10 Times WWE Actually Admitted It Sucked

7. Literally Every Superstar Shake-Up

Kevin Owens Shane McMahon
WWE

The Superstar Shake-Up was a more tacit admission of main roster awfulness.

This wasn't held under the framework of a draft. The faintest allusion to "negotiations" were made, but that was the extent of the effort. Not one General Manager or Commissioner or whatever f*cking way 'round it was agonised over a trade decision, nor did any of the talents feel particularly aggrieved over being perceived as expendable. This did not inform the narrative.

It was all, 'Hey, I'm on RAW now! I'm coming to RAW - and I'm bringing my brand of craziness with me!"

They were coming to RAW for no good reason. Dean Ambrose was shaken over to RAW in 2017, and it was presented as nothing. Simply, he was on RAW now. "Wow!" this compelled Michael Cole to say, as if it was an earth-shattering announcement that had happened for a specific purpose.

"It's Dean Ambrose, and he's next to red ropes now!"

In announcing the Superstar Shake-Up, Vince McMahon himself actually just said "It's time to shake things up around here!", the subtext of which was "We can't possibly tell stories with one fixed roster for less than a calendar year!"

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!