Finn Balor and the WWE Superstars Negatively Impacted by Shake-Up

WWE Raw reshaped itself during the Superstar Shake-up in such a way that leaves major questions about Finn Balor lingering in the air.

On Monday and Tuesday, a good number of Raw, SmackDown and NXT stars changed homes in WWE's version of the offseason. For many, the shifts created exciting possibilities.

The Authors of Pain and Andrade "Cien" Almas made the move to the main roster. Samoa Joe's journey to SmackDown will give him the chance to be an alpha male as he should be. Chad Gable is now a solo act and on WWE's marquee show with a showdown against his former tag team partner Jason Jordan looming.

Balor, though, is among those whose momentum lessened after all the roster movement.

For some, the Superstar Shake-up spelled a missed opportunity. It took away allies or left others stuck in the same holding pattern.

Read on for a look at which Raw and SmackDown talent most lost out during the two-day event.

Bobby Roode

Roode turned out to be the babyfaces' mystery partner on Monday's Raw in a 10-man tag team match.

He joined the red brand after spending the past eight months on SmackDown. As FightBooth PW pointed out, the move didn't exactly leave fans abuzz:

While Roode is now a part of the more watched show, he has reason to have low enthusiasm.

On SmackDown, he was firmly in the United States Championship picture. He's not likely to challenge Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship, however. For one, heels are going to get priority in chasing the champ.

There are plenty of guys who will be higher priorities than him too. Dolph Ziggler, who added Drew McIntyre as his muscle, is on that list. Elias remains a hot commodity. WWE's going to want to push the returning Bobby Lashley as well. Roode may well get pushed down the card.

And to make things worse, there's a good chance his stagnant, no-spark feud with Mahal continues now that The Maharaja also joined Team Red. 

Tye Dillinger

Dillinger is among the wrestlers who most needed a spark leading up to the Superstar Shake-up. SmackDown has done little with him. A change of scenery may have been the key to him getting rolling.

Mike Kannelis and Zack Ryder are getting a chance to rewrite their stories on Raw. The Perfect 10 is not. The former NXT talent stayed on SmackDown with no sign that things will change for him.

On Tuesday's SmackDown, Dillinger played a supporting role in a segment that welcomed R-Truth to his new home.

If that develops into a partnership, that's not exactly a duo that will get ample airtime in a crowded, deep tag team division. Should Dillinger remain solo, he may serve as Samoa Joe and Big Cass' warm-up foe at some point, but there's little reason to believe he'll be a major player Tuesday nights.

Finn Balor

Balor is looking at an uphill journey after the shake-up. 

WWE seems content with placing Rollins above him for the moment. The Raw main event scene added Lashley. As Kenny Herzog wrote for The Ringer, "The Demon has some serious maneuvering to do (a heel swerve couldn't hurt) before becoming top dog."

Balor also lost The Club. WWE barely tapped into what Balor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson could do before splitting up the trio that had the Irishman teeming with energy.

Credit: WWE.com

While Gallows and Anderson now look to mix it up in SmackDown's quality tag team division, Balor is back to where he was before WWE version of The Bullet Club got together.  

Further, the shake-up moved some promising potential rivals for Balor—like Big Cass, Almas and Samoa Joe—to SmackDown while the red brand got a number of less thrilling options in exchange. Balor battling the likes of Mahal or Kanellis isn't something his fans will be pumped about.

Balor finds himself an underdog with an uncertain position heading forward.