5 WWE stars who were legitimately annoyed after brand changes
The 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-Up is due to take place on the April 15-16 episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live. The annual event presents the roster with a chance to make new allies and enemies over the next year on one of WWE’s two main-roster brands, and it is generally seen as a positive if a Superstar is given the opportunity to move shows.
In 2018, for example, Baron Corbin moved from SmackDown Live to Raw and established himself as one of the top heels in WWE, while Asuka and The Miz both had memorable moments on Tuesday nights after swapping Team Red for Team Blue.
Although the majority of Superstar Shake-Ups/WWE Drafts go smoothly, not everybody is overly excited after WWE’s yearly roster changes take place.
In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE stars who were left legitimately annoyed after past Shake-Ups/Drafts.
#5 Nikki Bella
In the summer of 2016, the WWE roster was split into two separate brands for the first time in over four years, with flagship show Raw and the revamped SmackDown Live recruiting new Superstars and staging their own brand-exclusive pay-per-views.
At the time, Nikki Bella was one of the marquee names in the women’s division, having held the Divas Championship for a record number of days (301), and she was hoping to make her return in time for the much-anticipated WWE Draft after recovering from neck surgery.
However, in scenes that were filmed for Total Divas, she explained that, despite receiving clearance from her surgeon, somebody from WWE emailed her to let her know that she would not be part of the roster changes.
She said (quotes via E!):
"For some reason I thought that they'd wanna clear me quick and make sure I was a big part of the draft, but I'm not on the roster...so is like that the end for me? I feel really sad because I'm not at TV with the other girls, I'm not getting drafted, but I'm going to prove to everyone that Nikki Bella will be back in that ring, because no one can stop me."
As it turned out, Eva Marie received a suspension just one month after the WWE Draft, so Nikki returned at SummerSlam 2016 and quickly became involved in a feud with main-roster newcomer Carmella on SmackDown Live.