Naomi and AJ Styles moved to Raw while Roman Reigns and Bayley moved to SmackDown. Credit: WWE.com

WWE Superstar Shake-Up 2019 Results: Updated Roster List and Most Stunning Picks

The Doctor Chris Mueller

WWE finished up its biggest event of the year with WrestleMania 35 on April 7, and in what has become an annual tradition, it then wasted little time shifting wrestlers around in the Superstar Shake-up.

Men and women from Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live and NXT all found themselves with a new home on Monday and Tuesday. A couple of teams were broken up, but for the most part, alliances were kept intact. 

As expected, the red brand had several more newcomers than SmackDown, but WWE could still announce more moves in the coming days.

In fact, it still has to decide if Lars Sullivan is on Raw or SmackDown since he appeared on both shows this week to attack random Superstars.

Let's take a look at who moved where and which picks were the biggest gains for Raw and SmackDown. 

NXT Call-Ups

The Viking Experience Called up From NXT

The War Raiders retained the NXT Tag Team Championship at TakeOver: New York in a memorable match against Aleister Black and Ricochet, but that didn't stop WWE from calling them up and changing their individual and team names.

They are now known as The Viking Experience, and instead of Hanson and Rowe, they will now be called Ivar and Erik. Amending their team moniker is one thing, but changing their Superstar names was a confusing move to most fans on social media.

                  

Kairi Sane Called up From NXT

We also saw Kairi Sane make her SmackDown debut as Asuka's new tag team partner along with Paige as their manager.

The Pirate Princess was victorious in her first outing on the blue brand in an eight-woman tag match Tuesday evening.

Free Agents Pick Their Brands

Ricochet and Aleister Black Choose Raw

Following their standout performances at TakeOver and WrestleMania, Aleister Black and Ricochet have found themselves as members of the Raw roster.

Whether they remain a tag team or work as individuals will remain to be seen, but whatever division they end up working in is going to benefit from both of them in the end.

                           

EC3 Chooses Raw

EC3 has been making random background appearances on Raw and SmackDown for months while occasionally wrestling on Main Event, but Monday saw him choose the red brand as his home.

                                 

Lacey Evans Chooses Raw

After making her intentions known by punching Becky Lynch in the mouth last week, Lacey Evans made her first in-ring appearances on Monday's Raw.

She appears to be in for a big push with Becky Two Belts, but plenty of women on the blue brand want a shot at a title, too, so she has some stiff competition.

                               

Lars Sullivan Chooses SmackDown...Probably

WWE.com lists Sullivan as an official member of the SmackDown roster after Tuesday's show, but with the way things have been going for him, that could change by next week.

Cruiserweights Move to New Brands

Cedric Alexander Moves to Raw

Cedric Alexander is a former cruiserweight champion and one of the most gifted high-flyers on the entire roster, so he will likely find success on Raw following his move this week.

This is good news for him since 205 Live is clearly not a priority for management at this point, and his skills would be better used on the shows fans actually choose to watch.

                               

Buddy Murphy Moves to SmackDown

The Juggernaut has been putting on some of the best matches in WWE ever since he was called up to 205 Live from NXT, and now the world will finally see what he is capable of on a bigger stage.

Buddy Murphy moved to SmackDown this week with a prerecorded video letting everyone know he is coming for them. Since his old rival, Ali, has been going well, we could see them rekindle their feud in the coming weeks.

Everyone Else Who Moved

The following Superstars were moved to Raw:

                           

The following Superstars were moved to SmackDown:

Let's take a look at the biggest and most shocking drafts made on Monday and Tuesday.

Finn Balor Brings the IC Title to SmackDown

If United States champion Samoa Joe had been moved to Raw on Monday, Finn Balor's switch to SmackDown would have been predictable, but it didn't go down that way.

The Extraordinary Man appeared Tuesday to reveal he had come to SmackDown with the Intercontinental Championship. Unless WWE moves Joe quietly or next week, both midcard titles are on the same show.

Putting Balor on the blue brand opens up some exciting opportunities for new feuds, and we got a small taste when he battled Ali in an awesome match at the top of the show.

Bayley Is out for Herself on SmackDown

Bayley made it clear she was back to focusing on her goals as a singles competitor when she made her SmackDown debut Tuesday night alongside Ember Moon.

The Hugger and Sasha Banks may not be a tag team anymore, but Bayley is still a valuable and popular Superstar who can help bring some fresh matches to the blue brand.

Seeing her back in a ring with Becky Lynch was a welcome sight after the pair spent the past two years on different shows, so it wouldn't be surprising to see WWE put them in a storyline right away.

Eric Young's Move Indicates the End of Sanity

Eric Young being moved from SmackDown to Raw might not be the most surprising move in the world, but it's one of the more disappointing from the Superstar Shake-up.

Sanity had been wasted on the blue brand ever since being called up from NXT, but some fans still held out hope of seeing the group treated as a threat to the tag team champions. 

Young being alone will likely lead to him continuing to be used to put others over, but this also means Killian Dain's future remains uncertain after Alexander Wolfe seemingly said goodbye to WWE on Twitter during Tuesday's show. 

Roman Reigns Declares SmackDown Is His Yard

Roman Reigns' move to SmackDown wasn't as surprising as it could have been, but it's still a major shift for WWE programming moving forward.

Until he took time off to battle leukemia last year, The Big Dog was WWE's chosen one to carry the flagship brand.

Moving him to the blue brand means he no longer has an ally in Seth Rollins to watch his back, so Reigns is all alone in a strange land with a new set of opponents.

His first feud might be with Elias after what we saw happen on SmackDown, but it wouldn't be shocking to see him end up in the hunt for the WWE title right away. 

The Miz and AJ Styles Take Their Talents to Raw

For over a year, The Miz and AJ Styles were the glue holding the blue brand together, but their move to Raw means someone else is going to have to pick up where they left off.

Styles was the face of SmackDown and an incredible WWE champion. For most of his time on the blue brand, The Miz was the company's best heel.

The A-Lister may have turned babyface during his feud with Shane McMahon, but he never stopped being one of the best mic workers in the company.

They will both bring a lot of experience to Monday nights and open the door for some new and revived feuds with Superstars they haven't been around until now.

This year's Superstar Shake-up didn't have as many shocking moments as in the past, but it certainly changed the landscape of WWE for the next year. 


Who do you think will make the biggest impact with their new brand?

   

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