International Superstar Shake-Up announced for post-WrestleMania

Yesterday on WWE’s Twitter account, an International Superstar Shake-Up has been announced to follow WrestleMania this April. The “international” aspect is suggested due to it taking place in Canada. Since 2016, this will be the third year in a row since WWE split their roster into brands from the Draft that a Shake-Up will occur.

This yearly event tends to have less of an impact on women’s talent. Their rosters are smaller than the men’s which may be the result of less movement.

Last year, eight women were drafted, which included two teams. The two teams seemed to be an obvious choice to stay together. At the time, The Riott Squad, along with Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville, had just recently debuted on the main roster in November of 2017. Rose & Deville had the most potential to break up at the time due to Absolution dissolving from Paige’s retirement. However, the team stayed together and made their way to SmackDown. The Riott Squad went to RAW.

Other than the two previously mentioned teams, Natalya and Asuka were the only two to swap their brand colors. Natalya was moved to RAW, while Asuka moved to SmackDown.

Out of these few moves, Asuka’s move to the blue brand made the most sense over the other changes. Charlotte Flair, who was the champion on SmackDown at the time, handed Asuka her first defeat at WrestleMania. Asuka then moved to the blue brand officially.

Zelina Vega is the eighth and final woman on the list. She was the only woman that moved from the NXT brand. The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce) made their debut on the main roster the week before the Shake-Up and were not included.

With the introduction of the Women’s Tag Team Championship this year, more women could benefit from a shake-up. The lack of NXT call-ups was apparent. At the current moment, introducing a few more tag teams from NXT to the main roster may be a viable choice.

Other than more tag teams, the Four Horsewomen of both WWE and MMA could find themselves on the same brand. Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler could very well make their way to the main roster after WrestleMania to join Ronda Rousey.

As the winner of the Royal Rumble, Becky Lynch will already be facing Rousey at WrestleMania for the title. Moving Lynch to RAW would be simple. If Flair was to enter that match, as rumored, this would make it a Triple Threat for the RAW Women’s Championship. Flair could find herself on the red brand also.

Rousey’s rumored hiatus after WrestleMania could still happen. If it does happen, then the rest of the MMA Four Horsewomen would be waiting for her. This could lead to a match with WWE’s Four Horsewomen by being on the same brand.

Check back with Diva Dirt for future coverage on the Superstar Shake-Up.