2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up

The 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up was the twelfth WWE draft, produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between the Raw and SmackDown brands. It was a two-day event, taking place on the April 16 and April 17 episodes of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, respectively, on the USA Network in the United States. Raw broadcast from Hartford, Connecticut at the XL Center, and SmackDown Live broadcast from the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
== Background ==
On the April 9 episode of Raw, WWE announced that on the April 16 and April 17 episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live, respectively, the Superstar Shake-up would occur. Instead of a traditional draft, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle and SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan have the opportunity to make trades between their respective talent and other deals. The following day on SmackDown, Paige, who announced her in-ring retirement the previous night, replaced Bryan as the SmackDown General Manager as Bryan returned to being a full-time wrestler.
==Selection==
===Raw===
The following is the list of wrestlers and other personnel who changed brands on the April 16 episode of Raw. 
Pick #	Brand (to)	Employee 	Role 	Brand (from)	Notes
1 	Raw 	Jinder Mahal with Sunil Singh 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	WWE United States ChampionDrafted as a superstar/manager combo.
2 	Raw 	The Riott Squad 	Stable 	SmackDown 	
3 	Raw 	Kevin Owens 	Male Superstar 	Free agent 	Owens and Zayn were (kayfabe) fired from SmackDown Live on March 20, 2018, and failed to regain their jobs at WrestleMania 34 and the following Raw, however were awarded contracts by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon.
4 	Raw 	Sami Zayn 	Male Superstar 	Free agent 	Owens and Zayn were (kayfabe) fired from SmackDown Live on March 20, 2018, and failed to regain their jobs at WrestleMania 34 and the following Raw, however were awarded contracts by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon.
5 	SmackDown 	The Miz 	Male Superstar 	Raw 	
6 	Raw 	Breezango(Fandango & Tyler Breeze)	Tag Team 	SmackDown 	
7 	Raw 	Natalya 	Female Superstar	SmackDown 	
8 	Raw 	Dolph Ziggler 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	
9 	Raw 	Zack Ryder 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	Announced his transfer on Twitter.
10 	Raw 	Drew McIntyre 	Male Superstar 	NXT 	
11 	Raw 	Baron Corbin 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	
12 	Raw 	Mojo Rawley 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	Announced on WWE's YouTube channel.
13 	Raw 	Bobby Roode 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	
14 	Raw 	Mike Kanellis 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	Announced on WWE's Twitter.
15 	Raw 	The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) 	Tag Team 	SmackDown 	Announced through WWE's Instagram.
16 	Raw 	Chad Gable 	Male Superstar 	SmackDown 	Announced on WWE's Twitter.
=== SmackDown Live ===
Pick #	Brand (to)	Employee 	Role 	Brand (from)	Notes
1 	SmackDown 	The Miz 	Male Superstar 	Raw 	
2 	SmackDown 	Jeff Hardy 	Male Superstar 	Raw 	Drafted with the WWE United States Championship.
3 	SmackDown 	Absolution(Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose) 	Female Tag Team 	Raw 	
4 	SmackDown 	Samoa Joe 	Male Superstar 	Raw 	
5 	SmackDown 	Sanity(Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dain & Nikki Cross)	Stable 	NXT 	
6 	SmackDown 	Big Cass 	Male Superstar 	Raw 	
7 	SmackDown 	Asuka 	Female Superstar 	Raw 	
8 	SmackDown 	Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson 	Tag Team 	Raw 	
9 	SmackDown 	Sheamus & Cesaro 	Tag Team 	Raw 	Challengers for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship at Greatest Royal Rumble
10 	SmackDown 	R-Truth 	Male Superstar 	Raw 	
11 	SmackDown 	Andrade "Cien" Almas with Zelina Vega 	Male Superstar and manager	NXT 	
==Aftermath==
Immediately after being traded to Raw, Kurt Angle announced that Jinder Mahal would defend his United States Championship in an open challenge against the Raw roster, which was answered by Jeff Hardy. Hardy won the following match, and Mahal invoked his rematch clause to gain a match at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
==See also==
*WWE Draft
==External links==
* Raw 2018 WWE Draft
* Smackdown 2018 WWE Draft
Category:WWE Draft