Brand Split - World Title De-Unification Thoughts?

[CaptainZombie]

I know that it has only been 2 months since the WWE and WHC were unified, but there needs to be a hard brand split. After 2 months, we have so many guys that on the WWE roster that we may never see the likes of Rhodes, Ziggler, Ambrose, Rollins, Barrett, etc. even touch that World title. I think the brand split failed to a degree is because of lazy booking and VKM/USA wanting to overly stack RAW to the point where it was all main event guys showing up on one show.

I think a hard brand split could work if they took 4-5 guys and concentrated on them in the main event for each brand.

Smackdown = Orton, Bryan, Ambrose, Del Rio, Barrett and Ziggler

Raw = Cena, Reigns, Wyatt, Rhodes, Sheamus, and Punk (if he returns)

I would rather see this than the damn mess we have right now. Too many guys for one roster and people are bound to get lost in the shuffle. They have way too many guys on the roster now than they did before the brand split and it is even worse with the U.S. and IC titles having no significance. The US title was last defended in October 2013. Jesus, remember the 30 day defend rule of the 80's and 90's, guess that went bye bye. LOL!

I'd leave one set of tag team champions and women's champion traveling to both brands to defend the titles. I would consider even unifying the US and IC titles since they aren't getting any love from the booking team.

The buyrates on the branded PPV's sucked because WWE didn't put the time or effort in them even going so far as stacking RAW all the time with the talent.

All of a sudden they are breaking up tag teams/stables left and right with The Shield (which was inevitable), how long before the Wyatts are next, then the Prime Time Players, and then we had some Rhodes/Goldust dissension a month or so ago.

These are just some thoughts I was having, granted might not be good ideas, but they need to do something to fix the current product with so much talent on the roster.

[Mercury112491]

No. Every talented guy on the roster doesn't need to hold the heavyweight title.

[Rawdeal28]

ending about 2 years ago, we had split brands for about 10 years. and in that time none of the belts meant a damn thing but the 2 championship belts (the one on Raw always meaning more).

i partially agree with what your saying but in the end it really doesnt matter because Raw will always be the top and most focused show. from 2002 to 2005 Smackdown was clearly the better show but once they moved Cena to Raw, and then eventually moving the show to Friday, Smackdown has been getting the backseat. so it only makes sense to end the split so to speak.

so if they are not going to take advantage of the split then there is no reason to have it. there have been rumors lately that they will unify the U.S. & Intercontinental belts. hopefully that happens and then they can treat that belt with the same importance of the Smackdown belt.

with the way the WWE operates, i think its better with just one set of belts for each class.

[woody2goody]

Smackdown in 08-11 was much better than Raw wrestling-wise anyway.

I agree with the OP to some extent, because even though I accept that most people won't ever hold the WWE WH Championship, we want to see them in the picture and some variation in feuds.

At least with two World Titles it was harder to predict who was going to win. Now I see a situation where most people won't win unless they are Cena/Orton/Batista.

And that's not a typical rant about those guys because they are good. The problem is that when there are so many main eventers it is difficult for people to infiltrate the picture.

Even before unification people were complaining a bit that certain upper-midcarders weren't getting title shots or reigns, and now it's only going to be worse unfortunately. The only way to counter this is to make either the US/IC title picture more relevant or to build better feuds outside the title picture, which they seem reluctant to do even with 5 hours of Raw and Smackdown.

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[BDKiiing]

Well let me preface this by saying they are making a good business move in the now to have everything more or less being a supershow where Cena, Bryan, Wyatt, the Shield, etc. show up on every show.

However, the best way to establish new stars is to have a true brand extension. The best way to do it is to do it exactly like they did in 2002, but can go deeper with having a 3 hour show and the network.

You have to build up to it. You have to have two authority figures. My best way is incredibly unlikely. A few weeks after Wrestlemania you have Vince, Stephanie, and Paul in the ring talking about the future of the company and how it's so bright, and Vince praises Paul for having a huge hand in the future of the company. Then.....

Spoiler

Criticizes Paul for not being a McMahon and saying he doesn't belong doing anything for WWE's future other than earning his paycheck by wrestling, like every other non-McMahon. This can start as a feud between the two. They can have promos with each other back and forth through April and May. Shane showing up and interrupting Paul's decisions and match making, and overruling him since he's a McMahon. Come June, after Payback, Paul gets sick of it, they get physical, brawl on Raw. They need to be separated. The next week Vince comes out and proposes that they each take a brand to see who really is more successful. Paul gets Raw, Shane gets SD. Vince also proposes that they have a match to see who gets the first pick. So at Money in the Bank they have a street fight for the first pick. Doesn't really matter who wins. So come draft day, not the Monday immediately following MITB, but the one after, they have a 3 hour show to deal with, so they could show 15 of their draft picks. Then after Raw goes off the air they could show the remainder of the draft on the Network on the post show.

Have the tag team, divas, and WWE champions available for both shows. IC and US each go to one show. Lesnar can be the "free agent" like how Stone Cold was in the original draft in 02. Have him exclusively sign on Raw. Have him with the title, which by this time should just be one belt. He can win the belt at Survivor Series and that Monday could have Shane come out and talk about him appearing for him on Smackdown. Heyman can talk about how Brock is a big ticket guy, and does it on his terms, as little as possible, for as much money as possible. So he will refuse to show on SD. Which would eventually lead to them bringing back a top card title for SD.

For the midcard, allow Shane and Paul to draft NXT wrestlers, who are ready, of course. Could even lead to a de-unification of the tag team titles with more guys getting the spotlight. Eventually the women's title would be the only one that floats between shows, which I'd be fine with.

Could even go back to having PPVs that are brand exclusive, with the Network being the focus. Given the state of the WWE now, that wouldn't be good, but they could develop a new Smackdown Six, and could get to the point where a Smackdown exclusive PPV would draw. Just have Payback and Battleground as exclusive PPVs. One for Raw, one for SD.

I would send Ambrose, Rollins, Bryan, Big E, Sheamus, and Dolph to SD as that core like Smackdown Six was. Could even have Neville, Barret, or Cesaro there as well. Although, I would send Cesaro to SD when they get the WHC back, and have him be the first champion of it. Rollins, Ambrose, Bryan, Sheamus, and Dolph can all put on really great matches. And Big E has a promising future as a face, who can work well too. The six of them can easily be flipped between face/heel/tweener. I would say Rollins and Bryan as the faces, Big E and Ziggler as the tweeners and Sheamus and Ambrose as the heels. It could certainly work. The only thing that would be missing is one natural tag team out of the bunch. You could put the Usos there instead of Bryan and Big E. But the Usos are the same people, where as Eddie always over shadowed Chavo. Could have Big E and Ziggler reform a tag team, realizing AJ was crazy and becoming friends again, writes itself.

It would be simple, you have the Smackdown Six, as well as maybe throwing Barrett, Titus, Kidd, Harper, Axel, and Johnny Curtis in there to work. Raw could have the big names of Cena, Orton, Batista, Lesnar, etc. Just like it did in the early-mid 2000's. The draft and lead up would bring a pop in ratings, plus you always have the option to have invasions with Shane and Paul throwing dirt at each other, as well as a Goldberg/Brock-esque cross-promotional feud. It writes itself. Recycle the 2002 storyline of the draft, but with all new names and faces it would feel fresh. The original draft happened over a decade ago. Kane, RVD, Brock, Taker, Rock, Show, Henry, Christian, Goldust, and Billy Gunn are the only ones who work now who were on the roster back then. The only ones who would even be significant players would be Brock and Christian. Everyone else is older, so it would be fresh. Kane could stick with Paul and Steph as a backstage role on Raw and throw the mask on to do run ins on SD. Christian would just blend in as a worker. Taker and Rock can just do whatever they want. Henry would retire. Goldust would be an off screen agent. Billy Gunn could be a part of the Levesque posse. Show could retire too. So it's really all brand new faces. Could be interesting.

Note, it definitely will not happen. I see .000000001% chance that Shane ever comes back to TV. And with every show being a supershow and their obviously lack of caring about the midcard, it would never happen. Makes me sad. I loved the 2002 draft, split up tag teams like the Duds and APA. So it allowed for wrestlers to shine as solo stars, but at the same time let new tag teams come to light. They really should do another stern brand extension, but I just don't see it ever happening.

Also, keep Main Event. Have it be 3 matches each week, SD vs. Raw every match. No major storyline carry over, but do have it to help legitimize the mid card players on each brand. I always liked the concept of Sunday Night Heat and Velocity. But it would be harder to do with Main Event and NXT. But they do Superstars anyways now. So why not make Superstars and one other show the minor league shows like Heat and Velocity were. Have them exclusively air on the Network. it would be just as simple as their tapings now. Raw you have the 3 hour show, before that you tape Heat/Superstars or whatever the minor league show will be, just do 2 matches, and then the rest of it be Raw recap. At that taping do one of the Main Event shows as well. At the Smackdown tapings have the 2 hour show, the other 2 Main Event matches, and then the Velocity 2 matches. Then Velocity would be the 2 matches and SD recap.

So the schedule could be
Monday: Raw
Tuesday: Heat
Wednesday: Main Event
Thursday: NXT
Friday: Smackdown
Saturday: Velocity

With Heat, NXT, and Velocity all airing on the Network, it would bring more traffic to it.

Raw would remain the only live show, although I wouldn't mind NXT being a live show always.

This schedule would bring credibility back to wrestling as an art form. Raw and Smackdown for the storyline purposes. Heat and Velocity for the lower card to get guys names out there, even tryout matches (Danielson, Sterling James Keenan, Jon Moxley, Shelley all had matches on Velocity). NXT can keep doing what it's doing, and Main Event for the cross-promotion wrestling, minimal promos. Having this much attention and emphasis on the current product would legitimize it and bring even more traffic to the Network along with the extensive past libraries.

[Mr2Nice]

I hate the titles being unified. I wish they would redo the brand split but actually even it out, use both the major and minor titles and have both brands share the tag titles.

Theres to many wrestlers just to have 3 singles belts and trying to smash it all into RAW with Smackdown getting the crumbs.

On a side note, WTH is going on with splitting up all the teams? I swore I read that this year they were suppose to focus on building the tag team division on dismantling it.

[CaptainZombie]

Quote: Originally Posted by bdolski

Well let me preface this by saying they are making a good business move in the now to have everything more or less being a supershow where Cena, Bryan, Wyatt, the Shield, etc. show up on every show. However, the best way to establish new stars is to have a true brand extension. The best way to do it is to do it exactly like they did in 2002, but can go deeper with having a 3 hour show and the network. You have to build up to it. You have to have two authority figures. My best way is incredibly unlikely. A few weeks after Wrestlemania you have Vince, Stephanie, and Paul in the ring talking about the future of the company and how it's so bright, and Vince praises Paul for having a huge hand in the future of the company. Then..... Spoiler Criticizes Paul for not being a McMahon and saying he doesn't belong doing anything for WWE's future other than earning his paycheck by wrestling, like every other non-McMahon. This can start as a feud between the two. They can have promos with each other back and forth through April and May. Shane showing up and interrupting Paul's decisions and match making, and overruling him since he's a McMahon. Come June, after Payback, Paul gets sick of it, they get physical, brawl on Raw. They need to be separated. The next week Vince comes out and proposes that they each take a brand to see who really is more successful. Paul gets Raw, Shane gets SD. Vince also proposes that they have a match to see who gets the first pick. So at Money in the Bank they have a street fight for the first pick. Doesn't really matter who wins. So come draft day, not the Monday immediately following MITB, but the one after, they have a 3 hour show to deal with, so they could show 15 of their draft picks. Then after Raw goes off the air they could show the remainder of the draft on the Network on the post show. Have the tag team, divas, and WWE champions available for both shows. IC and US each go to one show. Lesnar can be the "free agent" like how Stone Cold was in the original draft in 02. Have him exclusively sign on Raw. Have him with the title, which by this time should just be one belt. He can win the belt at Survivor Series and that Monday could have Shane come out and talk about him appearing for him on Smackdown. Heyman can talk about how Brock is a big ticket guy, and does it on his terms, as little as possible, for as much money as possible. So he will refuse to show on SD. Which would eventually lead to them bringing back a top card title for SD. For the midcard, allow Shane and Paul to draft NXT wrestlers, who are ready, of course. Could even lead to a de-unification of the tag team titles with more guys getting the spotlight. Eventually the women's title would be the only one that floats between shows, which I'd be fine with. Could even go back to having PPVs that are brand exclusive, with the Network being the focus. Given the state of the WWE now, that wouldn't be good, but they could develop a new Smackdown Six, and could get to the point where a Smackdown exclusive PPV would draw. Just have Payback and Battleground as exclusive PPVs. One for Raw, one for SD. I would send Ambrose, Rollins, Bryan, Big E, Sheamus, and Dolph to SD as that core like Smackdown Six was. Could even have Neville, Barret, or Cesaro there as well. Although, I would send Cesaro to SD when they get the WHC back, and have him be the first champion of it. Rollins, Ambrose, Bryan, Sheamus, and Dolph can all put on really great matches. And Big E has a promising future as a face, who can work well too. The six of them can easily be flipped between face/heel/tweener. I would say Rollins and Bryan as the faces, Big E and Ziggler as the tweeners and Sheamus and Ambrose as the heels. It could certainly work. The only thing that would be missing is one natural tag team out of the bunch. You could put the Usos there instead of Bryan and Big E. But the Usos are the same people, where as Eddie always over shadowed Chavo. Could have Big E and Ziggler reform a tag team, realizing AJ was crazy and becoming friends again, writes itself. It would be simple, you have the Smackdown Six, as well as maybe throwing Barrett, Titus, Kidd, Harper, Axel, and Johnny Curtis in there to work. Raw could have the big names of Cena, Orton, Batista, Lesnar, etc. Just like it did in the early-mid 2000's. The draft and lead up would bring a pop in ratings, plus you always have the option to have invasions with Shane and Paul throwing dirt at each other, as well as a Goldberg/Brock-esque cross-promotional feud. It writes itself. Recycle the 2002 storyline of the draft, but with all new names and faces it would feel fresh. The original draft happened over a decade ago. Kane, RVD, Brock, Taker, Rock, Show, Henry, Christian, Goldust, and Billy Gunn are the only ones who work now who were on the roster back then. The only ones who would even be significant players would be Brock and Christian. Everyone else is older, so it would be fresh. Kane could stick with Paul and Steph as a backstage role on Raw and throw the mask on to do run ins on SD. Christian would just blend in as a worker. Taker and Rock can just do whatever they want. Henry would retire. Goldust would be an off screen agent. Billy Gunn could be a part of the Levesque posse. Show could retire too. So it's really all brand new faces. Could be interesting. Note, it definitely will not happen. I see .000000001% chance that Shane ever comes back to TV. And with every show being a supershow and their obviously lack of caring about the midcard, it would never happen. Makes me sad. I loved the 2002 draft, split up tag teams like the Duds and APA. So it allowed for wrestlers to shine as solo stars, but at the same time let new tag teams come to light. They really should do another stern brand extension, but I just don't see it ever happening. Also, keep Main Event. Have it be 3 matches each week, SD vs. Raw every match. No major storyline carry over, but do have it to help legitimize the mid card players on each brand. I always liked the concept of Sunday Night Heat and Velocity. But it would be harder to do with Main Event and NXT. But they do Superstars anyways now. So why not make Superstars and one other show the minor league shows like Heat and Velocity were. Have them exclusively air on the Network. it would be just as simple as their tapings now. Raw you have the 3 hour show, before that you tape Heat/Superstars or whatever the minor league show will be, just do 2 matches, and then the rest of it be Raw recap. At that taping do one of the Main Event shows as well. At the Smackdown tapings have the 2 hour show, the other 2 Main Event matches, and then the Velocity 2 matches. Then Velocity would be the 2 matches and SD recap. So the schedule could be Monday: Raw Tuesday: Heat Wednesday: Main Event Thursday: NXT Friday: Smackdown Saturday: Velocity With Heat, NXT, and Velocity all airing on the Network, it would bring more traffic to it. Raw would remain the only live show, although I wouldn't mind NXT being a live show always. This schedule would bring credibility back to wrestling as an art form. Raw and Smackdown for the storyline purposes. Heat and Velocity for the lower card to get guys names out there, even tryout matches (Danielson, Sterling James Keenan, Jon Moxley, Shelley all had matches on Velocity). NXT can keep doing what it's doing, and Main Event for the cross-promotion wrestling, minimal promos. Having this much attention and emphasis on the current product would legitimize it and bring even more traffic to the Network along with the extensive past libraries.

Some really good ideas there that you have put together and the are along the same lines of what I was thinking. Having a brand split is not that hard and VKM and company need to have discipline which shows they do not.

Unifying both titles I think has turned into a mess considering that there is such a huge roster and even worse is that the IC and US titles don't even get defended regularly and even worse with the US title.

Even worse now is that in 2013 they were emphasizing on the tag team division and now they are splitting it up again. Talk about ADD.

[JazzMan]

I'm not real worried about the Tag Team division right now. Sure, some teams, like the Shield, Rhodes brothers, Real Americans and Prime Time Players, are splitting up, but that opens the door for a few of the other teams to rise up, or even build some new teams. Ziggler and Miz look like they're about to join up, there's still Los Matadores, Darren Young will probably find a new partner, they have Ascension waiting on NXT, Harper and Rowan could make a tag team push...