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The biggest event of the year after WrestleMania is surely the Superstar Shake-up. The reason is that many superstars get to switch brands and look for new opportunities and titles, while WWE tries to sell new rivalries to the WWE Universe.
Before the draft, fans let their imaginations run wild and predict who will move to which brand and which rivalries they will get engaged in. This allows a lot of fanfare and hype to build around the company and around the two nights on which the shake-up takes place.
Apart from that, many superstars from NXT and 205 Live get a chance to move to the main roster and showcase their skills to a larger audience and get more spotlight.
At the end of the first night of the draft on Raw, there were a few major surprises which many weren’t ready for. In this article, we will look at the 5 biggest surprises from the night, and what to expect in the days to come.
#5 Naomi and Bayley
As the Superstar Shake-up took shape, one of the biggest moves from SmackDown Live to Raw was former two-time SmackDown Women's Champion, Naomi.
Naomi also got a match for the night where she teamed up with Bayley. Since Naomi has a limited move set and is looking to move up somehow, tag team wrestling seems to be the best fit for her at the moment.
Naomi and Bayley working as a team make a ton of sense too. They feel like more natural characters working together, both bright and joyful performers.
What was surprising was that the duo took on The IIconics in a non-title match, and decisively defeated the current Women’s Tag Team Champions.
This was sort of a questionable move as Bayley and Sasha Banks lost the championships to The IIconics not too long ago, and a different partner helped Bayley defeat them in their first match together.
#4 War Raiders?
Remember the good old War Machine or the War Raiders? Well, they don’t exist anymore.
The NXT Tag Team Champions made their debut on the Raw brand to the surprise of many in attendance and at home. One thing we know is that they will surely boost the Raw tag team division.
While their move wasn’t too surprising, as they are extremely good together, it’s the name they have been rebranded with that's surprising.
The Viking Experience made their way out to Raw, which confused many, as the two have been extremely successful under their previous team and individual names. Usually, superstars get a new gimmick or get rebranded when they are unsuccessful or making a big move.
Renaming the team was not only surprising but questionable too, as the team is already holding the NXT titles and fans would have found a better connect with them under their previous names.
#3 The Miz returns
On April 15, 2018, during the Superstar Shake-up, Miz was traded to SmackDown. This ended The Miz’s tenure on Raw and broke up The Miztourage.
While The Miztourage went on to become very successful at one point, winning the Raw Tag Team Championships in the process, The Miz tried to make it big on SmackDown.
While he got into good feuds with Daniel Bryan and even won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Shane McMahon, he didn’t quite get as over as he already was on Raw before the switch.
Now, almost exactly a year later, The Miz returns to Raw. This could be seen as WWE realizing their mistake of moving Miz to the blue brand for just one major feud with Daniel Bryan, and then getting him back on the red brand where he can help the show’s ratings.
What was surprising is that Shane McMahon personally came out to move The Miz from SmackDown to Raw, and the two got into a brawl afterward, which saw The Miz get busted open.
What we would like to see in the days to come is whether The Miztourage will be getting back together or not.
#2 EC3 Gets These Hands
EC3 has had an extremely tough time on the main roster. In the past five months, the superstar has only had one legit short feud with Dean Ambrose which led to absolutely nothing for both superstars.
On Monday Night, EC3 demanded competition in order to begin what he expected to be a long and fruitful winning streak in WWE, but he got Braun Strowman instead.
While he did not really lose the match, as it ended in a no contest, it was still surprising to see the extremely talented superstar get wasted yet again at the hands of someone who seems to get WWE more merchandise sales.
This is EC3’s second run in the WWE, and it is not going any better than the first one, which could soon see him get disheartened with the company again.
If WWE does move Braun Strowman to SmackDown from Raw, then the segment on Monday will become even more questionable.
#1 AJ Styles teaming up with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
With The Shield behind us, we once again saw a six-man tag team match main-event Raw. While the standard heel team of Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin were in play, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins found a new partner in AJ Styles, as Dean Ambrose is on his way out.
Styles teaming up with Rollins and Reigns was a huge surprise for the WWE Universe, as three of the biggest names in WWE today were all on the same side.
The trio worked well together and gave fans their money’s worth at the end of the night, which was a treat for everyone in attendance.
What could surprise us more is that maybe WWE gave us a treat of Reigns and Styles on the same side on Styles’ first night on Raw as Reigns may be heading to SmackDown due to the shake-up.
