WWE Raw Superstar Shake-Up: 10 Things You Might Have Missed (April 16)

1. Seen Some Things. Done Some Stuff

Bray Wyatt Matt Hardy
WWE.com

19. Nineteen. Ni-ni-ni 19, 19, ni-19 19. Maybe the Survivor Series 2017 build had legs after all - it is a war out there.

And it's a war SmackDown Live! may have already lost. Monday's show itself couldn't even provide a platform for the mass group of talents getting a Monday Night refresh. As noted, Raw was destined to raid a glut of SmackDown Live! talents as per the real and kayfabe favouritism shown to the flagship. The added interest from Fox on acquiring the brand was sure to drive more trades Raw's way, but there's absolutely no way the blue brand will get anywhere near that number of performers in return.

Raw's steals weren't even that exciting. In fact, for all the roster page will have increased beyond WWE.com's planned bandwidth, there may be less concerns when it comes to video views of their debuts. Few made any significant impact, whilst others read about their fate as a news follow-on.

SmackDown Live!'s own work in the Superstar Shake-up will determine which brand can truly claim bragging rights over this spring's switch-around, but has Raw's soft reset revealed a worryingly early post-'Mania malaise amongst audience and creative alike?

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