For the second year in a row, we're getting to experience the utter chaos and unpredictability of the WWE Superstar Shake-up. Moves to transfer superstars between brands have been made in private between each brand's Commissioner and General Manager, but we won't know what changes have been made until the superstars show up on Raw or SmackDown Live.
With Paige as the new General Manager of SmackDown, will she try to bring former allies Absolution to SmackDown Live? On the other side, will Kurt Angle make a play for a big name like Randy Orton or Shinsuke Nakamura? Join us back here to find out! This tracker will be updated throughout the week as news breaks of each move between brands.
Table of Contents
New to Monday Night Raw
(Then-WWE United States Champion) Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh)
The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan)
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Zack Ryder (announced via Twitter)
Breezango
Natalya
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre
Baron Corbin
Bobby Roode
Mike Kanellis (announced via Twitter)
Mojo Rawley (announced via Twitter)
Chad Gable (announced via Twitter)
The Ascension (announced via Twitter)
New to SmackDown Live
The Miz (without The Miztourage)
(New) United States Champion Jeff Hardy
Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose
Samoa Joe
SAnitY (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain)
Big Cass
Asuka
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro)
R-Truth
Andrade 'Cien' Almas (w/ Zelina Vega)
Ongoing Analysis
The following predictions are being made live during the Superstar Shake-up based on already announced moves.
WWE Intercontinental Championship: With the WWE United States Championship now on Monday Night Raw thanks to Jinder Mahal, who quickly lost it to Jeff Hardy, the Intercontinental Championship is likely to move to SmackDown somehow. This could mean the move of Seth Rollins to SmackDown, but with Seth technically still defending against The Miz, Samoa Joe, and Finn Balor, one of those three men could be used to move the belt to SmackDown Live. Of course, it's worth noting that they could simply move Jeff to SmackDown Live now that he's the new champion to even things out.
Night One Reaction: While only one name was confirmed to be headed to SmackDown, the moves on Raw definitely indicate that some big moves must be coming tomorrow night. While The Miz fills a need, SmackDown is still only left with two marquee heels: The Miz and Shinsuke Nakamura. One prime choice would be Elias, who has been relatively unused despite his consistently quality segments. We could also see more call-ups from NXT, especially Andrade "Cien" Almas, who could immediately step in as a reliable mid-card heel.
Tag Team Turmoil: Also coming out of night one, Raw is absolutely flush with tag teams. The shake-up has given them Breezango, The Ascension, and the newly formed duo of Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. All of that is on top of the recently debuting Authors of Pain and the newly formed tandem of Bray Wyatt and "Woken" Matt Hardy. Meanwhile, SmackDown Live is down three teams with the losses of Breezango, The Ascension, and Chad Gable.
All above reactions were made prior the start of night two of the Superstar Shake-up on SmackDown Live.
Back in Balance: Bringing Jeff Hardy to SmackDown Live alleviated the championship balance issues with the Intercontinental Championship still being on Raw. On top of that, the addition of new tag teams SAnitY, The Bar, and Gallows & Anderson makes SmackDown's tag division more than stacked. Even Shelton Benjamin's sudden heel turn helped balance things out and shows that SmackDown Live is ready for a fresh start.
Night Two Reaction: By the end of Raw last night, things seemed lopsided against SmackDown. WWE needed big moves, and made plenty of them. The most notable move is the arrival of Samoa Joe, who is still scheduled to face Roman Reigns at Backlash. On top of that, the additions of The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Big Cass, Andrade 'Cien' Almas, and SAnitY all helped to give SmackDown a very stacked roster. The main event scene is already crowded, and now it looks like the US Championship scene will be equally competitive.
How do you feel about the Superstar Shake-up? Let us know in the comments below!
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