In the 7 year immediately following the brand split there have been a total of 23 different World Champions on Raw and Smackdown. In the 7 years before the brandsplit, there were 14 different champions, 15 if you include Booker T being the WCW champion of WWF programming. Because of the dubious stature of the ECW title, I shall not be including its history here.
So clearly, this would point to the fact that the brand split has given us more main eventers than we would have had in the past. Who of the current or recent roster, in your opinion, has been blessed by the brand split, and who, given the old state of affairs, would have remained in the midcard or lower?
I'm going to start with Jeff Hardy.
Hardy was over in his first run with the company, and was pushed as a singles star at a comparable rate to Edge in the earliest part of this decade, winning the IC title, for example. Upon his return, Jeff started inching his way towards the top of the card and 2008 was his year to acheive that.
However, Jeff does not really have the look of a champion, and his short reign this time would suggest that they were testing the waters with regards to his behaviour and responsibility during his reign. In my opinion, if they only had one top champion in the company, then Jeff would not have been given his chance.
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Following Faarooq's retirement, JBL changed his gimmick and quickly found his way into the main event. While I don't doubt that the potential of this gimmick would have been spotted, I just can't really see that they would have had him as champion for as long as they did, if they did at all. He certainly would not have returned to the main event following his commentry hiatus.
Rey Mysterio
I think if the company only had one champion, then they would have never given it to somone like Rey, best friend dying or not. Rey just doesn't look like what a North American audience expects in a champion, and it is unlikely that the company would have taken the risk.
There's many more to choose from, and not necessarily champions, so who do you think has been blessed by the brand split?
So clearly, this would point to the fact that the brand split has given us more main eventers than we would have had in the past. Who of the current or recent roster, in your opinion, has been blessed by the brand split, and who, given the old state of affairs, would have remained in the midcard or lower?
I'm going to start with Jeff Hardy.
Hardy was over in his first run with the company, and was pushed as a singles star at a comparable rate to Edge in the earliest part of this decade, winning the IC title, for example. Upon his return, Jeff started inching his way towards the top of the card and 2008 was his year to acheive that.
However, Jeff does not really have the look of a champion, and his short reign this time would suggest that they were testing the waters with regards to his behaviour and responsibility during his reign. In my opinion, if they only had one top champion in the company, then Jeff would not have been given his chance.
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Following Faarooq's retirement, JBL changed his gimmick and quickly found his way into the main event. While I don't doubt that the potential of this gimmick would have been spotted, I just can't really see that they would have had him as champion for as long as they did, if they did at all. He certainly would not have returned to the main event following his commentry hiatus.
Rey Mysterio
I think if the company only had one champion, then they would have never given it to somone like Rey, best friend dying or not. Rey just doesn't look like what a North American audience expects in a champion, and it is unlikely that the company would have taken the risk.
There's many more to choose from, and not necessarily champions, so who do you think has been blessed by the brand split?