary to put someone over. So no one looks good beating up Elias; it’s like feuding with Dolph Ziggler: everyone’s had a go.
This week saw a brand-hopping Rey Mysterio intervene during ‘The Drifter’s performance. Apparently, he’s a big fan of Canadian ice hockey and takes exception to anyone who’d run it down. Anyway, he got a few shots on Elias before Lars Sullivan decided to come down.
Which brings me onto…
Debuts to Forget
With a few exceptions, there was a discernible lack of impact by any of the new Raw recruits.
The Viking Experience (sigh) pinned one of Zack Ryder or Curt Hawkins… let’s go with Ryder. The Miz continued his feud with Shane McMahon. Rey Mysterio got a few shots in on Elias before being absolutely flattened by Lars Sullivan. The Usos defeated Bobby Roode & Chad Gable. Andrade cheated to pick up a win over Finn Bálor. And Naomi just showed up.
Although no one was explicitly harmed by switching allegiances to their new brand, it’s equally apparent that few really benefitted from making the jump either. The Superstar Shakeup is meant to be an opportunity to elevate someone who was perhaps flailing on one brand to achieve greater success on a new show. Unfortunately, arbitrarily changing names, beating perennial mid-carders and getting decimated by an unproven giant is not the way to do it.
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The People’s Villain
It would be great if the people we cheered were actually good guys, while the people we booed were not. Crazy idea.
Sami Zayn falls into the category of people we want to cheer. In the two weeks he’s been back since injury, Zayn has received some of the loudest crowd responses of any wrestler on the roster. But despite this, he’s stubbornly maintained his heel character, deriding the fans and running down host cities.
Last night saw Raw return to Zayn’s home province of Quebec, predictably generating loud cheers for the native Canadian. Instead of embracing them though, he chose to dismiss the fans as ungrateful kingmakers. The Montreal crowd was still loud as their cheers turned to boos, but what could have been an electrifying moment was instead reduced to a pretty familiar heel attack on the audience.
WWE could have a genuinely over babyface on their hands. But instead, they seem intent on gradually dulling the fan’s enthusiasm by forcing Sami to heel it up. Tragically, he wasn’t even the most frustrating element of this segment…
Who Really is Alexa Bliss?
A months ago she was fawning over Finn Bálor’s abs. Weeks later she was the enthusiastic, proud host of WrestleMania. Then she morphed into the vengeful proxy for the McMahons, exacting revenge on the Usos for forfeiting their spots in the New Day’s gauntlet challenge.
Last night she flipped full babyface by defending the people of Montreal against Sami Zayn’s derisive words. None of this had any reason, none of it made sense. I’m at an absolute loss to explain Alexa Bliss’ motivations.
Tag Team Champion Jobbers
During the short time that the Women’s Tag Team Titles have been in existence, it’s hard to claim that the people holding them have experienced a lot of success. Despite being the inaugural champs, Bayley and Sasha had a fairly forgettable reign which unceremoniously ended at WrestleMania 35.
I was very complimentary of the decision then to have The IIconics, as new holders of the belts, face off against local enhancement talent on SmackDown last week. It gave them a chance to shine in a pre-match promo, before picking up an easy victory to establish themselves as a legitimate tag team threat. That’s how you build the credentials of inexperienced, first-time heel champions.
So how did Raw follow that up? By having them lose to the makeshift duo of Bayley and a debuting Naomi in under three minutes. It’s hard to get too upset when having the champions get squashed by new challengers seems to be the modus operandi for the women’s tag team division, but it’s still garbage booking.
A Lack of Star Power
It feels harsh saying this, but SmackDown did not send its best last night. Once all was said and done, Raw was able to poach Andrade, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, The Usos, Naomi and AJ Styles from its sister brand.
While each of those names are good to great wrestlers, with the exception of AJ Styles, it’s hard to see any of them making a splash near the top of the card. The simple truth is that Raw has felt stale for much of the past year, and I’m not convinced that this particular injection of fresh blood is enough to reanimate the struggling show.
This is not a Draft
The days of brand General Managers alternating picks in composing their perfect rosters are long gone, replaced by a fairly unengaging method of simply having wrestlers appear in segments.
This is not the most exciting way of conducting a shakeup, both in terms of end product and kayfabe reasoning. What is the criteria for selecting a wrestler from the opposing brand? How does the shakeup work? Why didn’t Raw try to bring across more top-level stars? It’s a disappointingly lacklustre method of transferring talent and one that lacks the intrigue of proper drafts.
Overall Rating (From best to worst: RawSome, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and Rawful)
As surprising as this is to say on a night that was designed specifically to provide shock and surprises, last night’s Raw felt a little uneventful. Sure, we got a bunch of new faces. But hardly any of them were big names and none were given the chance to really shine. Instead, the night was filled with quick squashes, inexplicable character shifts and silly name changes.
It’s perhaps a little ironic that on a night of new draftees, Raw remained unable to sign the biggest free agents in all of WWE: continuity, cohesion and common sense. Perhaps we’ve set our expectations for the red brand too high, but it’s hard to escape the reality that Raw has disappointed two weeks in a row, on nights where it had an open goal in front of it.
The nature of the Superstar Shakeup should, in theory, all but guarantee an exciting night, packed with new faces, intriguing first-time feuds and budding stars. I’m not sure we got any of that, on an episode characterised not just by disappointment but also by debutants being potentially actively harmed.
Both Mysterio and The IIconics were squashed, the Viking Experience were immediately made to feel less impressive than they are on NXT and Alexa Bliss is just frustrating. On an underwhelming night, Raw deserves an underwhelming rating. Sadly, given the high expectations, last night’s show was Poor.
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