WWE’s Superstar Shakeup is a mystery, but that’s the fun of it

We publish a whole lot of content here at Cageside Seats. We’re also [looks around and whispers so the bosses can’t hear] not the only place producing wrestling content on the internet. So, as a service to you on the weekdays, we’ll be producing a wrestling newsletter, "Rude Awakening." Well, it will be a newsletter eventually: for now, it’ll just be part of your experience here at Cageside, collecting the news, recaps, and social moments from the greater wrestling universe daily so you won’t fall behind, with a newsletter format to come.

The rosters of both RAW and SmackDown Live could have a completely different dynamic by this time Tuesday morning. There could also just be minor changes to each roster, with a little more change coming Tuesday courtesy of the blue brand. We don’t know! We’re not even sure WWE knows yet. That’s kind of the fun of the Superstar Shakeup, which will begin (and end?) on RAW this Monday: we could be in for just a little bit of roster tweaking, or maybe this, like the draft, will be a way for WWE to truly shuffle their rosters and change the stories either brand is able to tell.

You probably don’t want to keep reading if you want to remain rumor- and spoiler-free — just skip to the bullets if that’s the case. None of what we have to offer you is a spoiler yet, but were they to come to pass, then retroactively they would have been. AJ Styles keeps coming up as someone who could go to RAW, but not if The Club goes to SmackDown to join him. Roman Reigns is still in the mix for a switch to SmackDown, but he also is kind of in a feud with Braun Strowman, so maybe not? Alexa Bliss for Charlotte — former champ for former champ — is the one thing that feels like a given at this point, and that could be huge for both shows. It’d breakup RAW’s obsession with focusing on just a few women, and it would give SmackDown some of the star power they, in the eyes of some, desperately need.

SmackDown could rebuild its tag division overnight. RAW could have the best wrestler in the entire company, and in the process give SmackDown the wrestler everyone has a very loud opinion of. Both women’s divisions could be improved with a couple of swaps. Maybe someone like Sami Zayn will finally be put in a situation where he can approach a title, and then — brace yourself — win it. All of these things could happen! None of them could happen! We’ll just have to watch on Monday and Tuesday night to see what the shakeup is doing to the rosters we are familiar with. And that’s the point of it all, yeah?

• New Japan Pro had its Sakura Genesis event this weekend, and you should watch it, or at least read about it.
• Pretty much anyone Shinsuke Nakamura could face in WWE makes for a dream match, but these are the ones we’d like to see the most.
• This Cagesider came up with five reasons why AJ Styles should stay on SmackDown.
• ESPN wrote about the Shakeup, too, and they actually seem into Styles moving to Mondays.
• Big Show: still super jacked.
• Payback isn’t until April 30, but there is already one match planned and rumors of others in the works. We’ll see if the Superstar Shakeup changes any of those, though.
• AJ Lee had only complimentary things to say about her time in WWE and the women who are currently working within it.
• Kane doesn’t know when he’ll return to WWE. It probably depends on whether or not he becomes the Demon Mayor of Knox County.
• Whether JBL is the reason Mauro Ranallo might be finished with WWE or not, what’s come out of this story doesn’t make him look good at all.
• Jim Ross spoke about Undertaker wanting him to call his last match, among other things.
• WWE is trying to make us think there is a WrestleMania 34 main event option besides Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns.
• Nia Jax on body positivity is a good use of your time.
• Shawn Michaels doesn’t think he oversold against Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2005, but instead said he was just trying to make sure it was going to be a good match. Shade at Hogan, 12 years later? Into it.