As the first Superstar to change brands in the 2019 Superstar Shake-up, The Miz attacks his former tag team partner.

MONTREAL — Where Shane McMahon goes, The Miz follows. Indeed, the first move from SmackDown LIVE wasn’t a single Superstar so much as an entire rivalry, as The A-Lister emerged to confront his nemesis while Shane was gloating over his protracted abuse of the former WWE Champion’s father over the past two months.

Though, perhaps “emerged” is too soft a word; Miz pre-empted Stephanie McMahon’s planned announcement of the first Superstar Shake-up change and ambushed Shane from behind, brutalizing him with a steel chair and chasing him from the ring. It was an impressive opening salvo in the most chaotic two-night stretch in the WWE calendar, but the implication of Miz’s attack might stretch far beyond that: If, as Stephanie said, the Superstar Shake-up is the first step on the road to next year’s WrestleMania, The A-Lister seems dead set on making sure Shane’s path to The Showcase of the Immortals is as long and painful as it gets.