Post by Steveweiser on Apr 15, 2019 5:10:01 GMT -5
The Superstar Shakeup gets underway tonight in Montréal, and to be quite frank, this makes RAW a little difficult to preview, as who knows which SmackDown and NXT stars will be coming over to the Red Brand...
Last year, Kurt Angle oversaw the Shakeup on the RAW side, and pretty much made a giant balls-up of it. When you could argue that the Riott Squad and Drew McIntyre were the top pickups, RAW was definitely left weaker, and was subsequently voted as the worst wrestling show in the 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, so it's imperative that they get things right tonight.
One person who will definitely be on the show tonight is dual Women's Champion Becky Lynch - following her huge WrestleMania win, The Man was confronted by the Women's Right of Lacey Evans, which she was ready for on RAW, but was blindsided by on SmackDown. Will Evans be confirmed as a RAW Superstar tonight, and will the other halfway house stars find out their new homes?
Seth Rollins put up his new Universal Championship against new WWE Champion Kofi Kingston in a Winner Take All Match last week, which was thwarted by The Bar, but it showed that Rollins is willing to be a fighting champion. Will he put the title on the line again tonight?
Usually if any champions change brands, it's normally the secondary titles, which would suggest that tonight will be Finn Bálor's last night on RAW, and that Samoa Joe will be coming over with the United States Title. But will it be the Tag Team Champions swapping, with Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder going to SmackDown and the Hardy Boyz to RAW? Will Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston swap over? Will Becky Lynch swap over with herself?
Drew McIntyre was an example last year that NXT stars are eligible for the Shakeup as well. Aleister Black, Ricochet and Lars Sullivan are among those who moved over early with no permanent homes, but will any black and yellow stars move over? The Undisputed ERA and Kairi Sane are among the names speculated to come in, while even former WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne could make the move. Which brands will be taken over this week?
The Shakeup's predecessor, the WWE Draft Lottery, was infamous for splitting up tag teams and stables, something that the Shakeup hasn't done yet, but the possibility is still there. Following Kofi's title win, will he move to RAW alone, leaving Big E and Xavier Woods behind? The Riott Squad moved to RAW together last year, but would SmackDown be dicks and just take Ruby Riott back by herself? Will one of the brands remove the Pirate from the Sky and take Kairi Sane while leaving Io Shirai in NXT? We'll see...
Whatever happens, it'll be noteworthy - find out from 8/7c on USA!
Last year, Kurt Angle oversaw the Shakeup on the RAW side, and pretty much made a giant balls-up of it. When you could argue that the Riott Squad and Drew McIntyre were the top pickups, RAW was definitely left weaker, and was subsequently voted as the worst wrestling show in the 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, so it's imperative that they get things right tonight.
One person who will definitely be on the show tonight is dual Women's Champion Becky Lynch - following her huge WrestleMania win, The Man was confronted by the Women's Right of Lacey Evans, which she was ready for on RAW, but was blindsided by on SmackDown. Will Evans be confirmed as a RAW Superstar tonight, and will the other halfway house stars find out their new homes?
Seth Rollins put up his new Universal Championship against new WWE Champion Kofi Kingston in a Winner Take All Match last week, which was thwarted by The Bar, but it showed that Rollins is willing to be a fighting champion. Will he put the title on the line again tonight?
Usually if any champions change brands, it's normally the secondary titles, which would suggest that tonight will be Finn Bálor's last night on RAW, and that Samoa Joe will be coming over with the United States Title. But will it be the Tag Team Champions swapping, with Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder going to SmackDown and the Hardy Boyz to RAW? Will Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston swap over? Will Becky Lynch swap over with herself?
Drew McIntyre was an example last year that NXT stars are eligible for the Shakeup as well. Aleister Black, Ricochet and Lars Sullivan are among those who moved over early with no permanent homes, but will any black and yellow stars move over? The Undisputed ERA and Kairi Sane are among the names speculated to come in, while even former WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne could make the move. Which brands will be taken over this week?
The Shakeup's predecessor, the WWE Draft Lottery, was infamous for splitting up tag teams and stables, something that the Shakeup hasn't done yet, but the possibility is still there. Following Kofi's title win, will he move to RAW alone, leaving Big E and Xavier Woods behind? The Riott Squad moved to RAW together last year, but would SmackDown be dicks and just take Ruby Riott back by herself? Will one of the brands remove the Pirate from the Sky and take Kairi Sane while leaving Io Shirai in NXT? We'll see...
Whatever happens, it'll be noteworthy - find out from 8/7c on USA!
