#i definitely have too many gimmick pets on my main now and need to move some of them tho lol.

[korattata]

[andymull]

The WWE Superstar Shake-Up Review - Raw

Welcome all, after the recent big shake up between the two brands its that time where we can take a quick look back and review the moves that occurred, the right and wrong decisions made as well as the potential this has promised us viewers. First we shall examine the Raw side of the shake-up and the talent traded, then a following piece will focus upon Smackdown with a write up to end, wagon’s roll.....

Dean Ambrose

The IC champion makes his way to Monday nights with his title in tow, first thoughts are that this is a good move for Dean to freshen his act up as well as getting new competition as he’s become stale on Smackdown.

Then came the next two points, first that he is being moved away from Renee Young his wife which would be awful for anyone. And the second is that he is back to seemingly feuding with Miz again on Raw, the same guy that bored me silly to see him feuding with on Smackdown, where’s the new matches?!? But after a quick look at the Raw roster there really arent that many new heel’s for the guy to work with, Samoa Joe and Braun? Really may be time for Dean to go heel his-self to work with Balor, Rollins, Reigns, Cesaro, sounds like a much better idea now doesnt it.

The Miz & Maryse

Initially I dont see this as a good move, both have improved greatly this past year since Maryse returned to give Miz a more well rounded character/gimmick/act. Their program with John Cena and Nikki Bella saw them both become the stand out performers on Smackdown, just a shame about the fact they were booked into an engagement angle they could never come out of positively. All of this for me would see The Miz hold the Smackdown world title later this year no question about it.

But, moving to Raw he has to contend with being on a show where the champion isn't even on tv anymore (quickly in 3 seconds name the Raw world champion..........they wont mention him until they come up with his next dates/match), so going for the world title soon isn't an option as well as the fact he now drops behind Braun, Wyatt, Joe in the heel rankings and also the champion when he returns.

The benefits for Miz on Raw are that he will definitely get more tv time being on the 3 hour show to attempt to get his-self higher up the card, him having Miz tv will be vital for him in staying in peoples minds and providing new ways to start/progress feuds as compared to others who cant talk as well as Miz. He should get more ring time too which is his big opportunity to show his improvement over the past year to those who may not watch every Smackdown episode, not just fans but also higher ups in management who dont pay the show the same respect, infact the word respect is something that Miz will vitally need to demand to get his-self back to his previous Smackdown position and demanding to be in a feud with Balor instead of Bray getting it first could be vital.

Bray Wyatt

In a way Bray faces alot of the same issues that Miz does, moving from being the big fish in a small pond to Raw. His gimmick is awful and boring now and has been for awhile, thankfully for him the key people backstage in the company think his act is great.

Hopefully we see him get more ring time to show his skills, rather than just his ‘spooky’ promo’s then appearing from the dark to attack whoever he’s in a feud with. Sadly I see this staying as is, his first Raw feud is seemingly going to be with Finn Balor (although that may have been altered this week) which should be good match wise but the build is going to be all kinds of goofy interviews leading to Balor becoming the Demon.

Truthfully Wyatt remains over until they get bored of his gimmick or viewers turn over on Raw when he comes on, which could be a key factor, but really he needs a face turn just slightly tweak his act and let the fans get behind him more.

Alexa Bliss

My favourite female in the company gets shook up to Raw, she has shown so much growth since debuting on Smackdown from the level she was at on NXT, both in terms of ring work as well as her skills on the pole (mic) and a move to Raw could be seen as well deserved move for her.

The benefit of the women’s division on Smackdown was that they were able to keep everyone fresh and didnt just produce the same old matches like Raw, so Bliss will bring more than just herself to the Raw scene in that sense. As she will be in fresh matches with Bayley, Sasha, Paige (???), Emma, Dana, and also will get the chance to work with and learn more from Mickie James.

The only slight negative for her could be the potential Sasha Banks heel turn over Bayley, Id imagine that would occur whilst Bayley is still champion and will be focused around the belt which could deter a big Bliss push as the lead heel on the show and see her positioned as the firm second heel on the show.

Mickie James

An interesting pick for Raw as she was originally placed on Smackdown to help give some legitimacy to their women’s division as well as helping some of the new girls there, looks like the helping out factor could be needed on Raw with her working the likes of Jax and Dana possibly to try and see them improve on the job.

Im not quite sure if Mickie is a heel or face and to be honest I doubt they've made their minds up on how they want to book her yet on Raw, a heel probably works best but if the Banks turn occurs then she will be able to get a higher spot on the face side as well as being able to work more with Jax which I think is her key reason to be moved.

Apollo Crews

A vital time for Crews and his future in the company, not in terms of him losing his job but more in him coming back to Raw and instantly impressing fans and showing his true ability in the ring. Its needed because the guy has just gotten lost on the roster, hasn't been in long tv matches allowing him to shine and his promo skills arent at the level where he can keep people engaged well enough. If they dont quickly inject him in fun matches and think of ways to allow him to connect better with fans on the mic he will be lost again, he really was brought up too early from NXT.

So far they let him have one backstage segment with Tozawa, a former tag team partner of his, who he has fun with and may be the key in getting him to produce more in promo’s or just in backstage segments.

In looking at who he should feud with there comes the problem, the Raw side has main eventer’s, upper mid card guys and then the big drop to guys who arent being used and guys who are just bodies on the show. Crews should really be made a pet project for one of the booker’s backstage, similar to how Steph/Hunter/Vince have taken guys previously in that kind of a role and only they book their segments with the main focus of getting them more and more over and used well.

Kalisto

At last the guy gets moved to Raw, meaning at last he gets placed on the roster where he can perform on 205 Live (the best hour of wrestling on tv......that isnt on tv), and then he isnt used on the show and gets used with Braun? I mean they gave him a win over Braun, just that it was a meaningless one where people solely remember the angle after the bout.

This should be simple, move him to 205, let him wrestle with Neville, TJP, Metalik his natural environment and the place he can produce the best results from, easy.

Heath Slater & Rhyno

They needed a team to be moved to Raw with The New Day going to Smackdown and this team got picked, that’s it sadly, no idea of moving them for greater things or planned storylines, just that they needed a team. Infact they were planning on breaking the team up awhile back with Rhyno blaming Heath for losing the titles on Smackdown, then they gave up and decided to leave them together.

They will quickly slot theirselves in above the likes of Goldust/Truth with the odd tv match and defeat, as well as being seen in backstage segments for other people, not sure of the possibly positive outcomes for either guy on Raw as once they slip to the backburner its all lost.

Curt Hawkins

Brought back into the company at the time of the draft as a face that people knew to help put over and establish some of the newer/ younger talent, he really hasn't much room for anything outside of that as his ringwork isn't anything that great and to be honest he hasn't been able to out over people to the point where they improve by doing so.

This really is the case of how long can he stay employed by not doing much instead of how can he affect the Superstar Shakeup

David Otunga

A guy employed and used on tv for two reasons, his wife and the colour of his skin, sad but true, each commentary team on WWE tv has to contain at least one person of colour it seems and Otunga has that role. He isn't around for his excellent wrestling knowledge, his awesome mic skills/ talking ability, it really cant be denied can it

Overall the top few picks can be a positive for the show over different areas, with the last few picks just being harmless trades which isn't what was needed in getting the show some solid depth. Spoiler, but Raw got the short end of the stick when it came to the shake up.

Smackdown review coming soon

Bye for now

Andy