5 possible surprises we could see during the 2019 Superstar Shakeup

Now that WrestleMania weekend is in the books, it is time to look ahead at the year that will be. The Superstar Shakeup keeps interest at a high, as the fans will be intrigued to find out which superstars move across brands. There will be many surprises in store for us, much like the last few years. Moves between the Red and Blue brands were big successes for some, but it did not work out for everybody.

With the improved creative direction that WWE has taken in 2019, there is a renewed sense of optimism that the Superstar Shakeup will balance out the rosters of Raw and Smackdown. Last year, Smackdown got the better end as a world champion-less Raw had to deal with a barrage of midcard talent. Hopefully, there are enough moves and moments that would lead to the excitement of the year in front of us.

Here are five possible surprises that could happen on next week's Raw and Smackdown.

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#5 AJ Styles leaves the house he built

Ever since WWE brought back the brand split in 2016, one of the constants on Smackdown Live was AJ Styles. He was the first wrestler to win the WWE Championship after the Blue brand went live and held it with pride. Styles was the driving force behind Smackdown's incredible year. He has become a mainstay on the show. Whether it was in a program with Shane McMahon, a United States title run, or a year-long WWE Championship reign, the Phenomenal One always had a big part to play on Smackdown.

He has done everything on the brand and maybe a change in scenery could freshen him up. Styles was first expected to move to Raw in 2017, but WWE decided to shift Bray Wyatt instead. Last year, he was last in the middle of his year-long reign as WWE Champion. This time, AJ Styles has a blank slate in his future. And there are some tasty matchups waiting for him on Raw. He hasn't faced Roman Reigns in singles action since their killer Extreme Rules match in 2016. A Universal title match with Seth Rollins is also a must for Styles. This seems like the right time for him to leave the house that he built.

#4 The midcard champions switch shows

On the post-WrestleMania edition of SmackDown, Braun Strowman showed up to confront Samoa Joe. WWE teased us with this massive match and feud for the United States Championship. Everyone seems to think that Strowman is now a lock for the Blue brand but again, a swerve could be coming our way. Joe could move to the Red brand in a similar way he shifted over to SmackDown last year, in the midst of a feud with Roman Reigns. Finn Balor would evidently switch places with Joe and move to Tuesday nights.

This first happened in 2017, when Dean Ambrose brought the Intercontinental Championship to Raw and US champion Kevin Owens moved to Smackdown. Last year, Jinder Mahal joined the Raw roster as the United States champion, but he immediately lost it to Jeff Hardy, who would move to Smackdown. A switch between belts for each show makes all the sense in the world. Balor would be an excellent fit for Smackdown, as he could have great defences against the stacked midcard on the brand.

#3 Buddy Murphy shows up on Raw or Smackdown

At the start of last year, Buddy Murphy was an afterthought. He was a mid-card wrestler on NXT and nobody really cared about him. He then lost weight and just about made the 205 Live roster. Murphy grabbed the opportunity with both arms and put on some of the best performances one could possibly put on, in matches with the likes of Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali. He became the Cruiserweight Champion in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia at the Super Showdown pay-per-view. Since then, Murphy has had some great title defences against all of 205 Live's top faces.

Now, after losing his title to Tony Nese at WrestleMania, there is nothing left for Murphy to do in 205 Live. An obvious route for him would be following his former rival, Mustafa Ali onto the main roster. He would be an excellent addition to any show and could make an impact similar to the one Ali made when he first arrived. However, Murphy first has an NXT North American Championship match with Velveteen Dream on next week's NXT. This might be to swerve us into thinking he would not show up on Raw or Smackdown. But that's what the Superstar Shakeup is all about, swerves and surprises.

#2 Sami Zayn joins forces with Daniel Bryan and Rowan

Sami Zayn returned on the Raw after WrestleMania and had a fun little match with Finn Balor for the Intercontinental Championship. After the match, he cut a scathing promo on the fans and how they are the reason why WWE is a toxic environment. Zayn was a heel on Raw before he got injured and his work over here was top notch. It was a similar promo in a way to the ones that Daniel Bryan has been cutting over on Smackdown. He made a fantastic heel throughout his WWE Championship reign. There are many similarities between the paths that Bryan and Zayn have taken.

Raw and Smackdown will be in Montreal, Zayn's hometown. He will almost surely get a massive reaction, despite being a crowd bashing heel. He could, however, garner some heat by forming a stable with the former WWE Champion and his intellectual peer, Rowan, on Smackdown. Zayn is intellectually on par with Daniel Bryan, that is for certain.

This partnership just fits and could serve to make two of the unlikeliest villains in the company become even more villainous. Bryan, with Zayn and Rowan by his side, could get even better as a heel, and could possibly even regain the WWE title from Kofi Kingston at the right time in the near future.

#1 Roman Reigns moves to Smackdown

This would be an absolute shocker. Or would it? Roman Reigns is WWE's biggest full-time male star and the company will want the most eyes on him. Raw is the current flagship program, but only until SmackDown gets going on Fox. The Blue brand will be shown on Fox starting in October after a huge deal was struck for the next five years. WWE will want to put most of their big stars on Smackdown in light of this move and the Big Dog could be one of them. He certainly has done it all on Raw and could use a change in setting.

Reigns is going to remain a permanent main event player in WWE and will be around the world title scene for his entire career. He could go after Seth Rollins and the Universal title, but a shake-up in the main event scene would provide fresher matches for him. The Big Dog could have matches with AJ Styles, depending on if he moves or not, people he hasn't faced like Andrade and Ali and even guys he faced a long time ago, like Daniel Bryan. This keeps Roman's options open, as he could challenge for a title he hasn't even looked at since he moved to Raw at the start of the second brand split.

In terms of major moves, none of them would shake things up quite like Roman Reigns moving to Smackdown.