14 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown Superstar Shake-Up

by Andy H Murray

1. SmackDown Wins... Again

Roman Reigns Elias
WWE.com

Just like last year, SmackDown absolutely trounced Raw in the Superstar Shake-Up, mitigating the losses of AJ Styles, The Miz, and The Usos with a series of high-quality acquisitions that, if presented correctly, should help put an end to the notion that this is somehow still the B-show.

As someone who is paid to break the blue brand down every week, your writer is obviously over the moon at this. The prospect of seeing people like Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, and Buddy Murphy mixing it up with existing SmackDown stars is mouth-watering. Then there's the women's division, which was already stacked with Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte around, but has now been boosted by Ember Moon, Kairi Sane, Bayley, and Mickie James. Lars Sullivan is going to be a great monster in the future. Elias rules, too. This whole Shake-Up rules!

Say what you will about the slapdash way in which WWE pulled the 2019 mini-draft off, but SD looks mighty healthy ahead of their new season of programming. Expect this to continue as we race towards October's billion-dollar TV deal.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.