The last "Superstar Shakeup" in April 2017 worked wonders in terms of providing a short-term boost to WWE's TV ratings, and in fact, by the end of the year, SmackDown's ratings jumped by an impressive 5%. What made that such a huge surprise is that the average WWE fan will tell you that Raw got the better end of last year's slate of roster moves, landing the likes of Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, The Miz and Alexa Bliss, while SmackDown didn't seem to get as much in return.
Even though Raw's ratings only managed to hold steady (they didn't increase or decrease at all last year), there still appears to be a huge imbalance of star power between WWE's top two brands, especially with Bobby Lashley, Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe all returning to Raw on this week's episode. Part of that stems from Raw needing slightly more star power because it's a longer show, but with WWE already pulling the trigger on a return to dual-brand pay-per-views because of "repetitive matchups and slow ticket sales," more needs to be done to refresh Raw and SmackDown.
The easiest way to do that, of course, is to hold another draft or "Superstar Shakeup," and with WWE's version of the draft set to take place next week, we could see a number of huge moves that will reinvigorate both brands and the superstars on them. So, which superstars should switch shows? Let's take a look at five superstars who badly need to move from Raw to SmackDown.
The Miz
The Miz has consistently been one of Raw's most featured heels since moving there a year ago, and it's safe to say he's been one of WWE's best ones, too.
Yet, WWE, at least in part due to Brock Lesnar's lengthy Universal title reign, hasn't seemed intent on pushing The Miz beyond the upper midcard and the Intercontinental Championship picture. That's all fine and dandy, but at some point, the company must come to the realization that it's time for The Miz to move beyond that level and enter the world title picture once again. The best way for him to do that is to move to SmackDown, which over the last year has focused heavily on rising heels like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jinder Mahal.
While stuck in a logjam of quality heels on Raw, including at times Lesnar, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe, The Miz hasn't been able to advance to the very top of the card where he belongs. That's certainly a bit of a head-scratcher given that The Miz appeared to develop into a very good draw last year, when he seemed to do surprisingly well in terms of generating merchandise sales and YouTube viewership. Throw in his consistently tremendous performances, and it's difficult to understand why he was traded from SmackDown to begin with given that he was so good as a centerpiece of that show in 2016 and early 2017.
The Miz has shown the potential to be a brand's top heel and rise above the midcard title picture, but as long as he's stuck on a show with the likes of Lesnar, Joe, Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Finn Balor and so many others, it could prove to be difficult for him to do that for more than a short-term main event run. Plus, with Daniel Bryan now an active competitor on SmackDown, it only makes sense to move The Miz there to finally get a payoff to the long-term (and brilliantly booked) feud between those two stars.
Jeff Hardy
With Vince McMahon and other WWE officials reportedly being impressed by Matt Hardy's "The Ultimate Deletion," that should pave the way for Jeff Hardy to branch out on his own after his return on Raw.
Jeff may have just returned to the red brand, the same show as his brother Matt, but his "Brother Nero" act has always played second fiddle to Matt's "Woken" or "Broken" character. Having Jeff transition back to being "Brother Nero" would be a misguided move, especially given the potential that Jeff has to reclaim his spot as one of WWE's biggest and best singles babyface stars. Clearly, there is a ton of fan interest in Jeff working under his nostalgic Hardy Boyz gimmick as he and Matt's epic return at WrestleMania 33 was WWE's most viewed new YouTube video of 2017.
But even going back well beyond that, Jeff has shown that he has an unbelievable connection with fans, similar to what we've seen with underdog type performers like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan in recent years. In fact, Jeff was at one point during his last WWE run even rivaling John Cena's merchandise sales, proving just how big of a star he is when given the right push and storyline, like his epic SmackDown feud with CM Punk in 2009.
The blue brand has always felt like the right place for Jeff, who doesn't need to be on the same brand as his brother to succeed and certainly would give WWE's supposed B-show another fantastic fan favorite to build its programming around. There is more money to be made with Jeff working solo as a main eventer on SmackDown than there is with him serving as a supplementary piece to "Woken" Matt's act (especially with Bray Wyatt now being paired with Matt), and WWE would be remiss not to realize that immediately upon Jeff's return.
Placing him on SmackDown, along with Bryan, would give WWE's No. 2 brand a stellar combination of top babyfaces to focus on in the immediate future.
">WWE will hold a "Superstar Shakeup" on next week's episodes of Raw and SmackDown , and the company could potentially move top names like Roman Reigns, AJ Styles and Braun Strowman between its top two brands.
The last "Superstar Shakeup" in April 2017 worked wonders in terms of providing a short-term boost to WWE's TV ratings, and in fact, by the end of the year, SmackDown's ratings jumped by an impressive 5%. What made that such a huge surprise is that the average WWE fan will tell you that Raw got the better end of last year's slate of roster moves, landing the likes of Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, The Miz and Alexa Bliss, while SmackDown didn't seem to get as much in return.
Even though Raw's ratings only managed to hold steady (they didn't increase or decrease at all last year), there still appears to be a huge imbalance of star power between WWE's top two brands, especially with Bobby Lashley, Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe all returning to Raw on this week's episode. Part of that stems from Raw needing slightly more star power because it's a longer show, but with WWE already pulling the trigger on a return to dual-brand pay-per-views because of "repetitive matchups and slow ticket sales," more needs to be done to refresh Raw and SmackDown.
The easiest way to do that, of course, is to hold another draft or "Superstar Shakeup," and with WWE's version of the draft set to take place next week, we could see a number of huge moves that will reinvigorate both brands and the superstars on them. So, which superstars should switch shows? Let's take a look at five superstars who badly need to move from Raw to SmackDown.
The Miz
The Miz has consistently been one of Raw's most featured heels since moving there a year ago, and it's safe to say he's been one of WWE's best ones, too.
Yet, WWE, at least in part due to Brock Lesnar's lengthy Universal title reign, hasn't seemed intent on pushing The Miz beyond the upper midcard and the Intercontinental Championship picture. That's all fine and dandy, but at some point, the company must come to the realization that it's time for The Miz to move beyond that level and enter the world title picture once again. The best way for him to do that is to move to SmackDown, which over the last year has focused heavily on rising heels like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jinder Mahal.
While stuck in a logjam of quality heels on Raw, including at times Lesnar, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe, The Miz hasn't been able to advance to the very top of the card where he belongs. That's certainly a bit of a head-scratcher given that The Miz appeared to develop into a very good draw last year, when he seemed to do surprisingly well in terms of generating merchandise sales and YouTube viewership. Throw in his consistently tremendous performances, and it's difficult to understand why he was traded from SmackDown to begin with given that he was so good as a centerpiece of that show in 2016 and early 2017.
The Miz has shown the potential to be a brand's top heel and rise above the midcard title picture, but as long as he's stuck on a show with the likes of Lesnar, Joe, Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Finn Balor and so many others, it could prove to be difficult for him to do that for more than a short-term main event run. Plus, with Daniel Bryan now an active competitor on SmackDown, it only makes sense to move The Miz there to finally get a payoff to the long-term (and brilliantly booked) feud between those two stars.
Jeff Hardy
With Vince McMahon and other WWE officials reportedly being impressed by Matt Hardy's "The Ultimate Deletion," that should pave the way for Jeff Hardy to branch out on his own after his return on Raw.
Jeff may have just returned to the red brand, the same show as his brother Matt, but his "Brother Nero" act has always played second fiddle to Matt's "Woken" or "Broken" character. Having Jeff transition back to being "Brother Nero" would be a misguided move, especially given the potential that Jeff has to reclaim his spot as one of WWE's biggest and best singles babyface stars. Clearly, there is a ton of fan interest in Jeff working under his nostalgic Hardy Boyz gimmick as he and Matt's epic return at WrestleMania 33 was WWE's most viewed new YouTube video of 2017.
But even going back well beyond that, Jeff has shown that he has an unbelievable connection with fans, similar to what we've seen with underdog type performers like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan in recent years. In fact, Jeff was at one point during his last WWE run even rivaling John Cena's merchandise sales, proving just how big of a star he is when given the right push and storyline, like his epic SmackDown feud with CM Punk in 2009.
The blue brand has always felt like the right place for Jeff, who doesn't need to be on the same brand as his brother to succeed and certainly would give WWE's supposed B-show another fantastic fan favorite to build its programming around. There is more money to be made with Jeff working solo as a main eventer on SmackDown than there is with him serving as a supplementary piece to "Woken" Matt's act (especially with Bray Wyatt now being paired with Matt), and WWE would be remiss not to realize that immediately upon Jeff's return.
Placing him on SmackDown, along with Bryan, would give WWE's No. 2 brand a stellar combination of top babyfaces to focus on in the immediate future.
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