Report card for the top 5 SmackDown Live additions after the Superstar Shakeup

It has been a month since the annual Superstar Shakeup took place on both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live. Counting singles competitors, tag teams, and factions, there were a total of 25 moves between the two brands.

With the advent of the brand split in the summer of 2016, the Superstar Shakeup is a way to keep both shows fresh by giving them the ability to create new feuds. This has already started to take shape on SmackDown Live with Big Cass and Daniel Bryan.

Compared to the Superstar Shakeup of 2017, SmackDown Live had one more move this year to bring the total number of moves to 11. By comparison, Monday Night Raw had a total of 14 moves, and I gave my report card for five of those moves in this article.

Just like in school, I will assign a letter grade to five of the top moves to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shakeup based on the past month and future outlook. The best grade will be an A+, and the worst grade will be an F.

Let's start with two women from Tough Enough that made an impact last November:

---

#5 - Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville

Tensions rose between Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose during their MITB qualifying match

Paige shocked the WWE Universe when she said she didn't come alone upon her return to the ring. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville formed Absolution, but due to Paige's career-ending injury, the stable has been disbanded.

Moving Rose and Deville to SmackDown Live with Paige as the General Manager was a brilliant move that has already paid dividends in terms of drama.

On top of that Rose and Deville have their own unique entrances that are spectacular to go with their skill inside the squared circle.

There is so much potential with these ladies as a team or against each other with Paige calling the managerial shots.

GRADE FOR MANDY ROSE & SONYA DEVILLE: A

#4 - The Bar

Sheamus and Cesaro have definitely set "The Bar" over the past year as a tag team

This move definitely made sense as Sheamus and Cesaro basically did everything they could on Monday Night Raw en route to being one of the best tag teams in the WWE over the past year. They won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships a total of four times as The Bar.

The move enables them to rekindle the current feud they have with the New Day; while establishing new feuds with teams like The Usos and Bludgeon Brothers. The WWE is playing it safe now with the New Day feud because they know it works, and that's not a bad thing at all.

I wouldn't be surprised if The Bar is the team to finally dethrone The Bludgeon Brothers for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships down the line.

GRADE FOR THE BAR: B+

#3 - Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy will embark on a singles journey on the blue brand

Before WrestleMania, it seemed ludicrous to split Matt and Jeff Hardy between Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live.

However, then WrestleMania happened. Bray Wyatt came from out of nowhere and helped Matt win the Andre The Giant Battle Royal, and the partnership between Matt and Bray has been tremendous so far.

That put my mind at ease when Jeff was moved to SmackDown Live as the WWE United States Champion. He had a tremendous match against The Miz last week even though he fell short of qualifying for the Money In The Bank Ladder Match.

Jeff had a decent match with Randy Orton at Backlash too, and the possibilities for great matches with AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan make this a great move.

GRADE FOR JEFF HARDY: A-

#2 - Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe is putting the entire blue brand on notice that no one is safe

I wasn't originally a fan of this move because I felt like he could have a lengthy and solid feud with Roman Reigns, instead of just one match that was sub-par at Backlash, but to be fair, most of Backlash was sub-par.

With that said Samoa Joe is great inside and outside of the ring, and just like NXT, the chance to create multiple enemies on SmackDown Live is there.

It's clear his main target is AJ Styles, but before he can do that he will be facing Big Cass next week to try to qualify for the Money In The Bank Ladder Match.

Joe made it clear on his first appearance on SmackDown that no one was safe, and it's going to be fun to see how that plays out.

GRADE FOR SAMOA JOE: B

#1 - The Miz

The Miz was reluctant to move to SmackDown due to a certain former General Manager on the roster

The best move out of the entire 2018 WWE Superstar Shakeup was The Miz moving over to SmackDown Live. Part of the reason why this move is great, The Miz has been one of the best WWE Superstars over the past two years, but the major reason is Daniel Bryan.

Everyone remembers the famous promo Miz cut on Talking Smack in 2016, and thanks to the WWE doctors clearing Bryan to return to in-ring competition, the stage will eventually be set for a feud of epic proportions.

Miz is beyond due for another run with the WWE Championship, and the move to SmackDown Live gives him a better opportunity to be a world champion once again.

GRADE FOR THE MIZ: A+