Post by Steveweiser on Apr 10, 2017 7:21:38 GMT -5
RAW is live from the renovated Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York, where the mysterious SUPERSTAR SHAKE-UP begins. It's a two night event, beginning tonight and concluding tomorrow at SmackDown Live in Boston. But what exactly does it entail?
With RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon unable to fulfill her duties after going through a table at WrestleMania 33, Vince McMahon appointed former multi-time WWE Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle as the Red Brand's new General Manager, and has immediately put the Olympic Gold Medalist to work, as over the next two days, Angle will meet with his SmackDown Live counterpart Daniel Bryan in order to organise trades and similar movements between the two rosters. So who exactly will change brands? Will champions be exempt? Will newcomers such as RAW's The Revival and SmackDown Live's Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger have to change brands a week into their WWE careers? Will returning stars like Emma, Finn Bálor and Erick Rowan have to move nights? Will SmackDown Live become the Roman Empire? Will RAW become Phenomenal? Will RAW become Blissful? Will SmackDown become Genetically Superior? All these questions and many more will begin to be answered tonight.
Most of the rest of this preview could well become redundant, but we'll go with what we've got... after nearly 8 months away, Finn Bálor returned to RAW, and found himself paired with the very man who put him out of action in the first place, Seth Rollins. Thankfully things went well, as they defeated Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe in last week's main event, although things aren't exactly harmonious between Bálor and Rollins. What remains to be seen is Bálor's motivation upon his return. Does he want to regain the WWE Universal Championship which he never lost, therefore pitting him directly against Brock Lesnar? Will he want to target Kevin Owens, whose reign as Universal Champion in part mocked Bálor's? Or is there something else on the Demon King's mind?
If it's not Bálor who will challenge the new Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, who will? Goldberg stepped away from the time being after RAW went off the air last week, and Braun Strowman seemed to make his intentions clear, before backing off from a fight with The Beast Incarnate. Paul Heyman suggested another collision with Roman Reigns, which would pit the two men who defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania against each other. Strowman suggested that he isn't done with Reigns yet, so maybe another match between Reigns and Strowman will decide the first challenger? Will we learn more about this tonight?
One match is already set for Payback on April 30th, as the new United States Champion Kevin Owens will defend the title against Chris Jericho in a WrestleMania rematch. However, Owens and his associate Samoa Joe are already trying to ensure that Jericho doesn't even make it to San Jose, brutally attacking him last week. We'll find out tonight if Jericho is able to make that match, or if something else has to be put in place. But if Jericho's able to go, more than the tip of Owens' finger will be going onto the List of Jericho.
The new RAW Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz already have challengers in place for their titles, as Cesaro & Sheamus saw off Enzo & Big Cass last week to claim a shot at the Broken One and Brother Nero. Will that match take place tonight, or at Payback on April 30th in San Jose? And whoever comes out on top there will have to concern themselves with The Revival, as Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson broke out in a big way by defeating The New Day last week. What will the Top Guys do for an encore?
There isn't a clear contender for Bayley's RAW Women's Championship right now, with the Hugger having effectively cleaned out the division at WrestleMania 33. One woman who could challenge Bayley is the returning Emma, who has a point to prove following months out with a back injury, and then a botched repackage as "Emmalina". She might want to take all that frustration out on Bayley, but there's still Nia Jax looming large - Charlotte and Sasha Banks could always contend again, Superstar Shake-up permitting, or the Shake-up could even bring someone over from SmackDown Live to contend, such as Alexa Bliss or even another fellow Horsewoman in Becky Lynch. Will we know more after tonight?
All this and much more tonight from 8/7c on USA!
With RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon unable to fulfill her duties after going through a table at WrestleMania 33, Vince McMahon appointed former multi-time WWE Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle as the Red Brand's new General Manager, and has immediately put the Olympic Gold Medalist to work, as over the next two days, Angle will meet with his SmackDown Live counterpart Daniel Bryan in order to organise trades and similar movements between the two rosters. So who exactly will change brands? Will champions be exempt? Will newcomers such as RAW's The Revival and SmackDown Live's Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger have to change brands a week into their WWE careers? Will returning stars like Emma, Finn Bálor and Erick Rowan have to move nights? Will SmackDown Live become the Roman Empire? Will RAW become Phenomenal? Will RAW become Blissful? Will SmackDown become Genetically Superior? All these questions and many more will begin to be answered tonight.
Most of the rest of this preview could well become redundant, but we'll go with what we've got... after nearly 8 months away, Finn Bálor returned to RAW, and found himself paired with the very man who put him out of action in the first place, Seth Rollins. Thankfully things went well, as they defeated Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe in last week's main event, although things aren't exactly harmonious between Bálor and Rollins. What remains to be seen is Bálor's motivation upon his return. Does he want to regain the WWE Universal Championship which he never lost, therefore pitting him directly against Brock Lesnar? Will he want to target Kevin Owens, whose reign as Universal Champion in part mocked Bálor's? Or is there something else on the Demon King's mind?
If it's not Bálor who will challenge the new Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, who will? Goldberg stepped away from the time being after RAW went off the air last week, and Braun Strowman seemed to make his intentions clear, before backing off from a fight with The Beast Incarnate. Paul Heyman suggested another collision with Roman Reigns, which would pit the two men who defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania against each other. Strowman suggested that he isn't done with Reigns yet, so maybe another match between Reigns and Strowman will decide the first challenger? Will we learn more about this tonight?
One match is already set for Payback on April 30th, as the new United States Champion Kevin Owens will defend the title against Chris Jericho in a WrestleMania rematch. However, Owens and his associate Samoa Joe are already trying to ensure that Jericho doesn't even make it to San Jose, brutally attacking him last week. We'll find out tonight if Jericho is able to make that match, or if something else has to be put in place. But if Jericho's able to go, more than the tip of Owens' finger will be going onto the List of Jericho.
The new RAW Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz already have challengers in place for their titles, as Cesaro & Sheamus saw off Enzo & Big Cass last week to claim a shot at the Broken One and Brother Nero. Will that match take place tonight, or at Payback on April 30th in San Jose? And whoever comes out on top there will have to concern themselves with The Revival, as Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson broke out in a big way by defeating The New Day last week. What will the Top Guys do for an encore?
There isn't a clear contender for Bayley's RAW Women's Championship right now, with the Hugger having effectively cleaned out the division at WrestleMania 33. One woman who could challenge Bayley is the returning Emma, who has a point to prove following months out with a back injury, and then a botched repackage as "Emmalina". She might want to take all that frustration out on Bayley, but there's still Nia Jax looming large - Charlotte and Sasha Banks could always contend again, Superstar Shake-up permitting, or the Shake-up could even bring someone over from SmackDown Live to contend, such as Alexa Bliss or even another fellow Horsewoman in Becky Lynch. Will we know more after tonight?
All this and much more tonight from 8/7c on USA!