This week on Raw and SmackDown Live, WWE is having their mostly annual superstar shakeup and once again, no one is safe! Any superstar from Raw, SD Live, NXT, or NXT UK are eligible to be drafted and I have a feeling that all of those brands will be represented in the shakeup this year.
Raw
Raw is WWE’s flagship show and history will tell you that Raw always gets more stars. While the red brand will lose a few key pieces, many will stay as I see mostly role players leaving Monday nights.
However, Raw will gain some key players going forward as well. Here are my top three predictions as to who will move to the red brand in no particular order:
At this point, it’s almost tradition to have the United States champion and the Intercontinental champion trade spots. It will be no different here. Samoa Joe will be headed to Monday Night Raw, while Finn Balor heads to Tuesday nights.
Paige announced last week that she has a tag team that will be on Raw tonight. I’m predicting Kairi Sane and Io Shirai from NXT get called up here. Kairi has done all she can do in NXT and Io Shirai, in my opinion is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now. These two need to be showcased on weekly national television.
AJ Styles has been the face of SmackDown Live since the brand split three years ago. He’s done everything he can possibly do on the blue brand and it’s time for something fresh.
SmackDown Live
SmackDown Live historically gets the short end of the stick when it comes to huge names heading over to their show, but this year, I think it get’s interesting:
I’m predicting that Roman Reigns will move to SD Live. After coming back from his battle with leukemia, he hasn’t done a whole lot. He’s not tied to Raw and he should make the move. With Dean Ambrose supposedly leaving the company, the Shield is no more. It’s time for Reigns to move away from Seth Rollins and the Universal championship.
Pete Dunne, the longest reigning champion in WWE’s modern era. He held the WWE United Kingdom championship for nearly two years. Dunne suffered a loss at NXT TakeOver: New York where he lost his championship to Walter in an amazing match. It’s time for Dunne to shine on the main roster. I also wouldn’t mind the rest of British Strong Style to come up with him as well.
We saw Braun Strowman last week on SmackDown Live and I feel as though we’ll be seeing that more regularly for a while. The monster among men has floundered on Raw over the past year and just like Reigns, it’s time for something fresh.
The Superstar Shakeup is one of the most anticipated weeks of WWE programming each year. The fans are ready for new story lines and match ups so (in Vince McMahon’s voice), “It’s time to shake things up around here!”
