WWE News: ‘Superstar Shake-Up’ Designed To Move AJ Styles To ‘RAW’ And Roman Reigns To ‘SmackDown Live’
Last night on WWE RAW, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon claimed that next week, fans will see a “Superstar Shake-Up,” which means some big names could switch brands. It had been reported for some time now that WWE plans to remove AJ Styles from SmackDown Live and put him on WWE RAW. Most fans felt that the WWE Draft would force this move, but it would not be until this summer.
With Vince McMahon claiming the company had to shift those plans, it looks like the WWE Draft might still happen, but this will freshen up the rosters to allow some big things to occur and maybe help both shows. WWE RAW’s ratings have suffered for about a year now and are getting worse by the day. Meanwhile, the blue brand has actually seen an increase in viewership since the WWE brand split last summer.
Many people stood out with this timeframe such as AJ Styles, The Miz, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, and many others. Everyone just needed a chance to show that they deserve an opportunity. The roster is just as stacked as it was years ago when the split initially had to happen. When WWE NXT continues to feed the main roster some amazing talent, you have no real choice but to do a split. Even NXT gets too crowded at times with all the great people Triple H continues to hire.
Now, the split is needed more than ever before, but Vince McMahon does not want to see WWE RAW fail when it is the flagship show. According to Cageside Seats, the reason for the roster shake-up is to move AJ Styles. Vince McMahon seems to like AJ a lot and wanted him to be the original WWE Universal Champion when the title was considered for WWE SmackDown Live instead of WWE RAW.
McMahon has liked him for some time, which is always good news for someone like AJ Styles. Styles is currently a heel on the blue brand, but he’s getting cheered like a babyface wherever he goes. He is the opposite of Roman Reigns, who is classified as a babyface but is booed like he is a heel. Many believe he will head to SmackDown Live to replace AJ Styles.
It very well could be to be the top heel on the brand if the goal is to move two people of the same affiliation. Roman Reigns came out to a sea of boos. He probably had more boos than anyone in history since Sgt. Slaughter when he turned on the United States. Reigns took a huge amount of hatred for about 10 minutes from the post-Wrestlemania WWE RAW crowd.
This crowd is one of the hottest of the year, and with fans already booing Reigns before WrestleMania. And after beating Undertaker, he was going to get annihilated. He certainly did. He took F-bombs from the crowd, Roman sucks chants, “a**hole” chants, and whatever those in attendance could think of. It was an absolutely amazing moment for Roman Reigns, and if by chance he goes heel, he very well could be one of the best in WWE history.
WWE SmackDown Live seems to tell better stories with their talent over the likes of the WWE RAW creative team. If they tell the heel story of Roman Reigns and allow him to get over on the blue brand until he is ready to become the face of the company that McMahon wants, it would be perfect. WWE knows what they have with AJ Styles, in that either heel or face he is going to be terrific at every turn.
He is only gaining more and more popularity with the fans, which is a very big deal for the WWE. When you’re over with fans, WWE can then build around you and push you into major positions to see what happens as they give you more chances. AJ Styles has killed it every chance he has gotten, and he can seemingly do no wrong. He threw Shane McMahon’s head through a car window and fans still love him. At this point, the move to make Styles the top guy — at least until Roman is ready — is probably the best thing the WWE can do right now.
[Featured Image By WWE]
