5 things that could happen if WWE does another Superstar Shakeup

Modified Sep 03, 2019 17:22 GMT

It was recently reported that WWE wants to have another draft to split the main roster once again. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there's a possibility that WWE could soon have another Superstar Shakeup. Here's what the report had to say in regards to a potential draft:

Right now there is a concept of another draft type of thing to build permanent Raw and Smackdown rosters. What we were originally told is that they wouldn’t be making major changes, but some changes, but this is Vince. Everything is being kept quiet and USA and FOX will be the first to know when the concept is decided.

In light of these rumors, let's take a look at five things that could happen if WWE decides to go along with the idea.

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#5 The end of the Wild Card rule

This year's Superstar Shakeup didn't have much of a lasting impact, as Vince McMahon came out on the May 6th edition of Monday Night Raw and introduced the Wild Card rule. The rule stated that "a limited number of Superstars from Raw or SmackDown would be invited to cross brand lines for one-night-only appearances, with unauthorized jumps to be penalized by fines or even potential firing."

Courtesy the new rule, we get to see Superstars appear on the brands they aren't a part of, on a weekly basis. For instance, we saw Seth Rollins squaring off against SmackDown Live's Daniel Bryan on Raw two months ago.

Although the Wild Card rule is now being used in a way lesser capacity, it hasn't completely been done with. If a draft is in the works, it would result in the Wild Card rule coming to an end, with Superstars keeping to their respective brands, barring special and rare occasions.

#4 Survivor Series' theme will stay intact

Survivor Series has lost a lot of its luster over the course of the past decade or so, but it's still one of the biggest WWE PPVs of the year. The first event was held in 1987, and became a yearly staple, mimicking the tradition of WrestleMania. Over the past few years, Survivor Series has become the battleground for Raw and SmackDown to take on each other. Last year's Survivor Series saw Raw defeat SmackDown in all 6 inter-promotional matches.

If a proper draft takes place that holds the Superstars on their respective brands and erases the confusion that stems from the Wild Card rule, then the yearly theme of Survivor Series will stay intact and we will witness several Raw vs SmackDown Live battles at the PPV, without having a headache over which Superstar belongs to which brand.

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#3 Less clutter and more opportunities

One of the biggest advantages of another Superstar Shakeup would be that the main roster shows will be less cluttered. Although the Wild Card rule was brought in to spike ratings, the 2019 Shakeup was deemed useless because of that. Superstars randomly appearing on the other brand stopped being exciting.

If a draft happens and WWE sticks to keeping wrestlers on their respective brands, we won't have stars from SmackDown Live going to Raw and taking title opportunities from the red brand's Superstars, and vice versa.

#2 SmackDown could steadily become bigger and better

It's no secret that WWE wants to turn SmackDown Live into a bigger and better brand, as it makes its debut on FOX on October 4th. The show is already being hyped up with a string of legends and Superstars set to appear on the debut episode on FOX.

This gives more weight to the rumors of a draft in the works, as it will let SmackDown Live go its own way and become better steadily without relying on Raw Superstars coming in on random occasions. With top stars like Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan being featured only on the blue brand, it will help the show create its own unique identity moving forward.

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#1 Inter-brand rivalries will have more meaning

For more context on this, let's go back to 2004. WWE teased a couple of confrontations between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, both belonging to different promotions. The two finally collided at WrestleMania in a lackluster match, but the buildup to this bout was nothing short of phenomenal. The idea of a Raw Superstar and a SmackDown Superstar engaging in a feud and squaring off was incredibly exciting at the time because it wasn't done to death.

Same happened the next year, when Kurt Angle faced Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker faced Randy Orton at WrestleMania 21, in major Inter-brand matches. If WWE has another draft and commits to it, we could see the old ways coming back and top stars from both brands squaring off in big 'Mania matches. For starters, The Fiend could battle Aleister Black at WrestleMania 36 in a huge inter-promotional match. The possibilities beyond that would be endless.

Edited by Umid Kumar Dey