WWE Superstar Shake-Up: Grading Every Superstar’s Outcome From 2018

Zack Ryder from SmackDown Live to Raw

Going into last year’s WWE Superstar Shake-Up, Zack Ryder hadn’t exactly had the best year. A decent tag team run with Mojo Rawley as The Hype Bros had unraveled, and Ryder was struggling to find his place once again as a singles competitor. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened. For the rest of 2018, Ryder was essentially a non-factor on WWE Raw.

In January of this year, Ryder saved former partner Curt Hawkins from an attack by The Revival, leading to the group reuniting soon after. Despite a haphazardly booked return to prominence, Ryder and Hawkins got a shot at the champions and emerged from WrestleMania 34 as the Raw Tag Team Champions. It was a strong finish for an otherwise uneventful year for Zack Ryder.

Grade: B-, The majority of Zack Ryder’s year was extremely forgettable. He barely appeared at all, but his eventual reunion with Curt Hawkins has brought Ryder back to gold. Even if it took him a while to do so, this was eventually a good move for Ryder.

Breezango from SmackDown Live to Raw

During their time on SmackDown Live, the originally odd pairing of Tyler Breeze and Fandango became one of the most beloved duos on Tuesday nights. The Fashion Files became one of the silliest and most highly anticipated parts of SmackDown Live, and it looked like WWE Raw might get a taste of that when Breezango were moved.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Fandango went out of action only a few months later with a shoulder injury, and has yet to return. Tyler Breeze has had a relatively uneventful year with his tag team partner on the shelf, and the highlights of his year took place more on YouTube than WWE television.

Grade: F, I absolutely adore Breezango and The Fashion Files, but due to an injury and a lack of direction for Breeze they basically fell off the map over the last year. Here’s hoping things changes once Deputy Dango is back in action.