My idea on how a Brand Split could Improve WWE

[Sweettre15]

I want to know what you guys think about this because I think that a Full Brand split with different presentation styles for each show COULD make WWE better and generate a lot of buzz if done right and personally, it's fun to come up with ideas for how things can be better, so... here is my pitch for a full brand split:

RAW:

- Emphasis on more "complex" and multi-layered storylines that are presented in a way that let's fans know there is more to come in these angles and more that meets the eye in it's infancy.

- More large scale/wild segments to progress feuds like "on location/backstage brawls" similar to The Friendly Tap segments involving the APA, Stone Cold and the Rock fighting on a bridge, HHH going to Orton's house etc...Those types of segments to build feuds

- The roster that emphasizes the more "animated" personas on the roster that can work well enough to get by but their characters/presence is 80% of what makes them like Cena, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Wade Barrett, Alexander Rusev etc

- A "harder" PG rating that presents things in a more "mature" fashion but still palatable for kids to watch without their parents having to be cautious

- A "Divas division" that focuses more on controversy in storylines, catfights and the like where the "workrate" is secondary where girls like Nikka Bella, Summer Rae, Dana Brooke, Carmella and Alexa Bliss are emphasized

- The title belts on this brand are the WWE title, US title, and Divas title

- Stipulation matches like Hell In A Cell, First Blood, Cage, Caribbean Strap, and Table matches

SMACKDOWN:

- Storylines that are fairly simple and to the point without being half-assed and repetitive. Where it's a feud of "whose better in the ring", "Whose more fit to be champion?", "Can He/she finally win the big one?" etc

- Title Matches with varying time limits

- Performers that are more "grounded" as characters without being bland/generic but are known for their workrate/wrestling ability like Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Finn Balor etc

- A "Women's" division with the performers that are more know for what they can do in the ring but still have enough personality and character to standout(or the potential to) like Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Paige etc

- Less handcuffs when it comes to in-ring ability outside of restricting more dangerous moves like the Brainbuster. Overall more in ring versatility and stiffer strikes are permitted in ring.

- More "shoot style/grounded" interview types where the wrestlers are free to inject more of themselves into their promos as opposed to trying to "play a character" as well a vignettes that show elements of those performers' personal lives to give the fans the feeling of a more "intimate" view of who these guys are.

- Stipulation matches for the brand are 2/3 Falls, Iron Man, Ladder, Best of 5, and Ultimate Submission matches

The titles for this brand are the IC, Tag Team, and Women's titles

Similarities Between The Shows:

- Both brands avoid big matches on Free TV except for rare occasions and emphasize local "per appearance" jobbers to protect their talents and get their offenses over a well as avoid repetition via rematches

- Both brands avoid context less matchups

- Both shows are only 2 hours long

Now with all this I want to propose a change in how their PPVs/big events are done to avoid oversaturation or either brand being undercut promotion/importance in fans' perceptions. This will most effect people that don't have the network or want to go to live events.

Changes to PPV:

- Cut down the amount of events to about 6 a year

- To make up for cutting down the number of events, Make those events 2 day events with Summerslam and Mania being 3 day events.

Here's how I'd handle that: for all the PPVs that aren't Mania and Summerslam:

Night 1: Smackdown

Night 2: Raw

For Mania and Summerslam:

Night 1: NXT

Night 2: Smackdown

Night 3: Raw

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I agree with some of this stuff...especially the amount of PPV's saturate the special feeling of the product. PPV's that need to be slashed...

Fastlane
Extreme Rules
Hell in a Cell
TLC
Battleground
Payback

PPV's that can be added ...

Halloween Havoc
Great American Bash
Wrestlewar ( Two Cages, Two Rings )

If you really want to split the two brands, WWE could go back to holding a draft like they did years ago when half the roster competed on RAW ( Usually the more popular wrestlers ) and the other half of the roster competed on Smackdown. Use that but make the champions exempt from the rules so they could compete on both brands.

 

[Messiah]

Of course it could work if it's done properly, they finally have roster depth now, but in a year or so people will be wanting the brand split to go away. People didn't care much for it when it was around a few year's ago, if they do this they need to have another draft or something.. It could be interesting, i use to be against this idea, but with all the new talents coming in it could be better for everyone.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The only way any kind of split would work now is an autonomous WCW company with Sting and Jericho as their figureheads, with NXT working as a feeder leauge for both companies.

Not doing this in 2001 was Vince's biggest mistake. WCW was a viable company, the infrastructure and talent were there to make it work, Vince just had to conquer... and in doing so forced the lesser option of RAW vs Smackdown.

If it didn't work then, it won't now.

 

[mlp420]

It's pretty obvious to me in retrospect that the ending the brand split was a huge mistake. It was one of those things where people misplaced blame for WWE's product being lackluster. It really only became a hindrance when WWE stopped treating them as separate and equal brands. If WWE went back to a hard split from the 2003-2007 period with both brands being on equal footing with their loaded roster it would be a good thing. Plus, we could get back to dream matches and a draft every year.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As has been alluded to, I think it might only work in the long run is if there's a separate WWE owned company in operation with those who're running it having complete creative control over what goes on. Like THTRobTaylor said, WCW would be a viable choice as the WCW brand is still quite well known, has a rich history to draw off of and it could be an alternative to WWE.

The only person I can see Vince McMahon giving autonomous control of a second promotion to would be Triple H. Triple H has done wonderful things with NXT and has made the brand into a viable alternative to the more "mainstream" WWE roster. However, and this is probably the one big question left regarding Triple H as being THE man with the final say, he's never had it on the sort of scale that this offshoot, "rival" promotion would operate on. We've all wondered how Triple H would do if he had more than a single hour of TV per week, though I think he'd do extremely well.

Another potential issue is the funding of this promotion in the beginning. In order to sustain it for the first year or so, WWE would have to pump money into it if they want it to come off as a legit, upscale, autonomous promotion with top production values, the ability to tour regularly, etc. While it'd probably pay off in the long run, that's still a major financial commitment that, quite honestly, may not be worth it in the long run.

As far as cutting back on ppvs, that's not going to happen anytime soon. As I've stated numerous times, having access to all the WWE ppv events for $10 a month is the life's blood of the WWE Network. NXT is great, there are some pretty fun original programming on the network and the library has great nostalgic value, but I'm not at all sure that WWE could maintain the necessary number of subscriptions if the ppvs were essentially cut in half. Something else to consider is that less ppvs means money out of the pockets of the talent since there'll be few ppvs bonuses and you know that's gonna piss a whole lot of 'em off.

I suppose WWE could do a brand split with SD as the alternate brand. That'd save a lot of money, without question, and that'd probably be the safest route to go. I think it'd have to operate as if it genuinely was an autonomous, separate entity in which others made the final decisions on everything and I'm just not certain that happens with Vince McMahon around; he's too much of a micromanaging control freak.

 

[Mustang Sally]

SMACKDOWN:

- Performers that are more "grounded" as characters without being bland/generic but are known for their workrate/wrestling ability like Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Finn Balor etc

This has me remembering the original brand split in '02. If I recall correctly, Randy Orton was the unofficial leader of the Smackdown brand, which logically followed the concept that while Raw would be the place where 'big things' happen, Smackdown would be the brand with fewer earth-shaking events, but more ring wrestling. For that, Randy seemed a perfect fit since he was adept in the ring yet less dynamic in personality.

In many ways, it seemed to work. I wish I knew who was in charge of the brand because so many episodes were slickly produced and smoothly flowing that the show was a pleasure to watch. One problem was that the absence of personality shown by the performers......and Orton in particular....eventually made Smackdown boring by comparison since all the good stuff happened on Raw. Yet, even returning Orton to Raw and trying to move others to the forefront didn't change the show's fortunes.

Also, when you look at the performers listed above who are recommended for the Smackdown brand, I would think folks like Bryan, Owens and Rollins have had too much success on the main brand to ever be considered for the 'wrestling' show, even though their technical abilities certainly qualify them as good fits for Smackdown.

Is there a way the company can make it better this time around? It would be nice to think so, yet keep in mind they did everything they could to keep the branch split going before......and wound up scotching the whole concept.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

I think we already see the same matches over and over enough as it is. Plus then there will have to be 2 world champions again and that is just silly.

 

[timothy26]

Because NXT is now seen as a full and separate brand by the WWE rather than a developmental program, I doubt we would see the brand split again, at least not in the RAW/SMACKDOWN sense. I'd rather see Smackdown canned and give that TV time to an extended version of NXT. Guys who aren't being used much on RAW but have something to contribute would fit into NXT similar to how Rhino has, keep it mostly new talents but have a few established guys there to give the new guys the rub.

 

[OddManRush]

There won't be a brand extension.

You want to know why? Sub 2.5 ratings on RAW and 1.6 on Smackdown. They need all the star power they can get.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This would not be a good idea. The roster of today would not work under a Brand Split. In order for that to be a success you would need two full sets of title tiers and with the exception of the midcard, no title tier has enough competitors to split the divisions between two shows. When there were two World Championships the big gold belt kept feeling inferior to the WWE Championship like as if it was a glorified midcard title and nothing else. When there were two sets of Tag Team Championships you ended up with teams winning them that were nowhere near ready. Last but not least, do you REALLY want to see Brie Bella and Nikki Bella each holding a female title hostage? No thanks. One of them as Divas Champion is bad enough.

The only way a Brand Split could work is if NXT becomes a big enough name to where it can function as its own brand. Even at that point there would still be a big problem. What would you do with the developmental show that they broadcast on The Network? If enough names can be brought over to the second brand and have Triple H's team booking it, then perhaps it could work. I don't see that happening anytime soon though, not unless the roster grows to the point where Smackdown could legitimately be equal to Raw again. We are more than 5 years removed from when the two were last booked as equal brands. I'm not saying it is an impossibility in the future, but right now it simply wouldn't work.

So, let's look at the positives. Later down the line, yes it could work. Bring back some old belts for use on Smackdown. The Big Gold "World Heavyweight Championship" could return. As could the WWE Women's Championship for the divas, the World Tag Team Championships for the tag team division, and even the European Championship for the midcarders unless you'd want to give Smackdown the US Championship. Make 3 PPV's Raw exclusive, 3 Smackdown exclusive, with Money In the Bank and Night of Champions joining The Big 4 as dual branded shows. I'd be up for that. They have to take a few years to revive Smackdown and generate interest first though. Right now it's just random tag matches, unnecessary rematches, and Raw recaps. If they start now, by 2020 we could have a working Brand Split again that looks something like this:


Raw
World: WWE Championship
Midcard: Intercontinental Championship
Female: Divas Championship
Tag Teams: WWE Tag Team Championship


Smackdown
World: World Heavyweight Championship
Midcard: United States Championship
Female: WWE Women's Championship
Tag Teams: World Tag Team Championship


PPV Calendar
January - Royal Rumble (Dual Branded)
February - Smackdown PPV 1
March/April - Wrestlemania (Dual Branded)
May - Raw PPV 1
June - Smackdown PPV 2
July - Money In The Bank (Dual Branded)
August - Summerslam (Dual Branded)
September - Night of Champions (Dual Branded)
October - Smackdown PPV 2
November - Survivor Series (Dual Branded)
December - Raw PPV 3

 

[Sweettre15]

This would not be a good idea. The roster of today would not work under a Brand Split. In order for that to be a success you would need two full sets of title tiers and with the exception of the midcard, no title tier has enough competitors to split the divisions between two shows. When there were two World Championships the big gold belt kept feeling inferior to the WWE Championship like as if it was a glorified midcard title and nothing else. When there were two sets of Tag Team Championships you ended up with teams winning them that were nowhere near ready. Last but not least, do you REALLY want to see Brie Bella and Nikki Bella each holding a female title hostage? No thanks. One of them as Divas Champion is bad enough.

The only way a Brand Split could work is if NXT becomes a big enough name to where it can function as its own brand. Even at that point there would still be a big problem. What would you do with the developmental show that they broadcast on The Network? If enough names can be brought over to the second brand and have Triple H's team booking it, then perhaps it could work. I don't see that happening anytime soon though, not unless the roster grows to the point where Smackdown could legitimately be equal to Raw again. We are more than 5 years removed from when the two were last booked as equal brands. I'm not saying it is an impossibility in the future, but right now it simply wouldn't work.

So, let's look at the positives. Later down the line, yes it could work. Bring back some old belts for use on Smackdown. The Big Gold "World Heavyweight Championship" could return. As could the WWE Women's Championship for the divas, the World Tag Team Championships for the tag team division, and even the European Championship for the midcarders unless you'd want to give Smackdown the US Championship. Make 3 PPV's Raw exclusive, 3 Smackdown exclusive, with Money In the Bank and Night of Champions joining The Big 4 as dual branded shows. I'd be up for that. They have to take a few years to revive Smackdown and generate interest first though. Right now it's just random tag matches, unnecessary rematches, and Raw recaps. If they start now, by 2020 we could have a working Brand Split again that looks something like this:


Raw
World: WWE Championship
Midcard: Intercontinental Championship
Female: Divas Championship
Tag Teams: WWE Tag Team Championship


Smackdown
World: World Heavyweight Championship
Midcard: United States Championship
Female: WWE Women's Championship
Tag Teams: World Tag Team Championship


PPV Calendar
January - Royal Rumble (Dual Branded)
February - Smackdown PPV 1
March/April - Wrestlemania (Dual Branded)
May - Raw PPV 1
June - Smackdown PPV 2
July - Money In The Bank (Dual Branded)
August - Summerslam (Dual Branded)
September - Night of Champions (Dual Branded)
October - Smackdown PPV 2
November - Survivor Series (Dual Branded)
December - Raw PPV 3

Sigh...What can't be argued is that the product would either

a) Need a rehabilitation process BEFORE coming up
With the angle that introduces the Brand split again

Or

B) The rehabilitation process would have to happen during the split by making sure atleast one brand is free from Vince/Dunn involvement with no frivolous rationalizations for them to sabotage the quality of it all.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I think this idea compares to the infamous "Invasion" angle. It seems great on paper and would be in practice if done right. Problem is, WWE didn't do it right.

I don't need to remind anyone what the Invasion angle could've been, but there was so many missed opportunities.

The idea of a Brand Split provides WWE with ample opportunities to screw something up. I don't trust them one second to book this right, so I say don't do it.

 

[King26J]

I always liked the brand split because lets be honest, without the brand split then people like Edge, Mysterio, Eddie, & Cena would of NEVER got the opportunity to shine.

 

[TDFG]

The Brand Split brought us World Champs like Khali, The Miz & Jack Swagger.

The Brand Split has no place in wrestling.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Sigh...What can't be argued is that the product would either

a) Need a rehabilitation process BEFORE coming up
With the angle that introduces the Brand split again

Or

B) The rehabilitation process would have to happen during the split by making sure atleast one brand is free from Vince/Dunn involvement with no frivolous rationalizations for them to sabotage the quality of it all.

There would still be NXT for the talent to get promoted up through, and to help with the appeal of The Network (because for me at least, most of the appeal of The WWE Network is seeing NXT weekly and the monthly PPV's all for a much lower price than traditional PPV prices). Vince's team would book Raw, Triple H's team would book Smackdown. If he no longer has time for NXT, Trips could hand that over to Regal. It's doable in the long-run if they put the time needed into it during the transition. Today it would be virtually impossible to pull off though. I'm against a short-term move back into any type of Brand Extension. It would benefit if they had a long-term plan and kept Vince's team away from the second brand so that it can stand out more.

 

[King26J]

The Brand Split brought us World Champs like Khali, The Miz & Jack Swagger.

The Brand Split has no place in wrestling.

Well while the brand split do bring up stuff like that it DID bring good things to the table. The brand split, especially on Smackdown, gave people liked I mention on my last post gave stars like Cena & Edge to shine & become stars.

 

[King26J]

Just make Paul Heyman the head writer of Smackdown or NXT. Assuming NXT becomes its own brand.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

The Miz is pretty DARN GOOD!!! While I hated him as CHAMP it wasn't because of his ability. The guy is a GREAT HEEL and he was a very good champ in my book. How they treated him after he lost the title is what is/was wrong. They pulled the plug on Jack Swagger too quickly and then jobbed him out. IN ECW Jack Swagger was one of the big-time up and comers. Khali is/was just a total disaster. The character was terrible and he couldn't work. I think for storyline purposes the Brand split was more interesting except for the 2 MITB briefcases. Limiting it to one briefcase would be better this way if there were 2 world champs both would be looking over their shoulder.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

WWE's roster is pretty good right now and it looks to get stronger in the next couple of years. So I'd say wait on the brand split and having Shane McMahon be the key reason for it to happen again. HHH & Steph run Raw, ShaneOMac runs Smackdown. I think this would also freshen up key vets like Cena & Orton. I would move Big Show to NXT to work with young guys.

Raw would have WHC like when HHH first was given it by Eric Bischoff. I would Unify the IC & US Championships and have the Current Champion carry 2 belts as it would make this Champ standout from the rest. I would have the Divas Champion appear on both shows and have to defend the title at ALL PPVs. Same with the Tagteam Champs.

On Smackdown I'd have the WWE CHAMPION, The European Championship would be re-instated as smackdown mid-card champ. Divas & Tagteam Champions appear and could defend their titles on both shows.


I would also have a LEGIT KOTR TOURNAMENT and have the winner get a World Title Shot of their choice. The winner would have to use this between SummerSlam & Survivor Series. There would be 1 MITB winner and he could cash-in the briefcase at anytime for up to 1 year. I would also have a Divas MITB winner w/the same stipulation.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Fuck the brandsplit.

First of all, they do not have the depth to maintain separate brands. Seth Rollins and John Cena are the only legitimate main event talent that are on the roster full time. Saying that a brandsplit would help to create more main eventers is a fallacy, because throughout the entire history of the WWE prior to the brandsplit they were able to elevate new guys into main event spots just fine. A brandsplit doesn't really accelerate the process of creating solid new main eventers. It usually just creates underserving main eventers that have been rushed to the top. There's no chance they would ever be committed to maintaining completely separate brands with their own distinct identities, because of the lack of legitimat star power. In an attempt to pop the ratings they would have guys appearing on the opposite brand just like they did before. And again, it would become convuluted. The draft would further convulute things, always shuffling the roster, making it impossible for each brand to truly feel distinct because they keep trading wrestlers with the other. A big part of a wrestling company's identity is it's top talent, so for the brands to truly feel like separate companies they'd have to maintain the same rosters long term, and that would never happen. Also, if they went the route of each brand having its own world title we would see a bunch of undeserving midcarders getting shit runs as world champion. The concept of the world championship became diluted with the brand split to the point where guys that would never, ever, be given a world title run in any other era were multi-time champions. Most importantly though, the brandsplit presents a barrier to accessibility for the casual audience. I don't know how many times I had to explain to friends of mine why there was a WWE Championship and a World Heavyweight Championship, and why Raw and SmackDown were actually different things. I would explain it to them and they would usually reply with, "Oh. Well that's stupid."

They were right.

 

[Mudlup50]

Your post is good, but it really isn't about the brand split. The brand split alone wouldn't solve many...if any of the problems with WWE today. You've gathered up a bunch of common ideas and melded them with what you want in the brand split...amazing how we can do that on the internet and yet the WWE can't seem to figure these simple ideas out.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

As has been alluded to, I think it might only work in the long run is if there's a separate WWE owned company in operation with those who're running it having complete creative control over what goes on. Like THTRobTaylor said, WCW would be a viable choice as the WCW brand is still quite well known, has a rich history to draw off of and it could be an alternative to WWE.

The only person I can see Vince McMahon giving autonomous control of a second promotion to would be Triple H. Triple H has done wonderful things with NXT and has made the brand into a viable alternative to the more "mainstream" WWE roster. However, and this is probably the one big question left regarding Triple H as being THE man with the final say, he's never had it on the sort of scale that this offshoot, "rival" promotion would operate on. We've all wondered how Triple H would do if he had more than a single hour of TV per week, though I think he'd do extremely well.

Another potential issue is the funding of this promotion in the beginning. In order to sustain it for the first year or so, WWE would have to pump money into it if they want it to come off as a legit, upscale, autonomous promotion with top production values, the ability to tour regularly, etc. While it'd probably pay off in the long run, that's still a major financial commitment that, quite honestly, may not be worth it in the long run.

As far as cutting back on ppvs, that's not going to happen anytime soon. As I've stated numerous times, having access to all the WWE ppv events for $10 a month is the life's blood of the WWE Network. NXT is great, there are some pretty fun original programming on the network and the library has great nostalgic value, but I'm not at all sure that WWE could maintain the necessary number of subscriptions if the ppvs were essentially cut in half. Something else to consider is that less ppvs means money out of the pockets of the talent since there'll be few ppvs bonuses and you know that's gonna piss a whole lot of 'em off.

I suppose WWE could do a brand split with SD as the alternate brand. That'd save a lot of money, without question, and that'd probably be the safest route to go. I think it'd have to operate as if it genuinely was an autonomous, separate entity in which others made the final decisions on everything and I'm just not certain that happens with Vince McMahon around; he's too much of a micromanaging control freak.

Trips will be taking FULL control sooner rather than later, Mr. Snuka's date in court and Mr. McMahon's likely witness status will kind of force the issue...

So Trips takes over the whole company/WWE and he's been grooming a guy to be his #2 for some time... William Regal. I could very easily see he being the guy with "the say" in a new WCW - not neceisarrly 100% from a booking perspective as that's not his expertise but he has had a big impact on NXT and is well enough respected that paired with Arn Anderson and potentially Bubba Dudley there would be a very strong booking team there.

Smackdown is a busted flush as a brand, it lost last time... or is perceived to have done... While WCW lost the Monday Night War, time is enough removed for it to be fresh if brought back.

There's still several ex WCW talents around who could appear, if not be the lynchpins of the roster. Guys who aren't quite right for the WWE roster could flourish there, much like the cruisers did in 1996-98. Some choice "defections" from the WWE roster could also help... someone like Rusev would be a perfect fit in that role Nikita Koloff used to have, someone like Tyler Breeze would have much more chance making it in a new WCW than being part of the current set up.

Trust is the issue - could Vince or Trips allow that level of autonomy? The perfect way to do it is get Shane back in... let him handle the corporate side for them. Give him ground floor shares linked to success and if they feel real brave, let Heyman in too... If the guys running it are incentivised to no only compete but to make money (unlike TNA or WCW by the end of the first run) off the bat, then there is no reason it cannot succeed... It's what's worked for NXT... It's not there for it's own sake, it has to pay its way and be seen to be viable. The brand extension was never about that and that's why it sucked.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I would love the return of the Brand Extension. I think Raw and Smackdown need to be 2 separate 2 hour shows again. I’m not even watching Smackdown anymore because of the Blue brand being the true B-Show. I do like some of the ideas Sweettre15 has, but as always, I’d like to take away a few and add my 2 cents.

Championships
I believe the Champions should be the only SuperStars who have the duty and privilege to cross Brands between Raw and Smackdown. Once the respective Champion loses their Championship, they take the roster spot of whoever defeated them.

Draft
With NXT in full motion, some would even say better than WWE, the Draft would be an extremely interesting period of time for the WWE. For the month immediately after WrestleMania, I’d go with 2 draft picks for each show, for 4 shows each, totaling 8 picks a year. Anyone from Raw, Smackdown and NXT is eligible. Champions are not eligible in the draft.

General Managers
Each show needs a General Manager. I’d go as far as having the Authority pick the GMs and have them reviewed after WrestleMania. I’d have Triple H run Raw and Stephanie McMahon run Smackdown…like it was 2002 again.

Pay Per Views
I think the Pay Per Views should stick to the once a month special, and have all 5 Championship Title Belts defended, with only 2 or 3 non-Championship Title matches. Therefore, there is no need for Night Of Champions any longer. I don’t think there is a need for Raw or Smackdown to have their own exclusive Pay Per Views. That’s what the TV shows are for.

Bragging Rights
Instead of having a Pay Per View dedicated to the Bragging Rights theme, I would just place the Bragging Rights match at the Survivor Series. 5 Championship Title match and 3 traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team matches (one of which will be Raw vs. Smackdown) should be enough to fill the card.

Now, I know most, if not, all of these things won’t happen, so it’s time to turn on my XBOX 360, insert WWE 2K15, and make it happen at the Palace!!