10 Problems WWE Solved With The 2019 Superstar Shake-Up
As messy as it was, this year's Shake-Up was full of positive moves.
WWE's latest Superstar Shake-Up is finally in the books.
Held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it began with a busy Monday Night Raw that saw 17 individuals join the flagship show, with names as diverse as former WWE Champion AJ Styles and the newly-christened Viking Experience leaving their old homes for pastures new. Then, on SmackDown, Vince McMahon delivered on his promise of "the biggest acquisition the show had ever seen" as Roman Reigns led a group of newcomers that also featured Finn Balor, Buddy Murphy, and Bayley.
Mixed fortunes await everyone who moved homes in this year's Shake-Up, and as is always the case in this company, everything hinges on the follow-up. Regardless, WWE did a solid job of refreshing their stagnating talent pool this week. These episodes of Raw and SmackDown have become two of the year's most exciting since the brand split returned in 2016, and swathes of new booking possibilities now await Styles, Reigns, and co.
More than a mere cosmetic reshuffle, the Superstar Shake-Up went some way to addressing the myriad of problems stifling WWE's product coming out of WrestleMania 35. Let's run through its biggest steps forward...
10. Housing The Homeless
Finding permanent homes for the swathe of directionless NXT call-ups who'd spent the past few months as brand-less "free agents" was always going to be one of WWE's biggest priorities in this latest Superstar Shake-Up. Assigning them to Raw or SmackDown was a relatively dull box-ticking exercise. Still, it had to be done, and attaching these talented men and women to their new spots should bode well for their future.
Lacey Evans is now at the forefront of Raw's women's division. She planted her flag shortly before wrestling Natalya in a number one contender's match, besting the veteran and announcing her intention to challenge Becky Lynch in the near future. Elsewhere, Ricochet and Aleister Black stuck together, Lars Sullivan made Monday nights his home by battering fellow newcomer Rey Mysterio, and WWE bantered EC3 off by having Braun Strowman Chokeslam him through a panel by the stage. As far as SmackDown goes, Heavy Machinery will settle on Tuesday nights.
Their fortunes will vary, but at least Evans, Sullivan, and co. know where they're going now. Let's hope they defy their low expectations on Raw and SmackDown.