In the olden days, the WWE would use a "draft," to move stars over to other brands, instead of the Superstar Shake-Up, which began last year and was used again this week.
WWE last used the draft system in 2016, and that was when they reverted to having separate rosters for the Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live brands. Former Raw GM Mick Foley and commissioner Stephanie McMahon would alternate picks with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon, who represented the blue brand.
But after WrestleMania 33 last year, chairman Vince McMahon announced the Superstar Shake-Up. Same idea, just a slightly different format. So do WWE superstars prefer the draft over the Shake-Up?
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com spoke to several wrestlers to find out which format the superstars preferred. Here's what one of them (speaking under anonymity), said:
"Not working the guys that are working for you is always a plus. 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."
In the draft years, some superstars wouldn't find out they were switching brands until it was announced on live television. That is, they found out at the exact same moment as the fans did.
Sapp also said that Chris Jericho shared a story about not knowing which brand he was going to, and the future Hall of Famer had to call a friend (he had no internet access), to see if he was going to Raw or SmackDown.
With the exception of 2003, WWE held a draft every year from 2002-2011. Some of those years included superstars from the now-defunct ECW brand. But with WWE using one roster to compete on the Raw and SmackDown brands, there was no draft from 2012-15.
Seeing that WWE superstars prefer the Superstar Shake-Up, it's safe to assume that the creative team will roll with that format for the foreseeable future.