Superstar Shakeup 2018: Analysing The Good and The Bad of it

We are now done with the latest edition of the Superstar Shakeup, and it is safe to say that both Raw and SmackDown Live have gone through complete makeovers, with each brand gaining 15+ new stars each, from the other brand as well as from NXT.

The landscape of both brands has changed considerably, but everything about the superstar shakeup was not quite well thought out, perhaps. Some decisions were questionable at best, and some downright surprising.

With that in mind, let's list out the good and bad of the Superstar Shakeup 2018.

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Good: Exciting possibilities

This should be an amazing storyline

The best thing about the Superstar Shakeup is the exciting new feuds and potential dream matches now becoming possible with the stars changing brands.

WWE has already teased one, by revealing that Daniel Bryan specifically requested that The Miz be swapped over to SmackDown so that he can pick his bones with the A-Lister.

Some other potential feuds include the likes of Samoa Joe taking on Shinsuke Nakamura, with both Superstars wrestling a hard-hitting style; Roman Reigns going up against Kevin Owens, who can lay claim to the Universal Title for which he never got a rematch after losing to Goldberg and many more.

One more storyline WWE additionally teased this past week was between Big Cass and Bryan. If carried out well, this can be another classic David vs Goliath storyline which can elevate Cass to the main event scene as a proper heel.

Bad: No title swaps

Surprisingly, the US Title came back home to SmackDown Live

When Jeff Hardy returned from his injury to Raw and won the US Championship from Jinder Mahal (who was the first Superstar to change brands) in the opening match, it looked like WWE was planning to make some changes to the mid-card titles of the two shows, namely the Intercontinental and the US Championships.

It was briefly thought that Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins might make a move to the blue brand, taking his title with him.

But, in a surprise move, Hardy showed up with his new US Title on SmackDown the next day.

While the Charismatic Enigma is a great acquisition to the brand, it would have been a refreshing change to swap the mid-card titles between the two brands.

Good: NXT Call-ups

The former NXT Champion will be a great heel on the main roster

Former NXT Champion Andrade "Cien" Almas and SAnitY were revealed as the stars who would join the blue brand from the developmental brand NXT.

On Raw, Drew McIntyre made a dominant debut alongside Dolph Ziggler, with the two seemingly forming an alliance.

All these acquisitions are good news for the main roster: Almas, with Zelina Vega taking care of the promo work, has proven how good a heel he can be.

This opens up possibilities of potential great feuds with pure babyfaces such as AJ Styles and Bryan.

SAnitY will get a chance to prove their whittle among some of the best tag teams such as The Usos, New Day and The Bar.

In the case of McIntyre, WWE seems to have high hopes for the Superstar, seeing how they chose to have him show up on Raw instead of going back to NXT.

It remains to be seen how WWE intends to use him and Ziggler as a team going forward.

Bad: Some questionable decisions

Gable is in danger of being lost in RAW among the stars

Amidst some amazing choices for brand change during the Superstar shakeup, the WWE also made a few questionable decisions which might negatively impact some of the Superstars involved.

Before even taking off from the ground considerably as a tag team, WWE broke up Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin.

While Benjamin is a veteran who has shown that he has the capability to hold his own as a singles competitor, the equally talented albeit inexperience Gable is in danger of being lost in the land of behemoths.

With "Rusev Day" chants becoming louder and louder by the week, the company would have done well to give the Bulgarian Brute a fresh start by moving him to the red brand, but sadly, Rusev stays put on SmackDown Live.

Finn Balor is being pushed by the WWE as a top star, which he most certainly is, but the push has mostly been directionless.

A move to the blue brand might have been the shot in the arm that the Demon King needed, to get to the top and stay there.

Good: More star power to SmackDown Live

The Destroyer just upped the ante on the blue brand

Even since its inception, SmackDown has always been known as the B show. WWE themselves have treated it so, with Raw being promoted to the premier show of the two.

For instance, before the latest brand split, SmackDown didn't even have its own roster and was taped previously and aired on Tuesdays, not aired live.

Before the shakeup, SmackDown boasted of little star power as compared to Raw, with AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura being the centre of most feuds.

However now, we have the likes of Jeff Hardy, Joe, The Miz, in addition to Styles, Nakamura, Bryan and the rest staying back.

SmackDown gained some much-needed star power and hopefully will once again reach the heights it once enjoyed during the glory days of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

Bad: Raw Tag Team division in jeopardy

The Bar moved to SmackDown in the shakeup

If there's one thing worrying me about Raw now, it's their Tag Team division. After the shakeup, SmackDown Live now has the likes of The Usos, The New Day, The Bar, SAnitY, The Bludgeon Brothers, the Good Brothers Gallow and Anderson.

Raw, on the other hand, is considerably lacking in well-established tag teams. Breezango need to up their game if they want to be taken seriously by the fans and not just as a comedic element.

The Revival are yet to find their footing on the main roster; AoP is definitely a dominant team but is inexperienced in the big leagues; while the teams of Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt and McIntyre/Ziggler are sure to split up sometime in the future, with the Superstars going their separate ways on singles runs.

It is up to WWE to develop these above mentioned teams with solid storylines and sensible Title placements, much like the amazing work done by company in getting over The Bar as one of the most dominant teams on the roster today.