10 Mistakes WWE Made With The Superstar Shake-up
Shaken, but definitely not stirred.
WWE's first rejig of the Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live! rosters has overseen the the movement of 22 acts between shows.
From champions to announcers, the movement hit all sections of the card, with several key talents changing lanes in as the company refreshed the line-ups to kick off their new post-WrestleMania season.
Some of the trades were for the equal good of performer and show. Former Women's Champion Charlotte was in desperate need of a change of scenery after feuding ad infinitum with Sasha Banks and losing conclusively to Bayley and Nia Jax in follow up programmes.
Going in the opposite direction, The Miz and Maryse have lit up Tuesday nights with their power couple act, and deserve an opportunity to test their collective mettle in the more challenging three hour bull-pit that is Monday Night Raw.
But it wasn't a creatively pristine week for the company. Several talents in need of the switch seemed ignored or forgotten, and the same could be said for the entire presentation of the supposedly seismic activity on both shows.
Reviewing what the company neglected to fix (or decided to break), here are 10 mistakes WWE made with the 'Superstar Shake-up'.
10. Enzo And Cass Stay On Raw
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady were literally muted as they greeted Seth Rollins ahead of a segment centred around whether or not he would be leaving Monday Night Raw.
It was a sad irony to see two of the product's most dynamic stick-men reduced to silent cheerleaders for the 'Architect' during a week-long roster overhaul that could have seen them reclaim the spotlight on an entirely new stage.
It was just over a year ago that the pair made their spine-tingling debut on Monday Night Raw to verbally eviscerate The Dudley Boys, but familiarity has predictably bred contempt for the New Jersey duo to such a degree that human rohypnol Sheamus earned a thunderous pop and 'Thank You' chant just for wiping Enzo out.
The same inherent problem with the team has happened on Raw that manifested in NXT. They are too over.
Nothing about that should cause consternation, but in modern day WWE, their unending popularity results in creative complacency and plenty of in-ring losses.
In making a longterm commitment to an act, fans always want to back winners rather than losers, especially if the losers are the sort than run their mouths regardless.
A move to Smackdown Live! would have wiped the slate clean. Alas it's on Raw where they'll continue to plod.