Should the WWE Brand Split happen?
So what is a WWE Brand split? Well, it's simple, a brand split sees RAW and Smackdown consist of two different rosters. The WWE Superstars are split into two with both shows having different championships, superstars, divas, commentators and of course matches. The brand split first came about back in two thousand and two seeing RAW and Smackdown split into two distinct brands. For years the WWE would entertain us with draft shows that saw the WWE superstars and Divas find out what roster they would feature on and it was honestly one of my favourite shows of the entire year. However, in two thousand and elven the two shows reunited into one roster and we would see all superstars feature on both RAW and Smackdown. It was around this time that we also saw RAW go from a two hour to a three hour weekly show. The huge changes sparked the start of a new era in the WWE. Five years later and we are in the exact same position. With Shane McMahon making a huge return everyone is talking about a new era in the WWE and a brand split has never been more likely. But what are the chances of this actually happening? And could RAW and Smackdown having separate rosters be a good idea in this day and age? Lets take a little look....
If there is one thing that the brand split could really offer the WWE today it's putting superstars in the spotlight that are currently not receiving the attention and TV time they deserve. The likes of Kevin Owens, Tyler Breeze, Jack Swagger, Cesaro, Neville and many many more have found themselves stuck in the mid card section of the roster and almost never involved in a main event storyline chasing after world championship gold. You guys know that I have a huge problem with talented superstars going under the radar. I have written so many blog post talking about underrated and underutilised superstars (some of witch will be linked bellow) and a brand split could be the awnser to that solution. The problem at the moment is there are so many brilliant wrestlers that don't get the spotlight because we have one roster and the WWE only ever focus on their top stars such as John Cena, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to name some. This means NXT graduates that have had a brilliant run while in developmental proving to be main even talent don't ever get that top spot role. Lets take Tyler Breeze for example; Breeze was one of the most consistent, entertaining, strong wrestlers that NXT had and has ever produced yet since coming up to the main roster he hasn't been involved in anything solid that shows he's true potential and capabilities. If the WWE did have a brand split then some of these names could really step up to the plate and and get their moment in the spotlight that they deserve and main event major shows. Yes the WWE are like to lets say have Orton on Smackdown and Cena on RAW as the top faces but the fact that these already huge names/main eventers won't be all jumbled up together on one roster means that the likes of Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and Breeze have a much bigger chance at becoming champion, main eventing, and being pushed as a much bigger deal and a top star in the WWE. It would also mean that the fans of NXT and the NXT roster itself will feel much more optimist about the transition from NXT to the big stage with more opportunities and a bigger shot at getting the attention and bookings/pushes they deserve.
The problem with this however is that unlike two thousand and two when the brand split was first introduced the roster was at a completely different state. Going back all those years the WWE roster was beaming with talent and you had enough superstars and divas to fill up to strong rosters. However, you look at what the WWE looks like today and despite NXT talent able to get their call up to join Smackdown or RAW and add some depth there just is not enough talent. The tag team division at the moment literally consists of three teams on TV every week without including the League of Nations and then you have the Ascension who we have not seen on TV for months now. If the WWE decided to split the roster into two than we would literally have three tag teams at the most on each brand. We have the same problem with the divas division. Yes, it is growing and improving more and more by the day but once you split that already small division in half we are just going to end up going backwards. You could argue that RAW and Smackdown going as separate shows means there is more of a chance of longer and more in depth storyline for the division but when you only have around elven divas at the most it just is not worth it and we will only be seeing the same recycled storyline's over and over again. And of course we have to talk about the current injury problem. The past year has seen huge names such as John Cena, Nikki Bella, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and more hit the injury list. There is hardly enough superstars to create a battle royal let lone create two separate rosters.
Creating two different identities for RAW and Smackdown is another good out come of a brand split in twenty sixteen. The only things making these two shows visibly different is the colour, the theme music, and the titles. A brand split could see the two shows go for a different look, witch always a great thing. It would also offer new voices, allowing the likes of Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, and even Renee Young if she wanted to return to commentary to do so and give us something completely different on the two shows. After all, poor Byron is now not only calling Raw and Pay per view shows but Smackdown and the occasional NXT show here and there also and while I do love Saxton, a different set of voices for each show would be brilliant. I still have no idea why Tom Phillips is not calling a main roster show by now. The dream team would consist of Tom, Corey and of course fan favourite Mauro.
One of the most exciting and anticipated nights of the year was of course the draft. I remember me and my brother tuning every year and being super excited for the draft. It was the night when any superstar could go from RAW to Smackdown or visa versa and it really was an entertaining and fun night. The most memorable drafts include John Cena and Rey Mysterio drafted to Monday night RAW and Triple H and Jim Ross to Smackdown. Oh, the good old days! If there is one thing we know the WWE truly are missing now days its a touch of unpredictability. The draft night could be that excitement and unpredictability that really is missing. It's the night would see huge names go from one show to another changing up storyline's and even see new arrivals from NXT a couple of surprise returns. I mean could you imagine if the Dudley Boyz had returned last year as new additions to a Smackdown roster? The WWE could also include change ups in the announce team on the draft night also just to spice things up a little and make things even more fun to watch. Throughout the trades would be great to see. If each roster were able to trade one superstar for another on each show a couple of times a year than it could boost the storyline's and switch things up a little more keeping everything organic and interesting.
Another huge reason why a brand split would be a good idea is the help it could provide Smackdown with. Throughout recent years the weekly show aired on Thursday nights has gone nothing but south. With low ratings the WWE never provide fans with a solid reason to tune in every week. While the show has improved in recent weeks with stronger matches and better booking decisions the show is still not generating as many views as it was doing lets say twelve years ago. One of the biggest issues with Smackdown is the fact that half the show always ends up being a RAW review where we literally sit down and watch recaps of everything we saw just several days back on Monday night. When you introduce a brand split however that goes out of the window. Smackdown becomes it's own brand with it's own roster with its own storyline's and it's own purpose. We once again have an actual reason to watch the product with guaranteed different matches, storyline's, promos and segments all taking place. Intimately ratings and viewer-ship will increase and there will actually be a reason to watch the show every week. However, my issue with this is RAW is already a three hour show and when you tie it in with all the other wrestling shows that I know I personally watch such as ROH, TNA, NXT, and Lucha Underground, I don't know if I would want a reason to have to watch Smackdown. Another set of storyline's, another roster, it just seems like way too much in one week and fitting it in would be difficult. Sure it works for casual fans or those who only watch the WWE but as someone who watches so much wrestling I don't know if I would really want to have to commit myself to another show every week. At least with one roster in the WWE it means I can watch here and there and catch up when needed but if I want to be able to keep up to date on everything with a brand split in place it means I'm going to have to take a up a lot more of my time.
Championships are another reason why I personally do not want to see a brand split. Back when we first saw RAW and Smackdown go as separate rosters we had the WWE Championship on one show and the World Heavyweight Championship on the other. Then the company introduced the World Tag team titles to one show and the WWE Tag team titles on the other. In recent years we have seen championships unified meaning that a limited amount of superstars can compete for gold and while it does have its down sides it does mean that the holding gold in the WWE means so much more because there isn't as many titles floating around. Once you create two separate rosters you once again need to have two tag titles, two divas titles, and of course two main WWE Championships. So many titles only creates that feeling of holding gold not meaning as much any more. When there are a limited amount of championship gold in the WWE it means the competition is higher and while I have already mentioned the issue with many superstars going underutilised and underrated and this being something that could help those guys as superstars what does this actually do for the creditability and significance of the actual championships?
My final point is pay per views. While the brand split ended in two thousand and eleven if we take a little closer look things actually started to turn sour around two thousand and six. Up until that very year we had seen Smackdown and RAW given different pay per views and the two would reunite for the bigger shows of the year including Wrestlemania, Survivor Series and Summer Slam. However, over time the WWE realised that this just was not working and there were far too many pay per views in one year and so in two thousand and six both rosters would appear at every pay per view instead of having both rosters given different PPV's every month. Then of course when ECW came back into play there was yet another roster and over time we ended up having messy pay per views with superstars everywhere and no one really giving a toss about the brand split at all. I will admit that I loved seeing shows such as bragging rights. It was another thing I loved about the brand split and another really exciting element to the whole thing. Seeing the two rival rosters go head to head to see who was the better rival was great. It meant that Survivor Series was a show to certainly tune in for because back then there was an actual set of two rival teams rather than random superstars pitted on
two teams for no actual reason. Going back to my original point and we will just see the exact same thing happen again. With RAW a live show and consisting of three hours (and there is not a chance in hell they would reduce it back down to two hours due to the amount of money it brings in for the company) RAW will always remain the dominate show and and eventually the company will put less of an effort into Smackdown and within a couple of years time we would most certainly see things back to how they are right now as we are speaking.
Now, I love the brand split debate. Me and my friends have been talking about for weeks going on months now and it remains something we all have different opinions on. Personally, I would match rather see RAW and Smackdown remain as one roster. I know that it may not be the most popular choice but I just see so many more reasons it would be a better idea in the long run. I think the big problem at the moment is everyone seems to think that if Shane wins this huge match at Wrestlemania next weekend than everything will change but what we need to remember is this is just a storyline. Vince is still the man in charge and behind the scenes nothing major is going to actually happen. If a brand split is due to take place that decision has already been made, putting Shane McMahon across on TV as the man in charge does not change what is happening backstage. I have to be honest and say I really did struggle to write this post. I had so much to say and I found it super difficult to narrow to find some kind of order but I did really enjoy writing it and I hope regardless you get where I was going with this post and you enjoyed it. Because this is such a huge debate I would love to know what you think so let me know down in the comments bellow if you think a WWE Brand split should happen.
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