The 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up was the thirteenth WWE draft – and the last to be branded as the Superstar Shake-up – produced by the American professional wrestling promotionWWE between the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 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 of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, respectively, on the USA 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, a [|Wild 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. With SmackDowns move to FOX on October 4, 2019, another draft was scheduled, as well as the announcement that the Wild Card Rule would end with this subsequent draft.
Background
For the 2017 and 2018Superstar 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 the NXT brand. However, following in December 2018, The McMahon Family took over the running of Raw and SmackDown with no general managers, leaving them in charge of drafting decisions. On the April 8, 2019 episode of Monday Night Raw, the 2019 Superstar Shake-up was confirmed for the April 15 and 16 episodes of Raw and SmackDown, respectively. For the first time, superstars from the 205 Live brand were eligible to be drafted. Although initially only advertised for the aforementioned episodes, more draft moves were confirmed throughout the remainder of April and into early May.
Selection
Note: Shading indicates pick was nullified
Aftermath
On Raw, new draftee Lacey Evans defeated Natalya to earn a Raw Women's Championship match against Becky Lynch at Money in the Bank. Natalya was subsequently entered into the women's Money in the Bank ladder match, along with Dana Brooke, Alexa Bliss, and new draftee Naomi; due to medical reasons, Bliss was subsequently replaced by new draftee Nikki Cross. New draftee AJ Styles earned a Universal Championship match against Seth Rollins at the event, while new draftees Samoa Joe and Rey 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, turned heel and changed his ring name to Robert Roode and became the second holder of WWE's new 24/7 Championship. New draftee The Miz continued his feud from SmackDown with authority figure Shane McMahon, leading to a steel cage match at Money in the Bank that Shane won. New draftee Ricochet was entered into the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, along with Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin, though Strowman was replaced by Sami Zayn. New draftees The Usos began a feud with The Revival. After Eric Young's transfer to Raw, Alexander Wolfe moved to the NXT UK brand and Killian Dain moved to the NXT brand. In May 2019, Raw wrestler Tyler Breeze began appearing on NXT and unsuccessfully challenged Velveteen Dream for the NXT North American Championship at on June 1. Following that match, Breeze confirmed that he was back on NXT. On SmackDown, Elias was introduced as the "biggest acquisition in SmackDown history" by Vince McMahon and began a feud with fellow new draftee Roman 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 ChampionFinn Bálor that began the previous week; both were entered into the men's Money in the Bank ladder match along with Ali and Randy Orton. Bálor was then scheduled to defend his title against Andrade at Super ShowDown. New draftee Lars Sullivan began a feud with R-Truth. New draftee Bayley was given an opportunity to challenge Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Money in the Bank, but lost it to Charlotte Flair. Bayley was subsequently entered into the women's Money in the Bank ladder match along with Mandy Rose, Carmella, and new draftee Ember 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 of Asuka and new draftee Kairi Sane, to manage and go after the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Raw wrestler Dolph Ziggler had been inactive since January's Royal Rumble event, but returned prior to June's Super ShowDown event to challenge Kofi Kingston for SmackDown's WWE Championship. On-screen graphics when he appeared on SmackDown 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. The reasons for Andrade and Zelina 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 that FOX, where SmackDown 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.
Wild Card Rule
On the May 6 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon introduced a Wild Card Rule, with specific stipulations:
Up to four wrestlers would be allowed to appear on the opposing brand's show by invitation for one night only.
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 for Newsweek, Phillip Martinez said that even though WWE tried explaining the rule, it was still confusing and unclear. Raw wrestler Seth 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. SmackDown wrestler Kevin 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". Andrew Murray of WhatCulture said it was one of WWE's "most divisive creative decisions in years" and the promotion were unable to stick to their original outline. ComicBook.coms Connor Casey said that the rule "effectively killed the brand split".
Subsequent draft
With SmackDowns move to FOX in October and Raw remaining on the USA Network, the WWE decided to hold a second draft for the year to definitively split the brands. Returning to its original name and a traditional draft format, this second draft of 2019 occurred on the October 11 and 14 episodes of SmackDown and Raw, respectively. Personalities from FOX and NBCUniversal appeared and had influence over the picks. The Wild Card Rule also ended with this subsequent draft.
