WWE Confirm Dates For NEW Superstar Shake-Up 2019
Big roster changes are coming after WrestleMania 35.
The first ever WWE International Superstar Shake-Up is coming after WrestleMania 35.
POST Wrestling's John Pollock tweeted the following Canadian television clip last night, with WWE broadcaster Scott Stanford confirming the two-night event will take place on 16 and 17 April:-
Raw and SmackDown will broadcast from Montreal, Quebec, Canada those nights, making this the first Shake-Up to take place outside the United States
The commercial also advertised a match between Seth Rollins and Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley, though this by no means indicates The Architect's Universal Title failure in Brooklyn. WWE, wisening to spoilers dropping from live show previews, have latterly been advertising matches in the context of contemporaneous circumstances, with the proviso that the card is subject to change. As such, Rollins was billed as 'Royal Rumble 2019 Winner' - a fact that'll obviously be irrelevant come mid-April.
Kevin Owens, The Miz, Sami Zayn, and Asuka were amongst the biggest names to switch brands in last year's Shake-Up, which replaced the Draft as WWE's annual roster re-organiser in 2017. This year's will be particularly interesting, as the upcoming Fox TV deal is expected to make SmackDown WWE's A-show by default when it kicks in this October, meaning that a host of huge names could transition over from Monday nights.
WWE also have a number of free agents to re-position. Heavy Machinery, Nikki Cross, EC3, and Lacey Evans have drifted between Raw and SmackDown since being called-up. Becky Lynch, too, is currently appearing on both shows, though the upcoming Ronda Rousey match means she'll probably be on Raw more than SD over the next few months.
Either way, the Shake-Up is always one of WWE's most intriguing events of the year.