Exclusive: Backstage Reaction On WWE Doing Superstar Shakeup Instead Of Drafts

I had several lengthy conversations with WWE Superstars this week about the Superstar Shakeup. It's been a topic I've discussed (and wish they were allowed to go on the record about), with them over the past year. While it doesn't have the same traditional marquee value of calling it a "draft," every wrestler I've spoken to says that they like the newer method. It wasn't said out loud to them, but WWE saw it as an effort to help morale out as well, since often times during Drafts, wrestlers would find out where they were going at the same time as the audience. With the Supe Shake, creative plans are put in order and the wrestlers make actual debuts.

That being said, some find out they're switching brands rather late, but even one that I talked to who experienced that said that the common courtesy of not having to log on to WWE's official website to find out what days they'd be working every week meant a lot considering the way things used to operate. Chris Jericho once told a story about how the company wouldn't tell him what brand he was going to, and he had to find out by calling a friend of his, because he was on the road making the next town and didn't have internet access.

Not only did the people being sent to other brands find out before TV viewers that they'd be switching shows, but many were given the day off. 

"Not working the guys that are working for you is always a plus," one wrestler said. "It shouldn't be a plus. It should just be the way things are, but for some reason that's not always been just the way things are. I knew people who found out that TNA wanted to fire them after they were in that briefcase (Feast or Fired) match, and others who didn't know they'd be changing shows until they saw it on air. That can change a lot for people,"

The person who gave me that quote joked that talking to people like me is probably one of the reasons that the company "worked" so many of their draft shows for so long. For what it's worth, I didn't ask any of the talent if they were switching brands.