The Superstar Shake-Up is the only time WWE superstars switch brands during the year. But wouldn’t the possibility of more transactions make the product more interesting?
The idea of brand exclusivity in WWE is, in theory, a good one. Superstars have a home on either Raw or SmackDown, and each show is a self-contained mini promotion within the WWE umbrella. Multiple champions, storylines, and rivalries are all present on each show, and intermingling between the brands is kept to a minimum. The only time superstars switch brands is the annual Superstar Shake-Up held a week after WrestleMania.
During the original WWE brand extension, superstars were re-drafted every year to freshen things up. Certain superstars would be associated with one show more than the other, even if they were drafted away from it on occasion. The Undertaker, especially, is still seen as a “SmackDown guy.”
But the trouble with limited interaction between the brands always rears its head during those rare times when the shows “compete” against one another, mainly Survivor Series. For eleven months out of the year, there’s barely any acknowledgement of another show existing; during the lead-up to Survivor Series, it’s all out war. It’s illogical.
However, it’s also something that can be fixed fairly easily. If you want some kind of tangible conflict between shows, there needs to be some kind of interaction between the rosters. And if keeping the physical conflict at bay until Survivor Series is the desire, you need more roster moves between Superstar Shake-Ups.
Right now, all WWE pay per views are co-branded. That means every superstar from Raw and SmackDown are in the same building once a month. Why not use that to a storytelling advantage, and have trades take place between GMs?
There’s many ways this could be accomplished. You could have just a straight-up trade backstage — Kurt Angle offers, say, Mike Kanellis and Curt Hawkins in exchange for Shelton Benjamin, or something. Or a pair of matches could be designated as “Loser Gets Traded” contests — one with Raw superstars, and one with SmackDown superstars.
Since Survivor Series is “the only time Raw and SmackDown are in direct competition,” you could institute a trading deadline like all major sports leagues have. Maybe SummerSlam is the last day for trades — after that, which ever brand you’re on is where you stay until the next Superstar Shake-Up.
There could also be another period of movement leading up to the Royal Rumble, just to keep things fresh in the time between Survivor Series and WrestleMania. It wouldn’t be essential to have this second period of “open season,” but the pre-Survivor Series moves would be huge in the build to that show.
How so? Well, have you ever seen a baseball player just own his former team after a trade? When Ken Griffey, Jr., returned to Seattle for the first time after being traded to Cincinnati, he hit two home runs in one game. (Sure, he kind of wanted the trade, and this first trip back to Seattle was seven years after the trade, but the point still stands.)
Maybe a super hot babyface, like a Seth Rollins, is traded to SmackDown in a huge shock during SummerSlam. As the GMs make their teams for Survivor Series, Rollins begs for a spot on Team Blue to show what Raw missed out on. And he puts on the show of a lifetime to stick it to the management who didn’t want him around anymore.
It could go the other way, too: Maybe Kurt Angle wants to acquire Samoa Joe to bolster his roster. But Joe, because he thrives on chaos, refuses to play ball. He “sits out” until after Survivor Series, when he’d be eligible to be traded back to SmackDown.
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Plenty of superstars could benefit from the storytelling options this would open up. Guys like Heath Slater might constantly be in fear of getting traded if they don’t start producing the way they know they can. Or GMs could hold a trade over an insubordinate superstar’s head.
Rules could be put in place for who is eligible to be traded — champions could be exempt, for example — and who might be “protected.” How awesome would it be for a superstar to come out and proclaim they have a “no-trade clause” in their contract? That’s right up The Miz’s alley. Possibly Alexa Bliss, as well.
The main idea, though, is to foster more movement between brands to keep things fresh. How dull do the same. Old. Stories get when nothing ever changes? Money in the Bank featured a bunch of Backlash rematches (although some had slight changes), Extreme Rules has been redone on multiple episodes of Raw — new blood keeps things interesting.
Do you think a trade system would benefit WWE’s brand extension?