10 Best WWE Roster "Shake-Up" Moves
Instances where switching brands catapulted a star.
It took a little bit of time before the idea of the "Brand Extension" cemented itself to WWE's week-to-week audience. In 2004, the overall concept was imbued with the heavy feeling of anticipation, courtesy of the first "shake-up" of its sort. Raw and SmackDown took part in a "re-draft", where each side would blindly draw out six performers from the opposition in order to freshen the respective rosters. Teams were split, rivalries were formed (or in some cases, renewed). There were plenty of elements in the mix, and the drama made for some compelling television.
For a number of performers moving to a new home, the cross-over did wonders for their WWE profile. The wrestlers-in-question received a new set of opponents, and in some cases took on a different gimmick or persona that really misted their brand with creative Lysol. In some of those instances, a midcard performer switching shows proved to be the catalyst for their eventual rise to the main event tier.
While it's easy to look back at established main eventers going to the other show and continuing their dominance, this list will mostly (read, mostly) focus on those wrestlers whose show jump spurred their actual jump up the card and into a more prominent role. These are ten of the absolute best.
10. Shelton Benjamin To Raw (2004)
As a member of The World's Greatest Tag Team, Benjamin displayed inhuman elasticity and boundless athleticism. While not much of a talker, Benjamin's potential as a heavyweight who could effortlessly dazzle did not yet know a ceiling. At age 28, Benjamin was split from Charlie Haas after a 15-month partnership, and shipped to Raw.
Instead of remaining in the midcard, Benjamin was given an upset win over Triple H just one week after crossing over. By year's end, Benjamin demonstrated value in matches with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho, the latter in which he captured the Intercontinental title. Fans voted him into that match via the Taboo Tuesday polling, so he was certainly a crowd favorite.
While Benjamin wouldn't see much greater heights than the IC belt (which he held three times), his quick establishment as a singles star with multi-faceted credibility revealed the potential of the annual shake-up.