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

Dolph Ziggler from SmackDown Live to Raw

Despite being a charismatic veteran with top-notch in-ring skills, Dolph Ziggler has struggled to become the face of WWE for an extended time throughout his career. He went through a bit of a resurgence during his two-year stint on SmackDown Live once the brand split returned, having some epic matches with The Miz.

Once he came back to WWE Raw, Dolph Ziggler brought in Drew McIntyre as his ally. Ziggler managed to remain a staple of the mid-card, capturing the Intercontinental Championship for an eighth time and winning the Raw Tag Team Titles along with McIntyre. Ziggler has gone back into the background in recent months, but definitely didn’t have a bad year.

Grade: A, This was about as good of a year as you get with Dolph Ziggler anymore. He definitely seems to have a ceiling on things, and this was a solid year for Ziggler that wasn’t a downgrade from his previous year.

Mike Kanellis from SmackDown Live to Raw

Mike Kanellis, along with his wife Maria, came to WWE in June of 2017 and debuted on SmackDown Live. Despite their best efforts, Kanellis struggled to make his mark on the brand and quickly dissolved into the background. Once drafted to Raw, there was hope for an invigoration for Mike and Maria.

Instead, they remained relatively unused on the main roster. In October of 2018, Kanellis made the move to 205 Live and became a part of the cruiserweight division. While he’s had more visibility on the brand, Kanellis still hasn’t managed to capture gold or really stand out from the rest of the roster.

Grade: F, Nothing improved for Mike Kanellis when he got moved to Raw. While he had a bit of growth on 205 Live, that had nothing to do with his return to Raw, making his Shake-Up result an abject failure.