Grading Raw's divisions before and after the Superstar Shake Up

The Superstar Shake Up has officially come and gone. WWE hit a reset button throughout the entire main roster. With some big moves, superstars that were once the staples of certain shows, like AJ Styles on SmackDown and Roman Reigns on Raw, found new homes.

WWE needed to refresh both rosters and by switching a number of superstars between both shows, depth was added to some divisions that needed it while a few were actually hurt more than helped by some of the roster moves.

Another big factor that played into this year's shake up was SmackDown's move to Fox in the Fall. WWE wants to amp SmackDown up as much as possible now that more eyes than ever before would be on its product once they leave USA and join Fox.

In order to gauge which divisions on which shows improved or declined, I considered mainly which superstars both left and joined each show. While Styles and Reigns essentially cancel each other out in terms of top faces, a lot of moves in the middles of the rosters will actually help each show from top to bottom.

With that being said, I'm ranking the divisions based on the performers added and lost rather than on the storylines that were taking place before the Shake Up. The storylines might be referenced, but not graded. Some superstar departures hurt more than others and those losses will be reflected in the grades.

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Tag Team Division

The Usos move to Raw will hopefully help that division improve

Added - the Usos and Viking Raiders to the Revival, Breezango, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, Lucha House Party, Ascension and Authors of Pain

Lost - Chad Gable and Bobby Roode (broke up), B-Team moved to SmackDown

Grade Before - D

Grade After- C

If there was one division throughout all of WWE that needed desperately to improve, it was Raw's Tag Team division. While some formidable teams did exist last year in AOP, the duo of Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler, and Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, the latter two teams were paired together based on storyline and were going to be disbanded at some point shortly after their pairing.

Due to that fact, it hurt the division more than WWE might have anticipated. Factor that in with losses of teams due to injuries (Deleters of Worlds, AOP) and lack of credibility (Ascension) and the division was left with a lot of work to do. The Revival was grossly underused and could have helped carry things, but teams like Gable and Roode, the B-Team and Ryder and Hawkins were booked better.

Only one of those teams remains but with the additions of the Usos and the Viking Raiders, things should steadily improve. It's still a division that could use a lot of help, but it's in better shape now than it was before the Superstar Shake Up.

Mid-Card Division

Samoa Joe should provide some heelish violence now that he's on Raw again

Added - Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Cesaro, Cedric Alexander, EC3, Eric Young and Samoa Joe

Lost - Finn Balor, Jinder Mahal, Aleister Black, Apollo Crews

Other Notes - Dolph Ziggler still on hiatus, Kurt Angle retiring, Mojo Rawley still having vignettes yelling at a mirror, Bobby Roode now Robert Roode

Grade Before - B

Grade After -B

While the mid-card division was mainly a series of matches between Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Lashley and Finn Balor for most of the last year and a half, the Shake Up basically didn't hurt the division all that much.

Samoa Joe essentially replaced the Intercontinental Champion Balor while Mysterio, Cesaro, Eric Young and Joe moved over from SmackDown. Losing Aleister Black will hurt, but Ricochet and EC3 were finally assigned to Raw. Cedric Alexander essentially returns to Raw after mainly appearing on 205 Live for most of the last year and a half.

Cesaro should be given a push and it might have started in a win over Cedric Alexander during last week's Raw. Throughout all of WWE history, a lot of future WWE Champions came up through the mid-card, including Edge, CM Punk and the Hardyz, and the same might be said for the likes of Joe and possibly Ricochet.

Ziggler is still MIA while Bobby Roode experienced a gimmick change, making him a more serious person and threat. The jury is still out with Mojo Rawley as he is experiencing a tweak with his backstage vignettes where he yells at himself.

Due to the depth throughout all of the WWE, the men's divisions were the divisions left in relatively the same shape before and after the shake up. Several stars will carry the mid-card and some might even be thrust into tag teams to help improve the tag team scene on Raw.

Women's Division

Natalya was the first to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Title but was bested by new addition Lacey Evans

Added - Naomi and Lacey Evans to Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Tamina, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Dana Brooke

Lost - Ember Moon, Bayley, Liv Morgan, Mickie James

Other notes - Sasha Banks MIA, Nia Jax injured, Ronda Rousey on hiatus

Grade Before - B

Grade After - C

Like the tag team division on Raw, the ladies' division was also hit rather hard by the timing of the Shake Up for various reasons. Not only did they lose Bayley and a returning Ember Moon, but they also broke up the Riott Squad by sending Liv Morgan to SmackDown.

Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan will hopefully be given singles pushes unless WWE hopes to present them as a tag team. Becky Lynch is still champion of both brands and Raw desperately needs her to carry the division. Alexa Bliss could get a renewed push, but she and Lynch have already feuded before while they were both on SmackDown.

Lacey Evans finally got a home but will need more time to grow into an integral part of the brand. She's already getting a title shot but needs a lot more main-roster seasoning. Naomi was also added due to the show needing more faces and although Natalya still remains, her time at the top of the division has come and gone. But what hurt the most was the post-WrestleMania timing of the Shake Up.

Banks has been absent from the WWE since after Mania while both Jax and Rousey are out of action due to injury. The jury is out as to when Rousey will return, but when she does, it might be as a member of SmackDown. Banks could return any day but could also be moved to the blue brand. The division was truly hurt more than helped by the Shake Up and the untimely injuries robbed Raw of some of its top women.

Main Event Scene

AJ Styles adds a new dynamic on Monday nights.

Added - AJ Styles, the Miz and Sami Zayn to Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman

Lost - Roman Reigns, Elias

Other Notes - Dean Ambrose didn't renew his contract, Brock Lesnar disappeared, vignettes airing on both shows for Bray Wyatt

Before - B+

After - A

The biggest immediate changes in WWE were the swapping of Roman Reigns and AJ Styles. Styles joining Raw allows for several new feuds with the likes of Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre. Several other potential feuds for Styles could be Cesaro, Lashley, Bray Wyatt (if he stays on Raw) and Joe.

The Miz is now a face and also adds a different dynamic to Raw now that he can feud with several heels like McIntyre, Lashley or Corbin. It's also a stabilizing move because the Miz can be counted on to hold the mid-card division together if needed or stick around in the main-event scene as needed.

Another big change appears to be switching Sami Zayn with the departed Elias. Elias was mainly used to have superstars interrupt him during performances. But due to his departure and apparent move up into 'McMahon confidante' status, a spot was opened.

Corbin, McIntyre and Lashley have been portrayed as the top heels outside of Lesnar, but with Lesnar out of the picture at the moment and Lashley potentially looking for another MMA fight, someone else was needed to help oppose the faces like Rollins, Styles and the Miz.

The uptick in grade is mainly because although they added several new potential feuds with AJ Styles in the mix, the dynamics of a smug, heel Zayn and a face Miz allows Raw to explore some different main-event storylines. WWE can do better than Reigns chasing Lesnar and Corbin, McIntyre and Lashley facing the Shield in 15 'final match ever' contests.