WWE SmackDown Live ends Superstar Shake-Up with big moves

The second night of the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-Up saw some surprising moves and even an appearance by Mr. McMahon himself.

This year’s edition of the Superstar Shake-Up has already seen its fair share of surprises. Monday Night Raw essentially raided the SmackDown Live roster, with AJ Styles, The Miz, The Usos and others joining the red brand. But the blue side had some tricks up their sleeve as well.

Ali got the first sight of Tuesday night’s newest acquisition. And he’s thankful there was no demon involved. Finn Balor was announced as the first pick on SmackDown, coming to the ring and giving Ali a tremendous match.

The women got some new additions as well. As Becky Lynch was talking about new challenges and taking on new talent, she was interrupted by another new face in Ember Moon. As the “Shenom” was starting to make her case known for stepping up to “Becky Two Belts,” she was then interrupted by Bayley. It would eventually lead to an eight-woman tag match, as The Iiconics would team with Mandy Rose and Sonja DeVille to take on Bayley, Moon and the newest combination of Asuka and NXT star Kairi Sane. Those two will was revealed to be the tag team that Paige was speaking of last week, and which Paige will be managing. So the SmackDown Live women’s division took center stage and drastically improved.

Here’s a quick overview of who made the jump to the Tuesday night side of things.

• Finn Balor
• Ember Moon
• Bayley
• Kairi Sane
• Lars Sullivan
• Buddy Murphy (coming soon)
• Liv Morgan
• Mickie James
• Chad Gable
• Apollo Crews
• Heavy Machinery

Finally, it was announced earlier in the evening that the chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon, would be in attendance to introduce the “biggest acquisition in the history of SmackDown Live.” Looking at all of the previous draft picks throughout the years, this had to be huge.

McMahon said he rarely puts his seal of approval on a Superstar, and that one man has the talent and charisma to be the biggest addition to the roster in SmackDown history. He then, to the ultimate dismay of the Montreal crowd, introduced Elias. As Elias began to burst into song (and announce that he’s also coming to SmackDown), the crowd erupted when Roman Reigns made his way to the ring.

He was stopped as soon as he got in the ring by McMahon, who ordered him to the back. Reigns shrugged off the warning and delivered a thunderous Superman Punch to the chairman, before declaring that SmackDown Live is “his yard now.” He then floored Elias with a spear.

So the WWE playing field is now complete after the Superstar Shake-Up. Was  Reigns the biggest acquisition between the two-night event? What about the Intercontinental Champion, Balor, Styles or the Usos? Whatever your opinion, things are about to be very different in the WWE Universe.