Why RAW didn't get the short end of the stick in the Superstar Shakeup

WWE Raw has been panned by most critics to be the big loser after the Superstar Shakeup, which saw them pick up people like Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal - essentially the entire Smackdown midcard.

They lost Jeff Hardy, The Miz, Samoa Joe and Big Cass to Smackdown, and on paper, it seems like Raw has been robbed, losing their most exciting talent for the stale acts on Smackdown. However, that would be a disservice to whatever WWE's booking plan is.

Whatever happens in WWE, Raw will always be the main show. When you give this new Raw roster a closer look, you can see that Raw is equally stacked, if not more.

All three men held the WWE Championship on the same night at Money in the Bank 2016

The three biggest stars in the recent era of WWE have been the three members of The Shield. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are still Raw property, and are still the cornerstones of the company.

Reigns is on the verge of yet another coronation, as he is set to beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship sooner or later. Seth Rollins is holding the Intercontinental Championship right now, and has been a star ever since his cash-in at WrestleMania 31. Ambrose is injured currently, but there will be an electric return, considering how over he is with the WWE Universe.

Outside this trio, you have the returning Bobby Lashley who seems to be primed for a main event run, with a rumored match against Brock Lesnar down the line. Along with him, we have Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Braun Strowman.

This is the definition of stacked. Raw also has the intriguing pairing of Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. Add to this the tag team division, which may have lost The Bar and Gallows and Anderson, but they got Breezeango. The duo of Tyler Breeze and Fandango was easily one of the most entertaining parts of Smackdown, and the Fashion Files segments were hilarious.

The Ascension still can be revived if WWE want to, and with the arrival of The Authors of Pain from NXT, and the newest tag team of Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy, it makes for a very exciting division in the coming months.

Ronda's new on-screen ally was also her trainer

The women of Raw have lost Asuka and Absolution, but they got the Riott Squad in return, as well as Natalya, who has now entered into an alliance with Ronda Rousey. That makes the Raw roster instantly stronger.

Along with Bayley, Sasha Banks, Ember Moon and Alexa Bliss, as well as Nia Jax, the Raw female roster can be considered stronger than the Smackdown female roster, and the Shakeup has not destroyed the Raw roster.

The rosters are split evenly on closer look. Raw has a very deep undercard and a midcard, and if provided with the right stories and right characters, the Monday night show could become even more entertaining than what Smackdown promises to be.