WWE.com The last superstar shake up took place in April 2017.
Another WWE superstar shake up is reportedly being considered.
The first superstar shake up, you’ll recall, took place in April 2017, and it was essentially a mini draft. In total, 20 superstars were traded to Raw from SmackDown and vice versa. At the time, fans assumed that this might become a yearly tradition.
But instead, there are now some reports of a second one taking place after SummerSlam, according to Wrestling Inc. These are all just early rumors, and some wrestling journalists, including James McKenna of Pro Wrestling Sheet, are reporting that no superstar shake up will happen again until after WrestleMania next year. But if another superstar shakeup really did occur in September, who might move where?
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes this week that there is talk of sending one or more superstars from the main roster back to NXT. This would happen to wrestlers who were major stars in NXT but who Vince McMahon is not interested in pushing on the main roster right now, or who might be able to grow by being sent back to NXT.
If that were to happen, some potential candidates for a move back to NXT would be Bo Dallas, Luke Harper, The Ascension, Dana Brooke, and Dolph Ziggler. The idea of moving Ziggler back down to NXT has been discussed for a while now, even before this new report.
So what about wrestlers who could be traded from Raw to SmackDown Live? On that front, Emma would be a strong contender. She has had very little to do on Raw lately, to the point that she has been angrily tweeting about not being given anything to do. This frustration came out on screen this past week, with Emma demanding a role on the show, only to be crushed by Nia Jax. Emma also wasn’t present for the last superstar shake up, so it would make sense to do something with her in this one. Alternatively, though, she could be one of the people moved back down to NXT.
Sitting backstage at #RAW on my 5yrs with @WWE… Happy Anniversary to me! 😏#RAWNashville
Other superstars being mentioned as potential Raw to SmackDown trades are Seth Rollins, Bayley, and Finn Balor.
In terms of moves to Monday Night Raw, one person a lot of fans are mentioning is Randy Orton. Orton just seemingly concluded a long storyline on Jinder Mahal that left a lot of fans exhausted, but moving him to Raw would give him the opportunity to compete with superstars like Samoa Joe and Finn Balor, who were not a part of Raw when he was last there and with whom he could have some exciting feuds.
Fans are also theorizing that Mojo Rawley, Naomi, and Dolph Ziggler could go to Raw, assuming Ziggler does not move down to NXT.
It’s probably a safe bet that nobody who was involved in the most recent superstar shake up will be involved in this one, meaning the following wrestlers would be exempt: Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Jinder Mahal, Rusev, Lana, Sin Cara, The New Day, The Shining Stars (now The Colons), Charlotte, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Maryse, Bray Wyatt, Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, Apollo Crews, Curt Hawkins, Kalisto, Heath Slater and Rhyno.
Keep in mind that this superstar shake up is rumored to happen after SummerSlam, so just because someone is currently engaged in a storyline on Raw or SmackDown does not mean they couldn’t be moved. In order to be a contender for the shake up, the person should be someone who does not seem to have much of an exciting future on their current brand, even if they’re currently engaged in a storyline that will lead into SummerSlam.
So who do you want to see moved from Raw to SmackDown? And who should move back to NXT? Let us know in the comments below!