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Elisa Maria’s WWE Superstar Shake-Up Predictions

Do you agree with Elisa’s predictions?

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AJ Styles WWE Superstar Shake-Up

Elisa Maria makes her predictions for what could be the most important Superstar Shake-Up in WWE history thanks to the FOX TV deal.

The time has come for the WWE to host one its biggest events of the year and it is the – 2019 Superstar Shakeup. What once was called the WWE draft, these past two years, WWE has moved away from that terminology and instead referred to it as the Superstar Shakeup, which basically is a set of roster moves and trades between the Raw and Smackdown brand with NXT possible call ups, that the WWE does not need to explain. It is essentially supposed to provide a boost in both Raw and Smackdown view ship ratings.

This year proves to be essential that WWE makes the right moves as the Smackdown will be on FOX this October and the pressure is on to make this deal work. WWE cannot do what it did last year by overloading the Raw and Smackdown brands with a bunch of mid-card superstars that now they cannot even provide proper bookings or storylines for, which then leads to unexplained releases. It is important to for the WWE to make sure both brands what it need, and they might need to listen to the fans on this one. So let’s examine my predictions as to which stars should go to which brands.

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Moving to Smackdown in the WWE Superstar Shake-Up

Finn Balor

I honestly do not care what anyone feels about this one but you have to admit if there is a star that fits the Smackdown brand, it is this guy right here. If you want even more proof than that, just look back at the past year and see the trend in which Smackdown has been booking its matches, pushing on stars like Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Mustafa Ali and now Kofi Kingston. He is just the right fit. WWE creative team has failed horribly in maximizing his unlimited potential on Raw and has been stuck on midcard feuds often for months at a time.

Moving Finn Balor to Smackdown could really benefit him in moving up in Ranks for a brand that values more quality in-ring work than Raw. He could begin fresh feuds with Superstars like Daniel Bryan, and even Kofi Kingston if given the opportunity. This could a potential career refresher for him and not to mention that he is top five is the most selling merchandise in WWE. There is no possible negative reason to not make this move what so ever.

Brock Lesnar

As much as I do not really want this to happen, FOX has already asked for either Brock Lesnar or Ronda Rousey to be on the blue brand and what makes me more convinced that this could happen is that FOX is already promoting Brock. The most obvious reason why this could be a smart business move is that Lesnar already has ties with FOX when he was with UFC and of course, WWE wants to stack Smackdown as “the brand”. This makes sense but my fear is that he will gain and hold on to a title for months without even defending it, which will take away from opportunities for up and coming superstars.

Bray Wyatt

Let’s face it, Bray has most of his success when he was with Smackdown, where he held the WWE championship in 2017. Ever since getting pushed to Raw, he has been horribly booked. Again, Smackdown has proven to utilize more their talents than Raw. Wyatt is an extremely talented star who can thrive as either a heel or a babyface, but WWE needs to let him start anew on a different show with new rivalries and fresh storyline opportunities. He isn’t going to get that on Raw.

Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Nia Jax

The issue with the women’s division is not only has the division become somewhat stale with the exception of Ronda, Charlotte and Becky, but you have talents staying on a certain brand for a long period of time. Even though there have been reports of Sasha trying to quit the WWE and Bayley having similar frustrations with WWE creative team, this move for them with help them gain a fresh start in a brand that is more likely willing to give more opportunities than the Raw brand. Not to mention, Smackdown women’s seems to be lacking in bookings lately and this could help the division get better. I also think Nia Jax, who is currently out for double knee surgery, should be moved to this brand. She can provide something different, a force of dominance whenever she returns back to the ring.

Roman Reigns

If WWE does not move Brock Lesnar or Ronda Rousey to Smackdown, then Roman just might be the person to move to provide the blue brand the force and leadership that it will need heading into the FOX deal. I do not see anything for Roman in Raw unless you have him feud with Seth Rollins for the title but I do believe that is something I rather not see now and more towards SummerSlam if the WWE creative team writes this one correctly. Also, it could provide him a fresh start in the blue brand.


Read: Greg DeMarco’s Top 10 WWE Superstar Shake-Up Moves


Moving to Raw in the WWE Superstar Shake-Up

Samoa Joe

If Finn Balor makes the transition to the blue brand, then it only makes sense to send Samoa Joe to Raw. It does not make sense to have both Intercontinental and U.S Championship belts in the same brand, WWE will not allow that to happen. Joe is a monstrous champion and will be better suited to RAW where he can face Superstars like Braun Strowman.

The Miz

The Miz has been transitioning back and forth between brands for the past three years but I think he should go back to the Raw brand, and my reasoning for this is not only he brings a hell of a lot of marketing with him but Raw has been growing stale in its upper mid and main even card scenes as of late. He has shown that he is able to be successful both a heel and babyface with his recent booking with Shane McMahon. He is just an overall well rounded superstar. I felt Raw did better when he was in their brand. For me, this move makes sense.

Naomi

With both brands suffering from stale women’s division in large part as mentioned earlier, Becky, Carmella and Naomi have spent for the past three years or so on the blue brand while Nia Jax, Sasha and Bayley remained on Raw. Even though, Naomi has gotten her success on Smackdown with being a two time champion, WWE has booked her horribly ever since. Naomi remains one of WWE’s most popular and most talented female stars, and moving her to Raw for the first time in three years could create some fresh new feud opportunities in the women’s division, which it badly needs.

The Usos

You cannot deny there is an imbalance between Raw and SmackDown’s tag team division. On one side, the blue brand has most of WWE’s best tag teams, including the Usos, The New Day and The Bar. On the other side, Raw features mostly lower card teams, like The Ascension, or randomly thrown together duos such as Chad Gable and Bobby Roode. Something clearly needs to be done to fix that, and there are two options here: Send either the Usos or The New Day to Raw. Perhaps the Usos are the better option here given that they’ve been on SmackDown since the brand split return three years ago and a move to Raw would allow Jimmy Uso to remain on the same brand as his wife Naomi if and when she switches shows as well.

The Usos have already solidified themselves as one of the greatest tag teams ever and could further improve their resume by running the tag team division on Raw, which desperately needs a tag team of its caliber. With the Usos dropping the SmackDown Tag Team Titles just this week, WWE should do everything in its power to ensure that they become the centerpiece of Raw’s currently lackluster tag team division. Of course, sending The New Day, WWE’s most popular tag team and top selling merchandise seller to Monday nights wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

AJ Styles

I expect that WWE will shift at least a few of Raw’s top talents over to SmackDown for the blue brand’s move to FOX, so Raw will need a major star or two in return. It doesn’t get any bigger than Styles in my opinion as he is arguably WWE’s most well-rounded star and top merchandise seller and a star who is capable of carrying Raw’s main event picture both in the ring and on the microphone. While there’s nothing really wrong with keeping Styles on SmackDown, he’s accomplished virtually everything he can there, including a pair of lengthy WWE Championship reigns and a resume filled with impressive matches.

Moving a star as big as AJ Styles to another brand would undoubtedly freshen up Raw’s main event scene, which has gotten to be incredibly stale over the past several months. WWE can only do so many different storylines of feuds between stars like Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin before they get incredibly stale, and the red brand is now well past this point.


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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Reaction

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

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WWE Royal Rumble 2024 Results

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

The WWE Royal Rumble is upon us, and while the Men’s Royal Rumble Match isn’t for the World Heavyweight Championship like I suggested, it’s still the most anticipated event of the year.

Why? The Unknown.

That’s right–in this age of the internet (usually incorrectly) telling us everything it possibly can about what is going to happen in the world of wrestling, the Royal Rumble stands out because despite what we’re told (or, more importantly, what we choose to listen to), the event is always full of fun and surprises.


Check out Steven Mitchell’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Results & Review!


Women’s Royal Rumble Match

  • They really are driving home the “main event WrestleMania” point this year–strengthens my thought that women will main event Night 1. Triple H would catch a ton of heat if he keeps women out for the third straight year.
  • NAOMI! Good to see her back, and the emotional response she had.
  • Love Michael Cole calling out Naomi’s time in TNA, and recognizing her as a former Knockouts Champion.
  • Entering #3 doesn’t bode well for Bayley. I honestly don’t think she is gonna win.
  • JORDYNNE GRACE! I saw the reports earlier today. This is a much bigger deal than Mickie James, because Mickie was a returning legend.
  • “TNA HAS A WEAPON!” So glad to have Pat McAfee on the call.
  • Honestly, Jordynne Grace belongs in WWE.

  • Asuka comes in, and they sell the surprise of Bayley. STORYTELLING, people!
  • Something tells me when we get Kairi Sane in there, The Kabuki Warriors will eliminate Bayley.
  • Ivy Nile enters, and I immediately want to see her go toe-to-toe with Jordynne Grace.
  • What if they pulled some crazy sh*t and had Jordynne Grace win???
  • Just step through the ropes next time, Bianca.
  • When I first saw the C4 clock, I thought I would get tired of it But I am already used to it.
  • Here’s Kairi Sane, time to set the plan into motion!
  • This crowd does not appear to like Tegan Nox.
  • Welp, there goes my idea o Asuka and Kairi eliminating Bayley.
  • That was a hell of a way for Jordynne Grace to go out.

  • I think Michael Cole secretly loves to call a Meteora.
  • There’s a reason Maxxine Dupri doesn’t wrestle much.
  • That tandem Code Red was very Young Buckish. And that’s not a compliment.
  • Hair,…gear…this might be the messiest Royal Rumble yet.
  • Ah, here comes the winner, Becky Lynch (I am calling Becky eliminates Bayley to win her second Royal Rumble).
  • LOVE the scoreboard of time in the Rumble for selected wrestlers.

  • R-TRUTH?!?! (Funny story, it was Truth’s spot that Nia Jax took in 2019.)
  • If you push Mia Yim, she’ll take it further than you could imagine.
  • “How is everybody the most athletic person on Earth?” – Pat McAfee
  • Surprising that Roxanne Perez, at #27, is the first NXT entrant. I don’t think we’ll be seeing Tiffany Stratton of Blair Davenport since we only have 3 more to come.
  • Amazing reaction for Jade Cargill. Give her time, she’s definitely going to be a huge star.
  • JUST GIVE HER TIME.
  • Seriously, Nia Jax had to help Jade eliminate her–A LOT.

  • Greg Was Wrong: It is indeed Tiffy Time in the Royal Rumble.
  • Back to Jade–she is insanely over.
  • I know it won’t be, but this should be Tiffany Stratton’s official main roster call-up.
  • Liv Morgan returns at #30, and good for Liv. She nearly went wire-to-wire last year.
  • Liv Morgan: “Thank you!” Pat McAfee: “No problem.”
  • Tiffany Stratton eliminating Roxanne Perez is, to me, an invitation for a match with them on Raw this Monday.
  • Still love the scoreboard as Naomi passes an hour.
  • The camera is catching a lot of in-ring communications right now.
  • And Jade Cargill eliminates my pick to win. Bye Becky.
  • Jade Cargill in the final three of the Royal Rumble (with Liv Morgan and Bayley) is huge for her.
  • Hell of a debut for Jade Cargill.
  • And a huge win for Bayley.

Winner of the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Bayley (eliminating Liv Morgan to win)

Fatal 4-Way Match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns (champion, with Paul Heyman)

  • Glad to see AJ Styles got his tights back. Pants AJ Styles (but still with the football gloves) was not working. Not just bring the beard back to your face Allen–the think beard also ain’t working.

  • Pat McAfee campaigning for Roman Reigns to be given at least a 26% chance is amazing.
  • Say what you want about LA Knight, he’s a damn star and totally belongs in this match.
  • Roman completely sandbagged Randy on the table drop. I don’t think it was on purpose, but he definitely didn’t jump.
  • Roman Reigns is very much like Gunther in that he does the simple things SO WELL, like a jumping clothesline. That’s how you do it.
  • Yes, I compared Roman Reigns to Gunther. Don’t @ me, I’m right.

  • RKO City, Bitch.
  • Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here’s Solo! (At some point, Solo will get tired of saving Roman’s ass.)
  • Solo ’bout to go through that barricade.
  • Solo indeed went through that barricade.

  • Yes, we had the Solo interference mid-match, but honestly in the end Roman won that clean.

Winner, #ANDSTILL your Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns

WWE United States Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul (champion)

  • Kevin Owens wearing Zubaz shorts in the Performance Center fight makes me very happy.
  • Logan Paul talking about a full time run, and now he’s putting on size.
  • Logan’s headband didn’t list very long.
  • I honestly hate it when modern-day wrestlers bust out a crotch chop.
  • If you were watching the Royal Rumble and didn’t know who Logan Paul was, you’d just assume he was a pro wrestler. That says everything you need to know about how good he is at this.
  • ANOTHER crotch chop. Now we’re at 2 too many.

  • Cue the “Better Buckshot Than Hangman” tweets. But they might be right.
  • I love the idea of a Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Grayson Waller stable.
  • C’mon, there’s NO WAY Ryan Tran could see the knucks on Kevin Owens’ hand given his placement. It’s the little things.
  • Finish here tells me we’ll see KO vs. Logan Paul again. I’d guess on TV, if not in Australia.

Winner by disqualification, #ANDSTILL WWE United States Champion: Logan Paul

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

  • Jey Uso coming at #1 was expected thanks to the internet reports. But I still think Jimmy should be #1 and Jey #2, for the reaction shots on Jimmy.
  • Grayson Waller talking himself to the ring is perfect.
  • “No Yeet!” Grayson is a brilliant performer. I’d make a Roddy Piper comparison here, but y’all would get at mad at me.
  • Good to have Andrade back in WWE. Great reaction for him when the mask came off.

  • SmackDown superstar Carmelo Hayes! I really really really hope Trick is also in this match, just for the chants.
  • Melo pointed to the sign, C’mon, man.
  • Do you send Andrade to Smackdown, or do you send him to Raw and let him do his own thing?
  • Oh goody, Karrion Kross is here. Yay.
  • (Yes, that’s sarcasm you read.)
  • Dominik Mysterio is so good. Give him time, he’s going to be a huge star.

  • The Royal Rumble was a great place for the Apple Spot.
  • Here comes Bob Lashley–please just eliminate Karrion Kross.
  • Lashley wearing the WrestleMania white gear more than 2 months early.
  • Austin Theory still gets his concussion effect entrance, despite it being the Rumble.
  • What if–hear me out now–Finn Balor wins the Royal Rumble to get the shot at Seth Rollins, and Priest uses his briefcase to make that match a triple threat at ‘Mania?
  • I know he didn’t, but it sure looked like Jimmy was swerving while he drives in that interaction with Gunther.
  • Kofi did tell us the Rumble Magic wasn’t happening anymore.
  • Give me Ivar vs Gunther!
  • Bron Breakker is a star. It’s inevitable.
  • Of course Omos would be in the Rumble. Good to see MVP on my TV as well.
  • “I didn’t know humans came that big!” – Pat McAfee
  • I half think Pat McAfee didn’t know he was entering the Rumble.
  • Nice moment for Bron Breakker eliminating Omos. WrestleMania match?
  • R-Truth trying to get Dominik (Tom or Nick?) Mysterio to tag him in is brilliant.
  • DOM MADE THE TAG!!!
  • “And now R-Truth is the legal man.” – thank you Michael Cole.
  • Michael Cole delivers multiple TNA references tonight, along with a Dolph Ziggler reference. God Bless Michael Cole.
  • Imagine for a second that this was CM Punk’s actual WWE return.
  • The reaction to Drew McIntyre’s entrance is a reminder that they don’t actually need him.
  • Sami Zayn enters at #30, also known as “Not The Rock.”

  • In the ring, Drew McIntyre is amazing. Just keep the microphone away from him. (And stop the damn counting!)
  • And there goes my choice for the Men’s Rumble!
  • Love having both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in the press boxes watching to see who wins.
  • Punk kinda looks like Chris Jericho in there. Seriously.
  • Between Punk and Cody, Cody is the right choice. I really don’t want to watch Punk right now–he needs to hit the cardio, and hard. Given Seth Rollins’ injury and Punk’s conditioning, WWE would be smart to make the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 40 a multi-man match.

Winner of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble: Cody Rhodes


Overall thoughts on the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble

For at least the second straight year, the Men’s Royal Rumble Match was kinda disappointing. Not the result–that’s fine. But the match itself. It just wasn’t nearly as exciting as the Women’s. Of the four matches, I would place it 4th in terms of enjoyment.

Great moments for both Bayley and Cody Rhodes. Logan Paul continually shows that he deserves to be considered a pro wrestler, not a celebrity who is wrestling. Pat McAfee is a joy on commentary. Jordynne Grace is a WWE Superstar, regardless of what company she is signed to. Bron Breakker is a star.CM Punk is very out of shape. Cody Rhodes is about to become THE guy, and he deserves it.

Overall I give the event a thumbs up, but they have to do something about the Men’s Royal Rumble Match moving forward.


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Opinion

WWE Raw Heads To Netflix: What Does It Mean?

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

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WWE Logo Metalic

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

Being a wee little kid in the 80s, I am “lucky enough” to remember having 3 TV channels, and my dad explaining what an 8-track is, how shocked I was when I say a laser disc for the first time, when I bought a 6 CD changer, installed my own car stereo, and all the way up to the fact that I have now been watching WWE pay-per-view/premium live events on the WWE Network and Peacock for 10 years. Hell, in the same month (February 2014) I signed up for the WWE Network, cut the cord to drop cable and got Sling TV. I have since moved onto YouTube TV which is highly recommended.

Over the last two years the NFL has put Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, simulcast to various streaming services, and less than 2 weeks ago put a playoff game exclusively on streaming when a Wildcard Weekend showdown between the Chiefs and Dolphins was only shown on Peacock.

And now it’s fully permeated into pro wrestling.

WWE and AEW are both in the midst of a very important time on the business side, with all of their TV rights up for grabs. The first domino fell when SmackDown On FOX became SmackDown on USA Network, and soon after we learned that WWE NXT was moving to broadcast television and joining The CW (which is also rebranding, but just to CW).

The AEW suite of programming that includes Collision, Rampage, and their most successful show Dynamite is up for renewal with Warner Bros/Discovery, and Tony Khan has been optimistic about the relationship and potentially an increase in rights fees.

That brings us to Tuesday morning, and the likely groundbreaking WWE announcement that Raw is moving to Netflix, starting in January 2025. Triple H tweeted that they’re changing the game, and TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro (who knows a thing or two about shifts in media consumption) used the word “transformative” in his statement, and I really think he couldn’t be more right.

But what does it all mean?

Wrestling Remains A Strong Media Product

I have been claiming this for over a year now. As many online will cite a decline in TV viewership for both WWE and AEW, the TV product has been a strong value to networks. Even in dropping SmackDown, FOX themselves said they didn’t pump enough resources into the show, and that the advertising return wasn’t what they wanted. That doesn’t mean the product (TV value, we’re not talking about creative here) isn’t strong. It’s so strong that USA Network picked up SmackDown for $280 million per year, giving WWE an increase over the FOX deal. CW is paying $20-$25 million annually for NXT, and now Netflix is paying $500 million for RAW.

Why? Because wrestling isn’t just a strong media product, it’s consistent. And that is key.

Look at this quote from Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria:

“Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

Now cross reference that with a comment from CW President Dennis Miller from back when the CW/NXT deal was announced:

“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round.”

What do those statements have in common? The year-round, 52-week nature of wrestling programming. It’s an unbeatable value for networks. It’s cheaper than a deal with a major sports league, and it’s not finite. Wrestling joins news, talk, and sports talk as the only year-round programming available to networks. And WWE and AEW have shows that essentially always land in the Top 5 after you factor out live sports. You can’t beat it.

What Does This Mean for Netflix?

Don’t get it twisted, this is also a huge leap for Netflix. Prior to the WWE Raw deal, Netflix has only experimented with live events, streaming the live Chris Rock “Selective Outrage” special, and showing The Netflix Cup live (a golf event featuring athletes from their F1 series “Drive To Survive” and their golf series “Full Swing).

WWE is the perfect partner for Netflix as it gets into live programming. It’s sports entertainment: sports like programming (which Netflix has done) that focuses on storytelling (which Netflix has obviously done). And no one does it better than WWE. It’s essentially plug-and-play for Netflix, the perfect solution for their live programming aspirations.

The perfect solution that they were willing to pay $5 billion for.

What Does This Mean for AEW?

The biggest risk to an AEW renewal with Warner Bros Discovery was WBD picking up WWE Raw–and that risk has been eliminated by Netflix. Don’t discount that fact–Netflix did Tony Khan a huge favor by throwing $500 million per at WWE. The path is clear for AEW to remain on the Turner networks.

But at what price?

I know I usually write as if I have all the answers, but I have zero idea either way on this one. WBD no longer has any other options if it wants to keep wrestling (except for TNA, who recently expressed a desire to be on a bigger network), and AEW (at least, Dynamite) is a weekly Top 5 program for them on Wednesdays, on cable.

On the other hand, AEW doesn’t exactly have another network begging for their services. The reason WWE could get a yearly increase for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT is because it was truly a bidding war. Unless Tony Khan gets another network involved, any threat of walking away from a deal doesn’t really hold water.

So if I were a betting man (and who would ever bet on this) I would expect an announcement of a renewal for AEW and WBD relatively soon. We may not know the terms of the deal, I will take a shot in the dark and say that AEW gets a small increase (not the “nearly double” that had been reported last year).

Regardless of the increase (or not), given AEW’s recent attendance challenges, this likely renewal would have to be viewed as a win for the company.


Personally, this is simply an amazing time to be a fan. We’ve seen WWE go from one live TV show per week with Monday Night Raw, through the Monday Night Wars, the addition of SmackDown and later NXT, to being this global juggernaut that is commanding half-a-billion dollars per year for Raw. I also think this makes Raw the flagship once again. All of this comes after Vince McMahon is largely out of power, Triple H has taken over creative (and holds a pretty good success rate so far), and the company was sold to Endeavor, and merged with the UFC as a business entity under the TKO banner.

If you know me, you know I am a huge follower of the business side of the wrestling business. I often care less about WHAT wrestling companies do, but HOW they do it. I have always gravitated towards that, since middle school. And for the past near 24 months, I have been like a kid in a candy store.

The Peacock deal for the WWE Network runs out in 2026, right? The fun never stops!


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