The fallout of the 2018 Superstar Shakeup
With the Superstar Shakeup in the rear-view mirror, both Raw and SmackDown got a bigger than expected overhaul. Each show has four divisions denoted by its major championships - the main event division, the mid-card division, the tag team division, and the women's division. Each division on both shows was transformed, but was it for the better or worse?
What's the outlook for those divisions with the new arrivals and departures? How do we grade each after the shakeup?
Raw Tag Team Division
I was certain that Cesaro and Sheamus, "The Bar," were going to SmackDown. They've dominated Raw for so long that they needed to move to give themselves fresh feuds and the division room to breathe. Jobbing to the lowly Breezango on Monday made it more obvious, so the announcement on Tuesday, despite their tag team title match at the Greatest Royal Rumble, wasn't very surprising.
The problem for Raw, however, is that it didn't pick up any big team from SmackDown to compensate for The Bar's loss. That leaves a tremendous void to be filled in a shattered division.
The acquisition of the Authors of Pain was a huge plus for the red brand, and they'll clearly be a big force going forward, but in the near-term, the division is full of jobber teams like Breezango and Titus Worldwide, which might explain the slapped-together pairing of Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler last Monday, which is only a hamper of the former's potential.
The odd couple of Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt presents an interesting bridge, but the division will have to do significant rebuilding in the coming months until new challengers can come.
Grade after the Shakeup: D+