Is there a reason why it’s called the shake up instead of a draft? Was the word draft too “sporty” and not sports entertainment enough? Whatever. If Vince and company want the draft to sound like a dance competition at a 40’s malt shop then shake-up is the perfect word.
Now that my minor gripe is out of the way, I believe Smackdown greatly benefited from this year’s shake-up. Gallows & Anderson, The Bar, Samoa Joe, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Sanity (Very disappointed that Nikki Cross isn’t joining them), and Jeff Hardy really help shape the Smackdown roster. Big Cass is also on the Smackdown Live roster invading the main event. Yay?
RAW took low and mid carders with there biggest “get” being Bobby Roode (I’ll definitely talk about this later), but in my personal opinion McIntyre was RAW’s biggest get. Oh, and Baron Corbin is on RAW too. However, there are several moves I wasn’t too thrilled with when it comes to the shake-up.
Here are my biggest problems with this year’s
dance competition shake-up:
1) Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre Paired Together
The Scottish native has drastically improved since his departure from the company Back in 2014. Throughout his tenure in Impact Wrestling and the independent scene, his confidence and charisma on the mic has risen to the point where he was arguably one of the best babyfaces in the world. He’s also come a long way inside the ring as McIntyre brings excitement and believability when he steps inside it.
So, what in the world made Vince and company decide to pair McIntyre with Dolph “Dead Fish” Ziggler? I like Dolph, but he’s done nothing but lose (and somewhat win) for the last few years. In fact, I would have sent Ziggler back down to NXT during the shake-up. The guy is at the point in his career where he needs to either leave the WWE and fight on the independent scene for a lengthy period of time or go down to NXT for a year. Ziggler needs to reinvigorate his character (more so figure out what his character is), his style, and be away from Vince and Kevin Dunn.
McIntyre shouldn’t be in some forgettable make shift tag team. He could have feuded with Seth Rollins. Or better yet, taken Big Cass’s place and been inserted into the Smackdown main event scene. I’ll hold my ultimate judgment and see where this goes, but this pairing does McIntyre no favors at the moment.
2) The Riott Squad & Absolution Still Exist
I was hoping these two teams would be broken up as its clear that both Smackdown and RAW creative didn’t have much plans for these make shift teams. Imagine if Deadpool, God, and Bob from Bob’s Burgers randomly decided to form the Super Holy Fighting Alliance. Based off each personality, they make no sense together. These teams never feel like a unit. It doesn’t help that WWE’s love for 50/50 booking has made them lose credibility or any sense of danger. These women are indeed talented and perhaps being on different brands will give the creative team a renewed focus on their acts, but at the moment, these teams are heavily damaged.
3) Asuka
I continue to be baffled at how meaningless the win for Charlotte has come across since WrestleMania. Asuka came down to the ring as a programmed robot on Tuesday, all happy and smiles, pretending as if NOTHING MAJOR HAPPENED. You would think for a company that values characters the most, they would understand the simple storytelling beats when it comes to characters.
Perhaps Charlotte could have gotten a big head from her victory over “The Empress of Tomorrow”? The former Smackdown Live women’s champion could have evolved into an arrogant, showboating heel; which could have built up to a rematch with Asuka at Summerslam or a new up and coming female wrestler. Becky Lynch vs. heel Charlotte would have been great as well. There are more compelling storyline possibilities that could have come from Charlotte defeating Asuka, but now the streak feels inconsequential and meaningless.
4) Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode’s main roster run continues to be a huge disappointment. If you haven’t followed Roode pre-WWE then believe it or not, Roode can actually be a good babyface. Back in 2011 when TNA was pushing him as a blue collar, everyday man babyface, Roode felt like a main eventer and star. Thus, the problem isn’t Bobby Roode. The problem is that Roode is handicapped with a heel gimmick (like Sasha Banks) and that the company is too stupid to realize this. While Roode can be a good babyface, he’s a tremendous heel. His run down in NXT was strong, with him being the arrogant, douchebag, rich heel.
The “Glorious” gimmick isn’t working as a face because the company has stripped all the elements that made Roode compelling. Even if Roode retained being a rich, arrogant, douchebag, he would still come across as unlikeable. Based off the fan’s reactions lately (and their disappointment Monday), Roode’s character is dying a slow death. Vince and company need to either turn Roode heel or change his character, catchy song or not.
5) Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Go To RAW
Lazy storytelling at its finest. Didn't Triple H help Kevin Owens win the Universal title back in 2016, so why wouldn't he go to Triple H & Stephanie first? Oh wait, Vince and company probably thought I forgot about that. I'm fine with Kevin and Sami being on RAW. While sadly, I don't see Vince McMahon pushing them beyond the upper mid card, these two could be strong main event heels if it happens. Anyways, Kevin and Sami looking for a job was an intriguing story in its own right. Hell, I would've been fine if these two went back down to NXT to sell the story. Prehaps Kevin and Sami could have formed an alliance with there former ROH associates (The Undisputed Era) and returned to RAW later this year as a five man faction causing chaos on the main roster in order to get their jobs back? Again, so many interesting directions creative could have went with the story, but ulitmately decided to take the lazy approach here.
So what do you think? Were you happy with the overall shake-up? Or am I an idiot who’s wrong about everything? Feel free to comment below. Follow me at
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