3 reasons why various WWE Superstars have appeared on both RAW and SmackDown LIVE recently

For the past few weeks, we have been seeing a huge chunk of WWE Superstars from RAW, SmackDown LIVE, and NXT appearing and doing something significant on both RAW and SmackDown LIVE.

We have been seeing NXT talents like Alesteir Black and Ricochet performing in WWE's three major brands during the same period. The duo has even competed for the tag team titles on each brand during the last week.

They faced the then RAW tag team champions, The Revival, on the WrestleMania go home episode of RAW. They faced the current NXT tag team champions, the War Raiders, in a fantastic match at NXT TakeOver: New York, and at WrestleMania the unlikely duo faced The Usos, the Bar, and the team of Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura for the SD LIVE tag team championship.

Similarly, many superstars are jumping ship to other brands - Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre made an appearance on the latest episode of SmackDown LIVE. In this list, we will take a look at a few reasons why these superstars have appeared on both RAW and SmackDown LIVE.

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#3 To hype up Superstar Shake-up

The Superstar Shake-up has been an annual tradition for the past three years

In case you are not aware of it, WWE will be hosting Superstar Shake-up on the next episodes of both RAW and SmackDown LIVE, where superstars from one brand may move to another.

Last year, SmackDown LIVE got superstars like Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, and the Miz, whereas RAW got the likes of Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn.

Similarly, this time also, we could see some huge names jumping ship to rival brands. These moves are really crucial since this is probably the last Superstar Shake-up before SmackDown LIVE's move to FOX network.

#2 To induce Interbrand rivalries

Brock Lesnar had an Interbrand feud against Randy Orton in the summer of 2016

The biggest problem associated with the brand split is that one brand may become stale after a few months from the latest Superstar Shake-up.

While SmackDown LIVE did a brilliant job at mixing things up last year, RAW had a terrible time with its roster. The red brand had to recycle most of its feuds throughout the cycle of 2018. Repetitive feuds, stale storylines, and filler segments were prevalent throughout the year.

Thus, having some Interbrand rivalries will help to spice things up for both the red and the blue brand. Since WWE is only having dual branded PPVs, it would be a good place to ignite some rivalries.

For example, on the next WWE PPV - ie, Money in the Bank 2019 - WWE could spark an Interbrand rivalry during the ladder match, where both RAW and SD LIVE Superstars compete against each other.

#1 A temporary period without a brand split

WWE teased a title unification match between Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston on RAW

Becky Lynch is currently both RAW and SD LIVE women's champion. This scenario means that she will have to face and defend her title against competitors from both RAW and SD LIVE. WWE even teased to merge both the Universal title and the WWE title.

These might be the signs that suggest WWE may be looking forward to having a small period without any brand split before SmackDown LIVE's move to FOX network. Once the blue brand moves to the new network, things will be different.

We may not be able to see Interbrand rivalries since both USA network (which will broadcast RAW), and FOX network (which will air SD LIVE) will not be keen on promoting superstars from rival networks.

During this period, we could potentially see some dream feuds that may not happen if there is a brand split in place. For example, who would not like to see AJ Styles going against Seth Rollins in the main event of SummerSlam 2019 for the Universal title?