Riott Squad, Roode-Gable casualties of WWE Superstar Shake-Up

The Riott Squad, and the tag team of Bobby Roode and Chad Gable have been split as a result of this year’s WWE Superstar Shake-Up.

One of the bigger talking points when the WWE tries to sell fans during the annual Superstar Shake-Up is the possibility of factions and tag teams being split. There wasn’t too much of that during this year’s two-night Shake-Up, but those that did get broken up are quite notable.

Leading the pack is the Riott Squad, the three-woman faction of Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan that debuted on SmackDown Live in 2017 before being Superstarly-Shooken to Monday Night Raw‘s roster in 2018. The trio were split off-air on Tuesday, the only clue to their demise being WWE’s website announcement of who shifted spots in this year’s Shake-Up, noting that Morgan is now on SmackDown Live.

It remains to be seen if this means Riott and Logan will still be affiliated on Raw or will be separate, singles competitors from this point on. The latter seems to be the most logical conclusion, with Riott having significant upside and reason to be part of the women’s title picture and Morgan being married to Erik (formerly Rowe) of … sigh … The Viking Experience (formerly the War Raiders) and very much into Viking lore and aesthetic. Logan should be affiliated with the tag team moving forward, while Riott can try to gain momentum on her own.

But where does that leave Morgan? SmackDown women’s division got a major influx of higher-card talent in the Shake-Up, including Bayley, Ember Moon, Kairi Sane (as a tag team partner for Asuka), plus Mickie James, and losing only Naomi to Raw. This is in addition to the women already established on the blue brand, such as Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Carmella. It could take some time for Morgan to find footing, let alone climb into a main event position.

The other notable split caused by the Shake-Up is the breakup of the Bobby Roode-Chad Gable tag team. The team, which had no particular name and featured Gable simply wearing Roode’s bejeweled robes to signify their affiliation, had nonetheless recently been Raw Tag Team Champions and, just a week prior, turned heel as a unit. Now, Gable is back to solo work on SmackDown, and Roode will also be going it alone while remaining on Raw.

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This is a good turn of events for both men. Their tag team itself seemed out of place to begin with, and keeping Roode as a babyface for so long was confounding. The team heel turn earlier this month was a good start, but heel doesn’t quite work for Gable.

Gable can now be part of a quality singles talent pool on SmackDown as his natural face self while Roode can do what he does best, play an arrogant heel, on Raw. Roode needs to be more than a guy with a robe and a catchy entrance theme, which is basically all he’s been since his main-roster debut, and Gable needs to be put in a situation where he can build personality on his own.

This split accomplishes that, even if, like with the Riott Squad, it currently feels like a creative afterthought by its not-announced-on-the-show-ness. But like every Superstar affected by this week’s Shake-Up, it will all be about what they (and the creative team) can make of their new television and live event homes. Some will inevitably fare better than others.