LIVE Smackdown Superstar ShakeUp thoughts - April 17, 2018

9:58 - FINALLY!  That Big Cass/Daniel Bryan feud we've all been asking for!

Anyway, fairly inoffensive trades this year that -- my initial gut feeling says -- worked out better for Smackdown than Raw (then again, I said the same thing last year, and I was dead wrong).  I'm just happy that Smackdown's main event scene wasn't completely decimated.

9:36 - So wait, R-Truth is or is not on Smackdown?  I thought the joke was that he got the night wrong and went to the wrong show?  But I guess this means he is on the show, then?

9:33 - Wow, the Bar is heading to Smackdown!  I did not see that coming.  Exciting move, though!

9:27 - I'd hate to say it, but I don't like the idea of the Good Brothers moving to Smackdown.  They developed a good thing with Finn that seems to be (kinda) working, and now they have that lingering issue of whether or not they should align with AJ (who is doing fine alone).  Revival would've been a better move, especially since Smackdown is heavy on the babyface tag team side anyway.

9:25 - Asuka is an even better move than Sasha Banks.  But now -- seriously -- they need to turn Sasha heel.  And end this "will they or won't they" storyline with Bayley.

9:13 - I'm glad they kept Charlotte -- arguably the biggest star of the Women's division -- on Smackdown as well.  The inclination is always "if you're a big star, you belong on Raw."  It definitely adds legitimacy to the Smackdown brand.  Also, I enjoy her babyface run on the blue show.  And remember what I said about AJ being a constant on Smackdown?  Becky is the same way.

Still guessing we see the Sasha -- or perhaps Bayley -- show up tonight, perhaps in this segment.

8:59 - So there you have it!  Big Cass is on the Smackdown.  With a subtle transition to Carmella.  They were a thing, right?

8:53 - I totally get why WWE needs to explain that PPV's are co-branded -- you need them to know that they're getting the best of both worlds every month now -- but it irks me that they feel the need to act like this is historic.  There are literally four PPV's a year that are co-branded, what makes Backlash any different?  Do all your fancy promotion to get the news out, but they're just coming across as stupid here.

8:44 - Joe is an awesome addition to Smackdown and I would have predicted him, but I kept hearing rumors that he's your top contender against Roman should he ever win the title.  But yeah, this makes total sense.

8:40 - It's always strange to me when real life couples seem so unnatural on screen together.

8:36 - So there you go -- Absolution are heading to Smackdown as predicted.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Revival make a run in during this match, as they desperately need a change of scenery.

8:19 - See, to me this seems like a logic gap.  Why would Smackdown give up their US title without getting the IC title in return?  As in, a pre-determined agreement.  And further, why would Raw give up the United States title AND one of their Superstars when they seemingly had no obligation to do so?

8:18 - Is WWE under the impression that we were emotionally invested in Gable and Benjamin?

8:07 - For what it's worth, I love that AJ Styles has been on Smackdown since the beginning, without being traded.  I have a soft spot for when certain people are immediately identifiable with a certain brand (like Edge and Undertaker with Smackdown, or Shawn Michaels and Triple H with Raw).  It adds a little credibility to the whole brand extension thing.

7:40 - So, who's going to Smackdown?  We know the Miz is.  My other guesses, leading into the show....

The Revival
Seth Rollins
Titus Worldwide
Sasha Banks
Absolution
Big Cass
Goldust
Braun Strowman
R-Truth

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LIVE Raw Superstar Shakeup thoughts - April 16, 2018

10:48 - As far as my predictions to go to Smackdown, my guesses are:

• Miz (already confirmed)
• Seth Rollins
• Sasha Banks
• Revival
• Goldust
• R-Truth
• Absolution

Potential moves but might not:

• Braun
• Titus Worldwide
• Elias
• Big Cass

10:44 - Well, it's Bobby Roode, which is fine.  He should do well on Raw (heel turn would be good).  On social media, we've learned that Mike and Maria Kanellis are also coming to Raw.

10:42 - Both Cole and Graves going after Coach (who I'm not sure I even enjoy) regardless of what he says is borderline uncomfortable. Like, Balor wears black, blue, red, gray......I wouldn't say he wears blue "every night."

10:38 - If not Orton, I go with Roode.  Unless they do something massive like switch AJ over, and then swap the World titles.  I just don't see them doing that, though.

10:37 - Final guess.  Orton is the final trade to Raw from Smackdown.

10:18 - Looks like Natalya is the token person who switches shows and turns, which is a good thing.  People need to freshen up their characters.

Also, according to WWE's social media, Ascension is now on Raw.  I STILL can't get over how they bungled these two.  Let's hope they have an honest shot on a new show (though I doubt it).

And, as predicted, Corbin switches as well.

10:02 - Did Cole just refer to Backlash as "the first co-branded Pay-Per-View"?  A week after WrestleMania?

9:53 - Why on earth would they think it would be good for McIntyre to pair him up with Ziggler?

And hey, we have all of 3MB back on Raw together.....

9:49 - Funny thing is, I've always said I thought Ziggler and Paige would make a great heel pair (similar to Ziggler and Vickie or Ziggler and AJ), but I guess that's not going to happen.  Can't imagine Ziggler makes a big impact here.

9:41 - Mickie James did an awesome job with that finisher.  Made it look like a killer move.

9:36 - Ember Moon may very well have the best theme music in WWE right now.

Also, I kinda hate that they turned Nia Jax into this super smiley, happy, friendly babyface.  Why does WWE do this with every monster who turns face?

9:27 - "There's no theme.  Everything just clashes."  It's not as if the Fashion Police were doing anything of substance on Smackdown, but I see this as another Slater and Rhyno situation.  They had a nice little place on Smackdown but will now just job a whole lot on Raw.

9:18 - Yeah, I definitely see the Revival going to Smackdown, then.  Nothing for them on Raw.

9:17 - To be fair, "we don't set the bar, we are the bar" is a fairly basic catch phrase that should be easy to understand.

9:10 - For what it's worth, I think I see the losers of this match going to Smackdown.

Also, according to WWE's social media pages, Zack Ryder has been traded to Raw.  With that in mind, I see Mojo staying on Smackdown.

9:04 - So there you have it, Miz is going to Smackdown (good move), Bryan is staying on Smackdown (also good), and Miztourage stays on Raw (bad for them).  So again, aside from Riott Squad, every single person traded is somebody who swapped brands the year prior.

So a big babyface is heading to Raw.....I'm guessing it's Orton.

8:58 - Also, for what it's worth, I'm guessing Miz and the Miztourage get traded to Smackdown to give closure to the Bryan/Miz storyline.

8:57 - I like that Cole is bringing up the logic gap here.  Another pair of people that switched brands last year.

8:52 - Since Miz is making the announcement and it's being built up as a big thing, I think there's an unfortunately good chance that Daniel Bryan gets traded to Raw.  If that happens, be prepared for a long rant.

Unfortunately, who else is there on Smackdown that could be considered a big deal?  AJ Styles, of course, but that means they trade Brock (or Roman) to Smackdown to get the Universal title there.....and I don't see them doing that.  Who else dose that leave?  Orton?

Unless this is a heel tease, and it's a midcarder like Roode or Rusev.

8:41 - As predicted, the Riott Squad moves to Raw (which means -- for now anyway -- both Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan are on the same brand.....which makes me a happy man -- give them a segment together!)  I'm guessing Absolution moves to Smackdown.

8:20 - I could conceivably see Hardy get traded to Smackdown to bring the US title back there (and keep IC on Raw), but it would create one of two logistical issues:  Either the trades were already agreed upon and Hardy was already selected to go to Smackdown.....but then why would Smackdown give up their US title without getting something in return?  Or the trades are still ongoing....in which case, why would Raw give up their US champion?

Oh yeah, and either Bayley or Sasha (probably Sasha) is totally going to Smackdown.

8:16 - Two years in a row they've swapped the US and IC titles (presumably).  And for that matter, two years in a row Mahal has switched brands.  To his credit, he went from a post-show trade last year to the opening trade this year.

8:07 - For what it's worth,  I was going to predict Jeff Hardy to move to Smackdown.  I could see him winning the title tonight.  If he doesn't, I still see him going to Smackdown, I think.

8:03 - If Mahal is coming to Raw, I'm guessing Rollins is going to Smackdown (which would be a good thing).  Logistically speaking, it wouldn't make sense for one show to give up their champion without the other.  With that in mind, I can imagine Orton moving to Raw as well.

7:36 - Okay, so the Superstar Shakeup is starting in about twenty minutes.  Let me tell you what I think we'll see, what I hope we'll see, and what I hope we DON'T see.  Let me also just say how much more I like the Superstar Shakeup than the Draft Lottery, because there's a logical reason why certain swaps happen (the year that the WWE and World Heavyweight Champion both just so happened to switch was a stretch, but it's easy to buy that the Intercontinental and United States Champions were traded for each other).

I'm HOPING this year we see Smackdown get some love.  Last year I incorrectly stated that I thought Smackdown got the better of the two sides.  I was way off on that.  Here are the trades I could see happening, which I do hope happen:

Since tonight focuses on people from Smackdown moving to Raw, here's what I could see happening:

Baron Corbin to Raw:  Seems kinda lost in the shuffle over on Smackdown.  Needs some new scenery.

The Usos to Raw:  They've gone through pretty much everybody on Smackdown, and the Raw division needs some fresh faces.  For what it's worth, this would sort of disappoint me.  I like that they found their own identity on Smackdown.

Mojo Rawley to Raw:  He's doing next to nothing on Smackdown.

Charlotte to Raw:  Sadly.  Very, very, sadly.  I'm of the mindset that you keep her and Ronda far, far away from each other.  But I see Charlotte as the "big name" they take from Smackdown.

Naomi to Raw:  Just to keep her and the Usos together.

I could also potentially see:

Bobby Roode to Raw:  He's seemingly been written out of the United States Championship storyline, so he's got nothing holding him to Smackdown.

Riott Squad to Raw:  To move Absolution to Smackdown to reunite with Paige, perhaps?  If nothing else, it would make sense from a kayfabe perspective.

What I could see them doing, but I really don't want them to:

Daniel Bryan to Raw:  They stripped him of his General Manager status.  They gave us the match against AJ.  It does FEEL like they're getting everything out of the way to move him to Raw (plus, Smackdown ALWAYS loses a big name.....and I don't see it being AJ -- as champ -- or Nakamura).  I just see no benefit to moving Bryan to Raw.

More than anything, this just shows how depleted Smackdown's roster is.  When you consider AJ is champ (and likely not moving), Nakamura is probably staying because they just made that feud interesting, and Orton is probably staying because he's feuding for the US title, there really are NO big names for them to even lose other than Bryan.  Very sad.

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LIVE WrestleMania 34 thoughts - April 8, 2018

12:03 - Wow, I gotta say I'm surprised.  I'm overall pleased, because I thought they went a little overboard with the Roman overcoming everything story.

But honestly, Lesnar HAS to lose the title, though.  The year long reign where he barely appeared wasn't all that enjoyable, in my view.  So who takes it from him?

11:45 - So this is the first WrestleMania that is main evented with the Universal Championship.  Kinda monumental, I guess.  This is also Reigns' fourth WrestleMania main event in a row.....has anybody done that since Hogan?

11:42 -  Modified gear for Reigns (new top).  Looks kinda cool.  Obviously, I'm guessing Reigns wins this one.

11:34 - They literally could have done that same exact angle with Ellsworth but it would have called back to their history and the audience would have probably been more invested.

11:26 - Do they know it's 11:30 pm?  And they have this guy spending 5 minutes walking the arena?  I don't know if there's still a surprise coming, but this seems like a lame payoff.

11:21 - My prediction for Braun's partner is, I don't know, James Ellsworth?  Rey Mysterio is also a popular suspicion.  I'm betting guessing Braun takes home the titles.

11:19 - Those are bad ass jackets that the Bar has on there.

11:15 - A really good match, although I'm not 100% sure it met my (admittedly very high) expectations.  I'm disappointed Nakamura didn't win, BUT I did love the post match beat down.  I think a heel turn could be a very good thing for Nakamura (which will ultimately lead him to the WWE Championship), although I do find some level of irony hat they will turn an already very popular Nakamura heel as they refuse to do anything with Reigns.

10:47 - Anyone else catch them referring to AJ Styles as the Universal Champion?

10:44 - Very cool entrance for Nakamura.  Any time there's a live performance of his music, it sounds so cool.

10:39 - I do hope these two get a nice amount of time.  Also, call me old fashioned, but the fact that this match is so late in the night does make it feel more prestigious.  If I were a betting man, I'd bet on AJ.  But I want Nakamura to win, so I'm going to go with him.

At the very least, here's hoping we get that big, breakout performance from Nakamura that we've been waiting for.

10:36 - Bravo to Alexa Bliss who took some nasty looking bumps.  I don't know why they insist upon making big monsters cry, though.

10:27 - How tiny is Mickie James if she wears giant heels and is still barely taller than Alexa Bliss?

10:22 - Love that both Women's Champions made elaborate entrances -- that doesn't typically happen.  I've got Nia winning this one, but Alexa is my favorite woman on the roster so I'd be happy if she retains.

10:15 - They only debuted this clip from "Fighting With My Family" two days ago and I've seen it no less than 38 times.  I will personally finance for them to cut a second video if they insist on showing it so often.

And that intro from Paige could not be more awkward.  Again, why not edit it so there's not an awkward 5 seconds of silence before she starts speaking?

10:12 - They painted themselves in a corner with that stipulation, but they ultimately went with the right winners.  Enjoyable match, but it's still somewhat uncomfortable watching Bryan doing some of those risky and high impact moves.  Then again, I went through the same thing when HBK first returned.

10:09 - So it seems clear that Daniel Bryan isn't slowing down at all.....

10:01 - So wait, does Bryan re-emerge in the new blue gear?  Or is that too subtle of a message that he's a new man?  I remember people thought Angle would do something similar (when he returned in the Shield gear and was removed from the match) and that didn't end up happening.

9:53 - I liked the "Yes Movement" video to kick off Bryan's entrance.  Also, Bryan went with the black/maroon trunks, but oddly went with a blue t-shirt.....

9:45 - My prediction:  Bryan wears his blue ring gear and he and Shane win.  Owens and Zayn either go to Raw or there's some hijinx that gets them rehired.

9:33 - Cena has got to be the most selfless top guy in the history of wrestling -- and I think that does include Rock.  Dude just got completely squashed -- did he even get in more than one move?

9:31 - They replaced the Smackdown referee with a Raw one.....

9:25 - That was a really well done and fun introduction to this match.  The assumption that it's going to happen from Cena, the tease with the lights going off and Elias showing up.  The appearance that things won't happen after the Elias segment completed, and then the bit with the hat and gloves in the ring appearing and then disappearing.  Fun stuff.

Let's hope this match is better than the Reigns one was last year.  I have Undertaker winning this one (but kinda want Cena to win).

9:16 - At least it appears to be a Smackdown referee.

9:15 - It frustrates me that this is being pushed as a Raw match since neither guy is affiliated with a brand.

9:11 - Not shocked to see the Bludgeon Brothers win here.  I'm atualy a little surprised they didn't just go for a pure squash when they eliminated everybody and the Uso was still just lying in the ring from the Trouble in Paradise.

9:01 - Fun entrance and new gear for the New Day.  But yeah, really not feeling these Snapchat filter-esque WrestleMania entrances.

Smart money is on the Bludgeon Brothers winning here, but I'm going to go with the Usos as I expect to see the remaining titles to change.

8:56 - That match was a lot of fun, actually!  I thought Angle and Ronda BOTH exceeded expectations.  Awesome intensity from Ronda -- who has struggled to show that intensity in her promos and segments.  Fun stuff.

8:29 - Triple H and Stephanie's entrance has gotta diminish the possibility that the Undertaker returns as the American Badass, right?

This is going to be an interesting match, if only because it's very unclear whether or not both Kurt and Ronda can really perform to a great level.  Who carries the match, the men or the women?

8:23 - Surprised to see this match so early in the show.  I'm guessing that Roman/Lesnar DOES end the show, then.

I'm guessing Rousey and Angle win this.  I performed well with my predictions during the pre-show, but haven't been right since!

8:18 - So they had the guy people least wanted to see win get the victory by pinning the person that most people wanted to see win.  That's one way to do it, I guess.  Rusev should've won this one.

8:05 - My heart wants Rusev to win, I suspect Orton will win, I fear Mahal will win.  I'm going with my heart -- let's see Rusev win this!

8:04 - Did Aiden English get a haircut since the battle royal?

7:58 - I really don't mind Asuka losing -- it had to happen SOMETIME, and why not to an established person at a huge stage? -- but it came sorta out of no where.  Did Charlotte even work the knee?  There really wasn't much drama....I never thought Asuka was going to tap, because they never built up to it.  Therefore, the moment was more shocking than impactful.

7:57 - Wow.....  Legitimately shocked.....

7:51 - Very cool spot with the moonsault into the choke hold.  Also, that suplex onto the outside spot would have looked a lot more impactful if we hadn't seen the same move last night.  While NXT tends to have stronger overall performances, they should refrain from using actual big moves that will appear on a bigger show.

7:41 - I'm not really loving these CGI enhancements to people's entrances (we've now seen it for Asuka and Miz).  It feels a little hokey.  Also, I'm disappointed they didn't do the mask montage for Asuka's entrance.  Her entrance felt rushed.

7:39 - Really, really, really liked Charlotte's entrance -- with the preamble referencing her father's theme and the whole queen motif, before leading into her standard entrance.  She feels like a big deal here.

7:33 - Surprised to see this match on so early in the night, especially after a title change.  I am going with the obvious pick here -- Asuka wins the title.  I don't think we'll see a successful cash in, but it may be teased.

Actually, I wouldn't be shocked to see Carmella attempt to cash in for this match, fail to cash in at all, and then successfully cash in against Bliss later in the night.

7:29 - Well, I was wrong about Balor winning but right about Miz losing.  And hey, now all three members of the Shield are Grand Slam Champions!

7:20 - I see a lot of people on Twitter predicting a Miz win.  I feel like they need to get the title off of him so that he can take a little time off and (more importantly) so they can move him to Smackdown to finally pay off the multiyear Daniel Bryan feud.  Plus, they typically go with a babyface win in the opening match.

7:12 - I guess not -- but still a nice message.

7:09 - Cool contacts for Rollins.  At least unique.  I like Miz's entrance too, actually. I like anything that feels special.

PS - If Balor is coming out last, we're seeing the Demon....

7:07 - Looks like I'm wrong an that the Intercontinental Championship match will kick off the show.  I have Balor winning this.  The question is -- do we see the Demon?

7:06 - That was an unusual opening video as it didn't really have anything to do with wrestling or any of the matches happening.  I will say this, though:  I'm glad that they seem to be over their whole "anti Hogan" stance, because he appeared in three separate major moments -- more than anybody else in that video.

6:47 - Alright, I'm now 2/3 on my predictions.  I did like the swerve where Bayley turned on Sasha instead of the other way around, but they need to crap or get off the pot with these two.  One needs to go heel (it should be Sasha, although Bayley was obviously heelish in her actions tonight) and they need to have a proper feud.

6:37 - I'm guessing they mistimed that commercial and that it was supposed to play during the 17 woman entrance and not cut off Sasha's individual entrance.

Also, is there anything more stereotypically female than a group of women singling out one person and completely ganging up on them.

6:32 - I totally get the time constraints and why they can't do 20 televised entrances, but the decision to air Lynch's individual entrance, and then having about 15 people walk out to generic music, and then have Bayley and Sasha each make individual entrances was an odd decision.  Totally get why you need to do it -- maybe just don't air it.

6:29 - This is somewhat tough to call.  I think I'm going with Sasha Banks winning.  Next pick would be Bayley or Becky.

6:19 - And that's two for two!  Fun, energetic match that highlighted the skills of these Cruiserweights.  I also liked the ongoing story of it being 205 Live's heart and soul against each other.

6:06 - Very cool ring gear for Mustafa Ali.

It also occurs to me that the Superdome may not be open (I can't quite tell), so I may be off about all those comments I made about certain matches having to happen when it gets dark.

6:04 - That Sam Roberts segment was very uncomfortable.  I have Cedric Alexander winning this one.

5:56 - So that's one correct prediction!  I like the swerve with Wyatt, although the delayed announcement that Hardy won made it a bit uncomfortable.  Also, they need to start giving Cena a heads up when the camera is on him.  His "authentic" reactions are always delayed.

5:45 - Gotta admit, I loved the Ryder/Ziggler/Mojo sequence.  It just played off of so much history -- the ongoing WrestleMania match story between Ryder and Ziggler, and then the ongoing feud between Ryder and Mojo.  Ryder goes for a big move against Ziggler, but is blindsided by Mojo and eliminated as a result.  And visually, it looked pretty cool.

5:43 - Speaking of which, the lack of seeing any entrances really makes it difficult to get invested in this.  I feel like I barely know who is in there and nobody feels particularly important.

5:39 - It looks like Ascension has some new green gear.  I like Goldust's Dusty dots attire as well.  Twitter indicates that Ryder has a cool cape for his entrance.....which wasn't televised.

5:37 - Alright, we're getting things started with the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  My money is on Matt Hardy, for what it's worth.

5:23 - For what it's worth, I'm guessing the US title match opens the show.  I'm thinking we MAY see a Demon appearance, which means the IC title needs to wait until it's dark out as well.

5:20 - I REALLY hope that AJ/Nakamura doesn't open up the show.  I understand that a lot of people want this match to go on early so that the fans aren't burnt, but I still think having the title match that fans already view as the "less important" match open the show sends a very negative message.  Plus, I think they can have a lot of fun with Nakamura's entrance when it's dark out.

5:10 - People on Twitter are noting that Cena is, in fact, sitting in the audience as a fan.  Very cool touch.  Hopefully he's dressed in street clothes and not his wrestling gear (which is basically street clothes, I know....) as well.

5:05 - If anybody has been watching the videos on WWE.com, Bryan is teasing some potential new ring gear for tonight.  He said he had two pieces of gear made -- one for the classic Bryan (black and maroon) -- and one that honors the Seahawks (blue and green).  I predict he goes with the blue gear, as it's a new beginning and it goes with the whole Smackdown thing.

5:01 - Has that WrestleMania logo always had a green swoosh WWE logo?  How have I never noticed that?

4:56 - We are minutes away from the WrestleMania pre-show.  Check back for my live thoughts of the big show, which I will keep updating for as long as I can before retreating to my bed.

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