The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

[The GIGGAS]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

But they'd be back to throwing random guys together for those tag teams. That fails more than it works.

They're already doing that.

[Rocky]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

I think my problem with ending the brand split is that so many of the wrestlers that are low in the card that have a lot of potential will get sent back down to developmental, or get cut. I say keep it, because WWE are being forced to create new stars all the time.

That being said, I would change a few things: split the Unifed Titles, and eliminate the Divas championship. Bring back the WWE Cruiserweight Championship (because seriously, Rey/Funaki can be entertaining too, and who wouldn't want to see Rey/Yoshi Tatsu? I mean, what happened to Yoshi? He's literally gone). So basically go back a couple years in which championships are available. I'd also like it if the Miz actually defended his US Championship. It seems like 4 championships are actually available to win on a given night, when it should be more like 8.

That's just my opinion.

You gotta let some of these wrestlers go though. I know Vince doesn't like competition but what more can you do with a guy like Kane or a Shelton Benjamin or William Regal. They really aren't providing the company with anything and the company has done every thing they can with them. Not necessarily a bad thing to let a superstar go somewhere else for a while and then sign them back when they're fresh (Christian).

I think 96-98 WCW and WWE Attitude era had it perfectly. Though the WCW roster was large, they had a 3 hour show to compliment it.

I would trim the roster, go to a 3 hour RAW and have Smackdown show every month and a WWE Saturday Night show every month.

[DJ]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

You gotta let some of these wrestlers go though. I know Vince doesn't like competition but what more can you do with a guy like Kane or a Shelton Benjamin or William Regal. They really aren't providing the company with anything and the company has done every thing they can with them. Not necessarily a bad thing to let a superstar go somewhere else for a while and then sign them back when they're fresh (Christian).

I think 96-98 WCW and WWE Attitude era had it perfectly. Though the WCW roster was large, they had a 3 hour show to compliment it.

I would trim the roster, go to a 3 hour RAW and have Smackdown show every month and a WWE Saturday Night show every month.

They'll never go to that TV schedule. Guys like Regal and Kane still have value b/c they are a name fans recognize and can be used to help get new wrestlers over. Think back to the 80's with guys like Tito Santana. He was a top-level mid-card wrestler at one point and then turned into almost a jobber, as he always put over a new heel. He was a good worker, though, so that's why he was used and the fans still enjoyed watching him in the ring, even though he lost more than he won.

I like the brand split overall, as it does give younger guys an opportunity for growth, but I would do away with:

A)The Draft. It was cool at first but now it's way too predictable who is getting moved where.

B)Half of the titles. I'd like just 1 unified world champion, one mid-card champ (IC, we can say bye-bye to the U.S. title), one tag team title (WWE needs to just have 1 set of belts for that, too), a cruiserweight title and a Divas title.

I liked when the brand split first took place and the World Champion was the only guy that could show up on either show. It was a unique twist and gave the champ more prestige. It's annoying that guys come and go on whatever show they want, regardless of what brand they are tied to.

I'd put the IC title on SD, as well as the Cruiserweight title and have the Tag Team and Divas title on RAW. For house shows, I'd have World Champion rotate house shows; one month he's on RAW and the next month he'll appear on Smackdown shows.

C)Guys from other shows showing up on the other brand's show. The only time this should happen is if there's a crossover match for WM that they are trying to build, like Taker-HBK. Make the split mean something.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

To address your last point, that's the thing.....the split DOESNT mean anything anymore, so just end it.

[DJ]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

To address your last point, that's the thing.....the split DOESNT mean anything anymore, so just end it.

Exactly. Either enforce the split or just do away with it and book everyone on both RAW and Smackdown. The roster size right now is almost ideal for that as you can still get a lot of guys on both shows and won't have too many "lost in the shuffle" so to speak.

[El_Jefe]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

"I still remember Benoit was actually stripped because when he beat Sid with the crossface Sid's foot was under the rope."

That was the reason they gave on tv. The real reason was a little more complicated.

[DJ]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

"I still remember Benoit was actually stripped because when he beat Sid with the crossface Sid's foot was under the rope."

That was the reason they gave on tv. The real reason was a little more complicated.

Yep. He (and Guerrero, Malenko and Saturn) had already decided to go to WWE, yet WCW thought that if they put the strap on Benoit, he would stay with WCW.

[El_Jefe]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

Yep. He (and Guerrero, Malenko and Saturn) had already decided to go to WWE, yet WCW thought that if they put the strap on Benoit, he would stay with WCW.

That's the gist of it,although there is a little more to it.

Either way it was stupid for the WCW to put the belt on him in the first place,seeing as Benoit had no desire to be around with Kevin Sullivan being the head booker. He thought the guy was gonna screw him over.

[Streets]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

I agree that people like Kane and Shelton have value. Look at Kane putting over the NXT roster or how he put over Dolph Ziggler. No matter how many L's he takes, Kane is a "monster", Taker's brother, and a known commodity that can put new guys over.

As far as the roster split, I agree that it's stupid to have if people aren't restricted to their own shows. I've posted my idea before, and just to reiterate, I'd have Raw and SD compete against one another and have brand-exclusive wrestlers (none of this jumping crap). Each show has a "salary cap" and wrestlers have "contracts". When their "contracts" expire, the free agent wrestler can sign with either brand's GM. The on-screen contract negotiations could be a vehicle for storylines (I'll re-sign with you if I get a title shot). Wrestlers can also be traded between the GM's (but Raw would have to have a permanent GM... no more guest host... darn). This would allow rosters to stay fresh throughout the year yet the split would arguably mean more due to the direct competition between GM's.

To make it even more interesting I'd have NXT run year-long seasons that end/ begin after Wrestlemania. At that time, a draft will be held where each show can draft 2 rookies (In this case it'd probably be Bryan, Otunga, Barrett, and Gabriel). The #1 and #3 picks in the draft will go to the show that wins the trophy at the Bragging Rights PPV (meaning that GM's will put their stars on their team in an attempt to win a shot at a Bryan or an Otunga.

This kind of structural overhaul would never happen, but it would be pretty cool.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

I agree that people like Kane and Shelton have value. Look at Kane putting over the NXT roster or how he put over Dolph Ziggler. No matter how many L's he takes, Kane is a "monster", Taker's brother, and a known commodity that can put new guys over.

As far as the roster split, I agree that it's stupid to have if people aren't restricted to their own shows. I've posted my idea before, and just to reiterate, I'd have Raw and SD compete against one another and have brand-exclusive wrestlers (none of this jumping crap). Each show has a "salary cap" and wrestlers have "contracts". When their "contracts" expire, the free agent wrestler can sign with either brand's GM. The on-screen contract negotiations could be a vehicle for storylines (I'll re-sign with you if I get a title shot). Wrestlers can also be traded between the GM's (but Raw would have to have a permanent GM... no more guest host... darn). This would allow rosters to stay fresh throughout the year yet the split would arguably mean more due to the direct competition between GM's.

To make it even more interesting I'd have NXT run year-long seasons that end/ begin after Wrestlemania. At that time, a draft will be held where each show can draft 2 rookies (In this case it'd probably be Bryan, Otunga, Barrett, and Gabriel). The #1 and #3 picks in the draft will go to the show that wins the trophy at the Bragging Rights PPV (meaning that GM's will put their stars on their team in an attempt to win a shot at a Bryan or an Otunga.

This kind of structural overhaul would never happen, but it would be pretty cool.

That wouldn't just be cool... it would be something that gives WWE something fresh. Too bad that means they wouldn't do it.

However, in TEW......

[goh]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

I knew that besides it says it right there in brackets.

Guys only jump shows around WM time.

[55]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

Guys only jump shows around WM time.

This.

The rosters lock in after the draft and stay there until after No Way Out/Elimination Chamber basically.

[Rocky]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

I agree that people like Kane and Shelton have value. Look at Kane putting over the NXT roster or how he put over Dolph Ziggler. No matter how many L's he takes, Kane is a "monster", Taker's brother, and a known commodity that can put new guys over.

Okay, but how many of these guys do you really need though? You have Kane, Goldust, Finlay, Regal, Mark Henry, and I'm sure there is more that I can't remember. There is really no need to keep that many guys around if you don't have the split.

As far as the roster split, I agree that it's stupid to have if people aren't restricted to their own shows. I've posted my idea before, and just to reiterate, I'd have Raw and SD compete against one another and have brand-exclusive wrestlers (none of this jumping crap). Each show has a "salary cap" and wrestlers have "contracts". When their "contracts" expire, the free agent wrestler can sign with either brand's GM. The on-screen contract negotiations could be a vehicle for storylines (I'll re-sign with you if I get a title shot). Wrestlers can also be traded between the GM's (but Raw would have to have a permanent GM... no more guest host... darn). This would allow rosters to stay fresh throughout the year yet the split would arguably mean more due to the direct competition between GM's.

To make it even more interesting I'd have NXT run year-long seasons that end/ begin after Wrestlemania. At that time, a draft will be held where each show can draft 2 rookies (In this case it'd probably be Bryan, Otunga, Barrett, and Gabriel). The #1 and #3 picks in the draft will go to the show that wins the trophy at the Bragging Rights PPV (meaning that GM's will put their stars on their team in an attempt to win a shot at a Bryan or an Otunga.

This kind of structural overhaul would never happen, but it would be pretty cool.

That would be interesting. Without the jumping however, we wouldn't have seen half of this year's WM card.

I really just think they need to end this thing.

[Streets]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

Okay, but how many of these guys do you really need though? You have Kane, Goldust, Finlay, Regal, Mark Henry, and I'm sure there is more that I can't remember. There is really no need to keep that many guys around if you don't have the split.



That would be interesting. Without the jumping however, we wouldn't have seen half of this year's WM card.

I really just think they need to end this thing.

Yeah, but my WWE allows for jumping between shows within the context of the storylines (via trades and free agency). Thus, this years card could have still happened. I'd have HBK go on strike and refuse to wrestle (just doesn't show up and loses by countout) until he is traded to Smackdown so he could face the Undertaker. Or he could have been obsessed with winning the tag titles just so he can have the power to show up on any show (where he'd then use that loophole to show up on SD and face the Undertaker). Or, have both GM's agree that a re-match is good for both shows and have a big press conference/ contract signing with Taker, HBK, and the GM's.

Basically, the guys wouldn't be as restricted as you'd think, and the card could have still happened.

That wouldn't just be cool... it would be something that gives WWE something fresh. Too bad that means they wouldn't do it.

However, in TEW......

As long as I get my credit/royalties as a TEW writer

[ILLCHILL]

Re: The past Smackdown is the perfect reason why they need to end the brand split...

I think its the PPVs that are killing it right now. When the first split and they had brand specific PPVs it was weak, but that's cuz the depth was terrible. Now I feel as if you started off with a RAW PPV, then a Smackdown and keep the co-brand ones for the big 4 (just have Bragging Rights in the old Survivor Series slot.) The fueds are too rushed and the ideas spread out too thin.

I'm even OK with the brand split (though I'd love to see a unified WWE champion) because honestly, these guys are human beings and it keeps them somewhat fresher.

Also, the unified tag titles have been great (Y2J/Miz and Show have been consistently great on both shows) and if they would just once again make the IC and US straps MEAN something, I'd be happy.

P.S. to the original poster, Swagger is the man :-0