Charlotte, New Day join SmackDown as WWE rounds out roster moves
The SmackDown roster had 13 new additions when WWE’s “Superstar Shakeup” concluded on Tuesday night.
Charlotte Flair switched brands in the shakeup after the SmackDown women’s division lost Alexa Bliss and Mickie James on Monday. She had pretty much been written off of Raw following a loss to Nia Jax last night.
She was joined by Tamina, who was announced first as Shane McMahon teased that it would be Charlotte. Tamina has been working SmackDown house shows since returning to the ring earlier this year.
The show’s tag team division also got a boost as it was revealed that all three members of The New Day are coming to SmackDown soon. Like Charlotte, their departure from Raw was a given after Big E & Xavier Woods were defeated by The Revival on Monday night. Those two will be representing The New Day in the ring for at least the immediate future as Kofi Kingston is out with an ankle injury.
In addition to the previously announced Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jinder Mahal, they joined The Shining Stars, Sin Cara, Rusev, and Lana as SmackDown’s newest roster members.
Lana was announced separately from Rusev (who underwent shoulder surgery in March) with a video that showed her dancing.
Both brands were relatively equally represented in the shakeup, with Raw having 11 additions. Byron Saxton and David Otunga also switched places on commentary.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.