WWE holds first superstar shakeup
This past Monday and Tuesday, the WWE held its first superstar shakeup.
Here is a look at who went where.
Moving to Raw from Smackdown Live were Apollo Crews, The Miz, Maryse, Bray Wyatt, Intercontinental champion Dean Ambrose, Alexa Bliss, the team of Rhyno and Heath Slater, Mickie James, Curt Hawkins, Kalisto, and announcer David Otunga.
Heading to Smackdown Live from Raw were United States champion Kevin Owens, The New Day, Rusev and Lana, Sin Cara, Sami Zayn, Jinder Mahal, The Shining Stars, Charlotte, Tamina Snuka, and announcer Byron Saxton.
A quick look at things cements the perceived notion that Raw is more about entertainment and Smackdown Live focuses more on in-ring action.
The Miz had been a star on Smackdown Live as he was the biggest personality on the show, so it will be interesting to see if he rises to the top of Raw as well or gets lost in the shuffle.
Wyatt was finally becoming the star that he was predicted to be years ago, so we will see if his character continues to develop on Raw.
When Ambrose showed up on Raw, it was obvious that Owens was going to Smackdown Live.
Both fit better on their new show as Ambrose is more known for being an unstable character and Owens is better in the ring.
Moving Bliss and James to Raw and Charlotte and Tamina to Smackdown Live freshen up both women蘑菇视频 divisions as there are only six women on each brand and things would have gotten stale shortly had the rosters stayed the same.
Sending The New Day to Smackdown was smart as they were starting to grow stale on Raw, and with Kofi Kingston out after surgery, it will freshen the group up when he returns to the ring.
Hopefully Rusev and Lana will be used right when he is back shortly from surgery.
He needs to be built into the monster that he was teased to be when he debuted.
Sami Zayn to Smackdown is a blessing for his career and look for him to blow up shortly.
The New Day wasn鈥檛 the only tag team to switch brands as The Shining Stars will get a chance now and not be lost in the shuffle like they were on Raw, and will Rhyno and Slater be kept together on Raw?
Mahal蘑菇视频 move could work and Apollo Crews moving to Raw is good for him as he was misused on Smackdown Live.
Hopefully Hawkins will be taken more seriously on Raw, but if his first appearance was any indication, it doesn鈥檛 look good while Kalito蘑菇视频 move should help him.
The announcer swap does nothing for me even though Saxton has been improving whereas Otunga, it is wildly thought, doesn鈥檛 bring much to the table.
We shall see how things play out, and there is already word that the brands will have a draft in July.
More on this next week.
Top WWE salaries
One of the questions I get the most is about what WWE wrestlers make and if their salaries rival athletes from MLB, NBA, NFL, or the NHL.
Earlier this week, Forbes released the salaries for the top ten paid performers for the 2016 fiscal year.
Brock Lesnar topped the list at $12 million, John Cena was second on the list ($8 million), while Triple H ($3.8 million), Roman Reigns ($3.5 million) and Dean Ambrose ($2.7 million) round out the top five.
AJ Styles ($2.4 million), Shane McMahon ($2.2 million), The Undertaker ($2 million), Seth Rollins ($2 million) and Randy Orton ($1.9 million) close out the top ten.
A big chuck on Triple H蘑菇视频 salary comes from his administrative roles while Rollins and Orton both missed significant time with injuries or they would have made more.
So do WWE salaries compare?
Not in the sense that the top WWE salaries are average compared to the other pro leagues.
Not that the guys on the list are complaining about what they make!
Local fundraiser show
A pro wrestling fund raiser show will take place this coming Saturday at Yough High School.
The event begins at 6 p.m. and will benefit Juvenile Pediatric Cancer, specifically Connor蘑菇视频 Cure.
It is named after Connor Michalek of Pittsburgh who caught the heart of WWE before his passing in 2014.
Connor蘑菇视频 Cure was created by Stephanie McMahon and her husband, Paul 鈥淭riple H鈥� Levesque.
Jerry Harper and his son Kyle, a senior at Yough, got the ball rolling on the show.
鈥淜yle is the President of the Community Action Program/Students Against Destructive Decisions (CAP/SADD) and is also a member of the National Honor Society,鈥� the elder Harper said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 want to do the traditional hoagie sale, spaghetti dinner, or car wash fund raisers.
鈥淎fter seeing a segment on Raw about Connor being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, he began planning the event.鈥�
The show will feature wrestlers from many local promotions and tickets are $5 for kids and $10 for adults.
Yough softball player Olivia Miller will sing the national anthem.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@ gmail.com or tweet them to me@BillHughes_III.