The Superstar Shake-Up is finished and now we can begin the new season. RAW and SmackDown were odd this week. The announcers didn’t act like they knew what was going on. It was a weird way to present new talent to their respective brands, but what’s done is done. We had some new people from NXT make their main roster debuts and many familiar faces switched brands. It will be interesting to see what is planned from here on out. Also, it looks like the United States Championship will be moving to RAW, because they’re not going to have two singles titles on the same brand. Samoa Joe was sick on Monday night, but was scheduled to make an appearance. I would venture to say that he will be on the show on Monday. As far as wrestling shows go, these were good shows, but the fact is that they were Shake-Up programs and they weren’t very interesting from that standpoint. Nothing really unexpected happened and we figured that SmackDown would get a more solidified roster. This week was challenging in the sense that there aren’t any storylines, other than Lacey Evans and Becky Lynch to speak of. Like I said earlier, it will be interesting to see the direction that the WWE is heading in with their refreshed rosters.

- 10: Lars Sullivan (10)

Back on the list at number 10 is Lars Sullivan. He appeared on both shows and he is clearly going to be a big player moving forward. He appeared on RAW Monday night to attack Rey Mysterio, but on Tuesday, it was announced that he would be a new member of SmackDown. There are a great number of things that they could do with him as far as a storyline is concerned, but right now it looks like he is currently out on a mission to attack the veterans of WWE.

- 9: The Viking Experience (NR)

I had to laugh when I saw this new name. Formerly the War Raiders, the NXT Tag Team Champs appeared on RAW and it looks like they are here to stay. I didn’t think they would be called up because of this, but I’m glad that they are on the main roster. They’re super talented and will be a force to deal with on RAW. They even renamed both superstars. They are now Erik and Ivar and this definitely has Mr. McMahon’s fingerprints all over it. It appears that RAW will have a solid roster of tag teams, which will be a good thing for the upcoming year, but I guess we will see if they give them a fair shot to be relevant.

- 8: Kairi Sane (NR)

Also making her main roster debut, Kairi Sane is now a member of SmackDown. I anticipated her arrival this week, but I had a feeling Io Shirai would be joining her. It turns out that she will be teaming with Asuka and Paige will be their new manager. I love this idea. It is great for everyone involved and more importantly, it keeps them relevant. They are big time performers and Paige managing them will be a positive. I’m interested to see how long they will be a tag team, because both competitors are stellar in the singles division.

- 7: Seth Rollins (3)

The Universal Champ stayed in the Top 10 this week, but escaped the Top 5. He appeared on RAW, but wasn’t a made a big part of the show. He wasn’t showed until a backstage segment in the last 30 minutes of the show, then he teamed with Roman Reigns and AJ Styles, who is a new member of the brand. They faced the team of Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin. I’m interested to see who Rollins will feud with next, but I feel like it will be either McIntyre or Corbin. With AJ Styles on RAW now, I’m anxious to see an upcoming Rollins/Styles match for the title.

- 6: Lacey Evans (4)

Evans had a big week, but just fell out of the Top 5. I’ve mentioned this before, but I really like her character. It fits her very well and she will continue to get better in the ring. In her match with Natalya on RAW, she hit a top-rope moonsault and it looked great. It might be a bit of a rush to push her into a feud with the biggest star in the company, but I think it will turn out fine. She also announced that she will be a RAW mainstay and I think the she will be perfect for that brand. At the moment, it looks the RAW roster in the women’s division is lacking compared to SmackDown, but this will open the door for the women on the brand to prove themselves.

- 5: Kevin Owens (NR)

Kevin Owens was the most featured person on the show on Tuesday night, but wasn’t the biggest player in the show. The show kicked off with the KO Show with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods as guests. Big E is going to miss action for a little while, because of a knee injury, but Kevin Owens proposed that he should take Big E’s place while he is gone. Owens with the members of The New Day was very entertaining and I fully expect something to go sour with Kevin Owens and the rest of New Day. It will be an interesting next few weeks, but at the moment, I’m not sure what they have planned for Kofi’s first legitimate title defense, but I’ll be watching. Their match against Cesaro, Rusev, and Nakamura was pretty good, but I personally think Owen’s is using the Stunner too often. I don’t have problem with him using it, but I really like his Pop-Up Powerbomb.

- 4: Sami Zayn (NR)

Sami Zayn has only been back for a couple weeks, but has received the loudest pop of anyone. I’ve honestly been indifferent about Sami Zayn in the past, but this week I really understand why he is so important. His segment with Alexa Bliss on RAW was great and I saw something special in him. They were in Montreal for RAW and SmackDown this week, which is Zayn’s hometown. He had to put down his home city, because he is currently a heel and he was a very interesting part of the show. Going back to what I said about seeing something special in him, I felt like I was seeing flashbacks of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Piper was one of the best heels in the history of wrestling and I see that kind of potential in Sami Zayn. I’m not sure if he’ll be an immediate title contender, but I certainly can see that happening pretty soon.

- 3: Kofi Kingston (2)

He and Xavier Woods were guests on the KO Show and it was probably the most entertaining segment of the week. He sits at number 3 this week, but it honestly just because of the uncertainty of the Shake-Up and the fact that he is champion. He, Owens, and Woods were in a match against Shinsuke Nakamura, Rusev, and Cesaro and won. It was a cool match, but like I said earlier, I think it will be short-lived with Owens teaming with New Day, but I’ll enjoy it every chance I can.

- 2: Becky Lynch (1)

Much like Kofi Kingston, Becky Lynch basically played the role of a champ toting the gold and taking advantage of it. It was a weird week, but she and Lacey Evans are legitimately the only superstars on the either roster with a storyline. We’ll see that change next week, but that is another plus for The Man. The Champ-Champ will be in a title match with Lacey Evans in the near future, but I’m not sure if it will be on an episode of RAW or at the next PPV. She appeared on both shows, but her appearances weren’t anything out of the ordinary. She had a match on RAW with Ruby Riott, but it wasn’t a great match. She made Riott tap out, but it wasn’t really an eventful match. The biggest thing to come from the segment was Lacey Evans being announced as the number one contender.

- 1: Roman Reigns (NR)

I fully expected Roman Reigns to be on the SmackDown roster by the end of Tuesday night, but I didn’t expect him to have the most impactful week. He appeared on both shows, but he really didn’t make an impact on RAW. Mr. McMahon announced that SmackDown would be acquiring their biggest acquisition of the show’s history. McMahon brought out Elias and claimed he was the biggest superstar for the brand. The crowd chanted a French phrase towards Elias that would not be a friendly English phrase, but if you understand French, it would be pretty funny. Just as Elias started to play Roman Reigns interrupted the segment. This gave him a huge push and will be the brand’s biggest star moving forward. Not only didn’t he attack Elias, but he also gave the boss a Superman Punch, which was pretty shocking to see. I like that Mr. McMahon still willing to take bumps. Not only did the segment help Roman, but it helped Elias as well. Literally nobody in the arena wanted to believe that Elias was the biggest acquisition in SmackDown history, but they were in for a surprise. I expect Roman to be in the main title picture very soon.

Yacs

WWE Power Rankings: Week of April 19th