10 Things You Might Have Missed On The WWE SmackDown Live! Superstar Shake-Up (April 17)

1. Heaven 17?

Samoa Joe
WWE

Counting every individual performer (because that's eventually what they'll all be based on Vince McMahon's long-held loathing of tag teams anyway), SmackDown Live! gained 17 new stars in the Superstar Shake-up. The switch-around saw Raw take only two more despite having one full extra hour of programming a week to worry about.

There are a few schools of thought on this beyond the initial warm response to seeing a sh*tload of favourites all turn up on the show traditionally holding a reputation of being the 'workrate' night, as redundant as that concept is in 2018.

For starters, are there just too many talents for two hours? Inevitably some will fall by the wayside - anticipate a raft of complaints to float in for [insert wrestler here] not getting the creative attention to deserve. More frightening to consider is why the traditionally neglected blue brand has been so fortuitous. Is it - perish the thought - possible that SmackDown Live! may gain an hour as part of ongoing television rights negotiations, rather than the optimistic opposite happening on Monday Night Raw. Rather than a rejig, was this in fact a leveller for terrifying things to come?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett