3 things we learned about WWE after the Superstar Shake-Up
After 2 successive nights of brand switching and surprises, the much-awaited WWE Superstar Shake-Up is now done and dusted. After a long and gruelling WrestleMania season, a plethora of new feuds and championship hunts beckon at both Raw and SmackDown.
On the Raw side of things, we saw superstars such as AJ Styles, The Miz, Rey Mysterio and The Usos switching over to Monday nights, whereas SmackDown saw Roman Reigns and the Intercontinental Champion, Finn Bálor, switching over to Tuesday nights.
Let's look at some of the interesting things we learned about the current landscape of the WWE post Superstar Shake-Up.
#3 WWE desperately wants to rebuild the tag team division of Raw
Raw's tag team division had been in dire straits for a lengthy period of time. The Authors of Pain failed to gather any momentum despite winning the Raw Tag Team Championship. Owing to poor booking decisions for a lengthy period of time, The Revivial suffered the same fate.
The lack of star power led to the tag team division in the red brand being completely pushed to the sidelines. So much so, that the Raw Tag Team Championship match was forced to be shifted to the WrestleMania 35 Pre-show, instead of the main show.
On the contrary, the SmackDown Tag Team division was oozing with established talents, with the likes of The Usos, The Bar, The New Day and The Hardy Boyz. They were able to gain the attention of the fans on a weekly basis, and considering the talents involved in all these teams, putting up quality matches regularly was an easy task.
With the Superstar Shake-Up, WWE has tried to make amends to this imbalance. The Usos were switched over to the red brand. We saw some shockers such as the renaming of the NXT Tag Team Champions, The War Raiders to The Viking Experience, with the Raymond Rowe being renamed as Erik and Hanson being repackaged as Ivar. Nevertheless, Raw's Tag Team division has certainly been bolstered by the presence of these two teams.
On the SmackDown side, too much damage hasn't been done, with The Hardy Boyz, The Bar and The New Day still a part of the blue brand. Along with that, WWE may also give the two remaining members of Sanity, Alexander Wolfe and Kilian Dain, a push towards the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.