2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up
The 2019WWE Superstar Shake-up logo.
General information
Sport	Professional wrestling
Date	April 15–May 8, 2019
Overview
League	WWE
Teams	Raw SmackDown 205 Live NXT (outgoing only)
← 2018 October 2019 →

The2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up was the thirteenthWWE draft – and the last to be branded as the Superstar Shake-up – produced by theAmerican professional wrestling promotionWWE between theRaw,SmackDown, and205 Livebrands. Instead of a traditional draft, changes between the brands were made behind the scenes, with moving wrestlers simply appearing on a brand's show or announced via WWE's website or social medias. The event began on the April 15 and 16 episodes ofMonday Night Raw andSmackDown Live, respectively, on theUSA Network. The April 15 and 16 episodes were initially the only episodes advertised for the Superstar Shake-up, but more draft moves were confirmed throughout the remainder of the month and into early May.

Following the Superstar Shake-up, aWild Card Rule was introduced, allowing up to four wrestlers to appear on the opposing brand's show for one night only with unsanctioned appearances penalized. This rule, however, was immediately broken, and the stipulations were never enforced, making brand division unclear. The rule was criticized by journalists and current wrestlers alike. WithSmackDown's move toFOX on October 4, 2019,another draft was scheduled, as well as the announcement that the Wild Card Rule would end with this subsequent draft.

TheWWE Draft, known as the Superstar Shake-up since 2017, is an annual process used by the Americanprofessional wrestling promotionWWE while abrand extension, or brand split, is in effect. The original brand extension occurred from 2002 to 2011, while the second and current brand split began in 2016. During a brand extension, the company divides its roster into brands where the wrestlers exclusively perform for each brand's respective television show, and the draft is used to refresh the rosters of the brand divisions, typically between theRaw andSmackDown brands.

For the2017 and2018 Superstar Shake-ups, instead of a traditional draft, the commissioners and general managers of WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands made trades and deals behind the scenes between their respective talent, including the promotion and drafting of wrestlers from theNXT brand. However, followingTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December 2018, The McMahon Family (Vince McMahon,Stephanie McMahon,Shane McMahon, andTriple H) took over the running of Raw and SmackDown with no general managers,^[1] leaving them in charge of drafting decisions. On the April 8, 2019, episode ofMonday Night Raw, the 2019 Superstar Shake-up was confirmed for the April 15 and 16 episodes ofRaw andSmackDown, respectively. For the first time, superstars from the205 Live brand were eligible to be drafted.^[2][3][4] Although initially only advertised for the aforementioned episodes, more draft moves were confirmed throughout the remainder of April and into early May.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Notes

• Seven tag teams/stables were split or broken up as a result of the Superstar Shake-up.Sanity disbanded afterEric Young moved to Raw, The Boss 'n' Hug Connection was split up asBayley moved to SmackDown whileSasha Banks remained on Raw,Liv Morgan was split fromThe Riott Squad as she moved to SmackDown while her teammatesRuby Riott andSarah Logan remained on Raw, the team ofChad Gable andBobby Roode was split up as Gable moved to SmackDown while Roode remained on Raw, the team ofAleister Black andRicochet was split up as Black moved to SmackDown while Ricochet remained on Raw,The Bar disbanded asCesaro was drafted to Raw whileSheamus took time off due to injury, and the stable ofJinder Mahal andThe Singh Brothers (Sunil Singh andSamir Singh) was split up as Mahal moved to SmackDown while The Singh Brothers went to 205 Live.
• TheIntercontinental Championship moved to SmackDown, while theUnited States Championship moved to Raw. ReigningNXT Tag Team ChampionsThe Viking Raiders were drafted to Raw, but the championship did not move with them; they subsequently relinquished the title on the May 1 taping ofNXT (aired May 15).
• AtWrestleMania 35, SmackDown wrestlerBecky Lynch won both theRaw andSmackDown Women's Championships, allowing her to appear on both brands. She was not assigned a home brand during the Superstar Shake-up, but after she lost the SmackDown Women's Championship atMoney in the Bank, she became a member of the Raw brand.^[13]

On Raw, new drafteeLacey Evans defeatedNatalya to earn aRaw Women's Championship match againstBecky Lynch atMoney in the Bank. Natalya was subsequently entered into the women'sMoney in the Bank ladder match, along withDana Brooke,Alexa Bliss, and new drafteeNaomi; for medical reasons, Bliss was subsequently replaced by new drafteeNikki Cross. New drafteeAJ Styles earned aUniversal Championship match againstSeth Rollins at the event, while new drafteesSamoa Joe andRey Mysterio continued their feud from SmackDown, leading to a United States Championship match at Money in the Bank that Mysterio won. Bobby Roode, now a singles competitor, turnedheel and changed his ring name to Robert Roode and became the second holder of WWE's24/7 Championship that was introduced in May. New drafteeThe Miz continued his feud from SmackDown with authority figure Shane McMahon, leading to aSteel Cage match at Money in the Bank that Shane won. New drafteeRicochet was entered into the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, along withBraun Strowman,Drew McIntyre, andBaron Corbin, though Strowman was replaced bySami Zayn. New drafteesThe Usos (Jey Uso andJimmy Uso) began a feud withThe Revival (Scott Dawson andDash Wilder).^{[8][3][5][14]} After Eric Young's transfer to Raw,Alexander Wolfe moved to theNXT UK brand andKillian Dain moved to theNXT brand.^[15] In May 2019, Raw wrestlerTyler Breeze began appearing onNXT and unsuccessfully challengedVelveteen Dream for theNXT North American Championship atNXT TakeOver: XXV on June 1. Following that match, Breeze confirmed that he was back on NXT.^[16]

On SmackDown,Elias was introduced as the "biggest acquisition in SmackDown history" by Vince McMahon and began a feud with fellow new drafteeRoman Reigns, leading to a match at Money in the Bank that Reigns won. After Andrade moved back to SmackDown, he continued a feud with new SmackDown draftee and Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor that began the previous week; both were entered into the men's Money in the Bank ladder match along withAli andRandy Orton. Bálor was then scheduled to defend his title against Andrade atSuper ShowDown. New drafteeLars Sullivan began a feud withR-Truth. New drafteeBayley was given an opportunity to challenge Becky Lynch for theSmackDown Women's Championship at Money in the Bank, but lost it toCharlotte Flair. Bayley was subsequently entered into the women's Money in the Bank ladder match along withMandy Rose,Carmella, and new drafteeEmber Moon; Bayley won the match and later that same night, cashed in the contract to win the SmackDown Women's Championship from Flair, who had just defeated Lynch for the title.Paige introduced a new tag team, The Kabuki Warriors, consisting ofAsuka and new drafteeKairi Sane, to manage and go after theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship.^{[11][4][17][18]} Raw wrestlerDolph Ziggler had been inactive since January'sRoyal Rumble event, but returned prior to June'sSuper ShowDown event to challengeKofi Kingston for SmackDown'sWWE Championship. On-screen graphics when he appeared onSmackDown showed that he was still part of Raw, but following Super ShowDown, his WWE.com profile was updated to show that he was moved to SmackDown.^[19]

The reasons for Andrade andZelina Vega's move back to SmackDown, and Aleister Black's switch to the brand, were later revealed. In WWE's attempt to keep real-life couples on the same brand, Andrade was moved back to SmackDown because of his relationship with Charlotte Flair, Vega was moved as she is Andrade's on-screen manager, and Black was moved because of his marriage to Vega. It was also reported thatFOX, whereSmackDown would begin airing in October 2019, wanted more Latin American stars on the show and requested Andrade and Vega to be moved back to the brand.^[20]

On the May 6 episode ofRaw, Vince McMahon introduced a Wild Card Rule, with specific stipulations:^[14][21]

1. Up to four wrestlers would be allowed to appear on the opposing brand's show by invitation for one night only.
2. Unsanctioned appearances would be penalized with a fine or termination.

Following the implementation of the Wild Card Rule, the stipulations were routinely ignored with numerous stars freely appearing on both shows for multiple weeks with storylines crossing over both brands, blurring the lines between Raw and SmackDown. The rule was heavily criticized by journalists and current wrestlers alike. Writing forNewsweek, Phillip Martinez said that even though WWE tried explaining the rule, it was still confusing and unclear.^[22] Raw wrestlerSeth Rollins said that the rule "really muddled things up" as it "used to feel special" to only see other talent every so often, but because of the rule, they were seeing each other every week.^[23] SmackDown wrestlerKevin Owens also criticized the rule. He said that he understood that it was intended to bring unpredictability to the shows, but it was "loosely defined".^[24] Andrew Murray ofWhatCulture said it was one of WWE's "most divisive creative decisions in years" and the promotion were unable to stick to their original outline.^[24] Connor Casey ofComicBook.com said that the rule "effectively killed the brand split".^[23]

WithSmackDown's move toFOX in October andRaw remaining on theUSA Network, WWE decided to hold a second draft for the year to definitively split the brands. Returning to its original name (the "WWE Draft") and a traditional draft format, this second draft of 2019 occurred on the October 11 and 14 episodes ofSmackDown (renamed toFriday Night SmackDown) andRaw, respectively. Personalities from FOX andNBCUniversal (USA's parent company) appeared and had influence over the picks (the first time television networks had an influence over WWE's drafting decisions).^[25][26] The Wild Card Rule also ended with this subsequent draft.^[23]

• 2019 in professional wrestling
• WWE Draft

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