Examining Smackdown Live’s Haul In The 2018 WWE Superstar Shakeup

Tuesday's edition of the WWE Superstar Shakeup saw plenty of changes, and within storyline made Paige look like a GM prodigy. While I'm pretty sure Vince McMahon thinks he stacked the Monday Night Raw roster, Smackdown has all of the potential in the world to be an all-time great television show over the next year. Many expected Finn Balor or Seth Rollins to be the major acquisitions, but what the brand ended up getting has them set up for success.
Much like I did with Raw, let's take a look at what Smackdown Live was able to pull in for Tuesday nights.
The Miz & Maryse- Announced on WWE Raw this week, The Miz is a bonafide main eventer on Smackdown Live, and is where he made his resurgence. Once Daniel Bryan was cleared, WWE had to put Miz on the same brand. There was no other option. The low depths that Miz was able to shovel himself out of to become an indispensable commodity is nothing short of amazing, and Maryse helped add a ton to that act. She may very well be..

Goldberg Is Content With Never Wrestling Again

Goldberg says he has to be smart about returning to WWE.
Before entering the WWE Hall of Fame, Goldberg came back to WWE in 2016 to feud with Brock Lesnar. He appeared in the Royal Rumble and had three singles matches which lasted less than five minutes each including winning the WWE Universal Championship in a match against Kevin Owens. In an interview with New York Post, Goldberg said he does not need another return match in WWE.
“If I never stepped in the ring again, I’m content, dude. I’m completely at peace. I really am. Would I like to do it again? Who knows. It would have to be the right fit. I’d love to do it again for my son. Let’s be honest. Everybody knows that. But at the end of the day, you have to be smart about it,” said Goldberg.
If the match was not the perfect situation, Goldberg said it may devalue what he has accomplished in the WWE including being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.
The full interview with Goldberg can be found at the New York Pos..

Kofi Kingston Did Not Know If New Day Accomplished Enough To Write A Book

The Book of Booty reflects the New Day's in-ring antics.
Earlier this year, New Day released a new book called The Book of Booty. It is a book for all ages that follows the New Day through their WWE careers so far. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Kofi Kingston said they had thought about a book before being approached by someone else about it.
“We’ve always talked about having a book, detailing our journey, and that’s before the title streak. Then someone came to us and said ‘We want to do a book on you guys,’ and we immediately wondered if we’d accomplished enough to have a book written about us. But the way it came out was amazing,” said Kingston.
Even though the book follows the history of New Day, Kingston said it does so in unique way.
“Our book is not your standard wrestling book or your standard documentation of our history. It’s all in there, but we do it in a real fun way. That’s what we do when we’re in the ring, so this book embodies the New Day,” said ..

Gail Kim Says She Reached Out To Alicia Fox After Travis Browne Incident

Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer Gail Kim recently appeared on the WPW Podcast. You can see highlights below, and the full show above.
Gail Talks About Women Wrestlers Getting Paid Equally:
They put their bodies through the same thing the guys go through. These girls should be getting paid equally. Everyone is an independent contractor, so everyone gets paid differently. So, we don’t really discuss those things amongst ourselves because money is kind of a taboo subject to this day. But, I think if there are two girls that are going to main event a pay-per-view, they should be getting paid the same amount as two guys main eventing. I mean, they are obviously important enough to main event and they are good enough to main event… so they should be getting paid.
Gail Talks About Who She Like To Dream Matches With:
I would have loved to have a proper feud with some of the girls now, Allie, Rosemary, Taya, there are so many great girls. But, of course, you know Charlotte is an amazing a..

Chris Jericho Says He’s “Rolling With The Punches” By Wrestling The Undertaker

Chris Jericho found out about his Casket Match with little notice.
Last week, Rusev was removed from his Casket Match against the Undertaker and replaced by Chris Jericho who has not wrestled in WWE since last July. In an interview with Still Real To Us, Jericho said he found out about the change to the match around the same time it was announced by WWE and said sometimes he has to be ready for such changes in his career.
“I mean that’s kinda how it is when you work in WWE and the wrestling business. The entertainment is all…you learn to roll with the punches and sometimes things that are planned for six-months fall apart. Sometimes things that you never expect to happen with a week’s notice,” said Jericho.
The Casket Match will take place at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. The event will include seven championship matches, a Steel Cage match, and a 50-man Royal Rumble.
Fightful Wrestling will have live coverage and a recapping podcast after the Greatest Roya..

Fight Size Update: WWE In Norway, Match Added To Redemption, Finn Balor Discusses Superstar Shakeup

This is the Fight Size Update for the evening of April 16th.
– In the video above, Pro Wrestling Unlimited discusses some emerging details about why Nikki Bella and John Cena broke up.
– Fightful Select is currently offering dark match commentary from Sean Ross Sapp on a Vic Grimes and Crash Holly match.
– Mike Rome reveals the entire Smackdown roster is backstage at Raw ahead of the Superstar Shakeup in the following WWE.com exclusive.
– Mike Rome also interviewed Finn Balor about how the Superstar Shakeup can affect him.
– Xavier Woods held a live stream in a charitable effort for the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Tune in LIVE NOW on the #UUDD YouTube channel! #worldwishday @MakeAWish @XavierWoodsPhD @NatbyNature @SinCaraWWE pic.twitter.com/70466GQkBS
— UpUpDownDown (@UpUpDwnDwn) April 16, 2018
– WWE is heading to Norway for some Live Events in November.
-WWE uploaded this clip which previews the WWE Ride Along episode with New Day.
– On Thursday, Nigel McGuinness welcome..

WWE Raw Results For 4/16: The Superstar Shakeup Begins, The US Title Is Defended & Raw Tag Team Eliminator Finals

Welcome to Fightful's live coverage and discussion for Monday Night WWE Raw!!
Join us for live coverage, and comment on our boards below, or our forums by registering for FREE at fightful.com.
Raw post-show podcast:

– Raw GM Kurt Angle makes his way to the ring and he has a microphone in hand, Angle welcomes everybody to Monday Night Raw. Angle talks about the Superstar Shakeup before getting interrupted by Sunil Singh, Singh introduces WWE United States Champion Jinder Mahal as the newest member of the Raw roster. Mahal makes his way to the ring and he has a microphone in hand, Mahal congratulates Angle for bringing him to Raw. Mahal argues with Angle over his transportation to the arena, Mahal states that he is better than all the other Raw stars. Angle says that Mahal should prove that he is the best on Raw, Angle says that Mahal will defend the WWE United States Title against whomever wants to face him and Jeff Hardy answers the challenge.
WWE United States Title Match
..

Casket Match Between Rusev And The Undertaker Back On

Rusev is apparently back in the match with the Undertaker
Last week, Rusev was announced as being in a Casket Match against the Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble event on April 27th. He did an interview with TMZ Sports saying he would bury the Undertaker and said the Undertaker was past his prime unlike Rusev. Then WWE announced he was taken out of the match and replaced by Chris Jericho because Rusev's wife Lana did not want him in a match with that stipulation.
Today, Lana tweeted the following which was retweeted by WWE.
After much thought, I have notified @WWE officials that I have changed my mind. @RusevBUL will celebrate #RusevDay by burying The Undertaker in the sands of Saudi Arabi and will win the Casket Match at #WWEGRR ! #RusevCrush ! Have a Happy Rusev Day !
— CJ (Lana) Perry (@LanaWWE) April 16, 2018
WWE then announced Rusev was back in the match with the Undertaker. The following is an excerpt from the press release at WWE.com.
In a stunning turn of e..

WWE Raw 4/16/18 Full Show Review | Fightful Wrestling Podcast | Superstar Shakeup

Fightful.com's Sean Ross Sapp and Alex Pawlowski talk WWE Monday Night Raw for April 16 2018, and the WWE Superstar Shakeup!
For additional premium podcasts, the Fightful Weekender podcast, members only podcasts, outtake and behind the scenes footage, retro shows, Q&A shows, dark match commentary, early access to interviews and segments, subscribe to Fightful Select! www.FightfulSelect.com

EXCLUSIVE SPOILERS For WWE Raw 4/16/18: Some Planned Superstar Shakeup Names

WWE is headed for another big week, with their Superstar Shakeup going down.
As first revealed on FightfulSelect.com, Dolph Ziggler will debut for the Raw brand in tonight's Superstar Shakeup. Ziggler has spent time on the Smackdown Live brand, but has been without much direction, despite becoming a WWE United States Champion late last year.
Despite neither winning their match last week on WWE Raw, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will both appear on Raw again this week to participate in a ten-man tag team main event. They'll team with the Miztourage against Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Bobby Lashley and a star who will appear during the Miz TV segment tonight.
Also set to switch brands are the duo of Fandango and Tyler Breeze, collectively known as Breezango, and sometimes the Fashion Police. There is also a gap on the script rundown where Mandy Rose's opponent is supposed to be, so look for a new face to pop up there, as well.
You can hear all about tonight&..

Jeff Hardy Defeats Jinder Mahal To Become WWE United States Champion

Jeff Hardy has finally won the WWE United States Championship.
During his twenty four years in professional wrestling, Jeff Hardy has held nearly every belt WWE has offered while he was with the company. Now he has become the WWE United States Champion for the first time ever. He defeated Jinder Mahal who had just came to Raw as part of the Superstar Shakeup.
The CELEBRATION is ———- for NEW #USChampion @JEFFHARDYBRAND! #RAW pic.twitter.com/MnIBaHHDKE
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 17, 2018
Mahal came to Raw demanding to be treated better than the majority of the roster and Raw General Manager Kurt Angle put Mahal in a championship match immediately. The following is an excerpt from the Fightful Wrestling live coverage of the match between Mahal and Hardy.
Hardy hits Mahal with a basement drop kick for a near fall. Hardy goes for a Twist Of Fate and Mahal counters with a knee strike for a near fall, Mahal goes for his finisher and Hardy escapes with a roll up for a ne..

WWE ‘Superstar Shake-Up’: Night One Roster Changes

Who made the jump to the red-brand on night-one of the WWE 'Superstar Shake-Up'?
* Jinder Mahal makes the jump to Monday night's.
Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal was the first superstar to transition over in the 2018 WWE 'Superstar Shake-Up'. Mahal, accompanied to the ring by Sunil Singh; on his first night on the red-brand had a list of orders ready to give RAW GM Kurt Angle. Angle alerted “The Modern-Day Maharajah” that his high maintenance requests would not be tolerated on Monday night's and that if Mahal wanted to earn those privileges and luxuries he could start by defending his WWE United States Championship. Jinder's challenger to the WWE United States Title would be revealed and it was none other than “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy.
The #ModernDayMaharaja and #USChampion @JinderMahal has ARRIVED on Monday nights! #RAW #SuperstarShakeup pic.twitter.com/GaEPSG6wY4
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 17, 2018
Things are about to get E..