I was making a reply on another post, and realized how much I loved the original idea of the brand extension. With the state of the WWE right now one of two things has to happen it either needs to be brought back to two seperate brands or it needs to go away all together. I loved the fact that the brand extension initially built new stars, while still keeping established guys on the roster as well. Yes we still had Triple H, Taker, Rock, Austin, Hogan and those guys but we seen the debuts and explosions of Cena, Orton, Lesnar and Batista all thanks to the extension. I feel that the split really allowed guys like Cena and Orton the television exposure and the time to really build the characters they are today, this isn't saying they would have never made it to where they are I think that was inevitable, but with this two brands one PPV thing if none of these guys would have the chances they did back then. That being said here are my main pros and cons of the brand extension.
WWE/World Heavyweight titles: I loved the fact that initially both titles meant something. Each main event storyline made the titles look important, and for the most part when they did joint shows they did a good job of alternating which one got the last match slot. When the two champs crossed paths you really felt like you were watching something important. Now the World title on Smack Down seems like a "B" title. When was the last time the World title was the Main Event and Taker wasn't the champion? We all know Smack Down is the B show, but it doesn't need to be booked that way if we are going to have two World champions.
Young stars and mid- carders: This was both good and bad from the get go. Yes in the initial brand extension we got to see our Cena's, Orton's, even our Haas' and Benjamin's given plenty of PPV time to put on great matches, but at the same time we got our Mordecai's, Rico's and Kenzo Suzuki's booked in horrible matches on the undercards of Smack Down and Raw only PPVs. I think with the level of talent now though this could be prevented. I think a Raw only undercard match featuring maybe Evan Bourne vs. Michael McGillicutty or a SD only match featuring say Daniel Bryan vs. Justin Gabrial and actually giving them 10 or 15 minutes to put on a match would not be that bad. It would give guys time to show off their skill as well as build their characters. I think a lot of the problem now with the undercard is we don't know what guys are all about. We knew Lesnar was a beast who destroyed people, we knew Cena was a white rapper from West Newberry, Mass., we knew Orton was a cocky little prick because they were given time to cut promos and have matches that lasted longer than 3 minutes on their respective shows. Raw right now is packed with talent, more than they know what to do with honestly. Guys like Drew McIntyre, Zack Ryder, Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger could really benefit from seperate shows.
Storylines: This one is pretty simple storylines sale PPVS. It has always been that way and it seems WWE has kind of forgot this. I really loved the PPV every other month, because it gave storylines time to build in between now it seems like one PPV ends and two weeks later another one. We have a top contender match on Raw one week, two promos the next then the match. Imagine if R. Truth really had time to play off his "the man is holding me down" character. Could it have got stale? Yes, but it could have also really catipulted him into a credible top of the roster heel as well. Imagine if The Miz and Riley could have really had an emotional program. Maybe one week Miz just beat the hell out of Riley and have him carried off, then the next A Ry come out and just snap on Miz, then the next have them promo face to face in the ring and have a brawl erupt that would have to have security break them up, then the next week Miz come out with a restraining order on Riley and so on. We could have really learned to like Riley and really hate Miz. I think that is another issue today, there is nobody I really love and nobody I really hate. Seperate PPVs could also build storylines for undercarders and test them out of sorts to see how they handle the verbal part of the business. It made events like the Rumble and MITB more dramatic as well. You would get a guy on a show that you never seen on there, and felt like something big was about to happen whether it did or not.
U.S./IC titles: During the brand extension these belts meant something. Cena and Orton both used them as their catapult and the matches on the cards meant something. Now the title matches are just thrown on PPVs last minute sometime with no promotion at all. Back then these matches were at least one of the top three on the card. Eddie vs. Big Show, Cena vs. Booker/Carlito/Big Show, Orton vs. Foley/Benoit, Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan, RVD vs. Regal just to name a few were all major parts of their shows storylines and usually high on the chain come PPV time. I really have no con on this one.
Exposure of Stars: This one is very hard pro and very hard con. I am not going to knock Cena, I don't mind him, I think he needs to be on top if he is ever going to turn heel. That being said I think the way the brands are now protects him more than anything. I have never seen Cena carry a lengthy program that requires a ton of mic work as well as emotional storytelling. You can argue his programs with Edge, Orton and Triple H, but those three guys are so good at telling a story that you could probably put anybody in that spot with them and they would sale. I mean Triple H had a lengthy program with Eugene and sold it as the co-main event on a Summer Slam card. A lengthy match on a PPV can also expose a lot of faults. Look at Rene Dupree WWE really tried to push him on more than one occasion but when he really had to show up he just kind of came up short. That being said, I think if you put Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes and some other guys out there and told them to go for 30 minutes they would expose just how good they really are. I have seen Daniel Bryan and Del Rio wrestle hour long matches in ROH and Mexico and I have seen guys like Cody Rhodes and others show sparks of excellence they have just never been given a large amount of time. I think the seperate PPV would really give them time to show the casual fan just how good they really are.
The Draft: The Draft used to be an event Cena moving to Raw, Triple H moving to Smack Down these were huge moves. The entire look of those shows changed when certain stars were drafted, now it doesn't matter Orton leaves Raw for Smack Down and I barely realized it, being that he is on Raw every week anyway. Five years ago Orton going to Smack Down would have been huge, Sheamus going to Smack Down would have been serious business and Del Rio coming to Raw would have been big. There is honestly no use for a draft anymore. If Kofi Kingston went to Smack Down next week and beat Orton for the belt I'm sure we would forget that Kofi actually is on the Raw roster and it would not feel like such a big deal. I used to love roster moves because without really a number two anymore that was kind of my way of seeing dream match scenarios play out. The only big move that could be made in the draft now would be if Cena would go to Smack Down and stay or Taker would go to Raw and I'm sure Cena would still be on Raw every week anyway so would it really matter?
WWE/World Heavyweight titles: I loved the fact that initially both titles meant something. Each main event storyline made the titles look important, and for the most part when they did joint shows they did a good job of alternating which one got the last match slot. When the two champs crossed paths you really felt like you were watching something important. Now the World title on Smack Down seems like a "B" title. When was the last time the World title was the Main Event and Taker wasn't the champion? We all know Smack Down is the B show, but it doesn't need to be booked that way if we are going to have two World champions.
Young stars and mid- carders: This was both good and bad from the get go. Yes in the initial brand extension we got to see our Cena's, Orton's, even our Haas' and Benjamin's given plenty of PPV time to put on great matches, but at the same time we got our Mordecai's, Rico's and Kenzo Suzuki's booked in horrible matches on the undercards of Smack Down and Raw only PPVs. I think with the level of talent now though this could be prevented. I think a Raw only undercard match featuring maybe Evan Bourne vs. Michael McGillicutty or a SD only match featuring say Daniel Bryan vs. Justin Gabrial and actually giving them 10 or 15 minutes to put on a match would not be that bad. It would give guys time to show off their skill as well as build their characters. I think a lot of the problem now with the undercard is we don't know what guys are all about. We knew Lesnar was a beast who destroyed people, we knew Cena was a white rapper from West Newberry, Mass., we knew Orton was a cocky little prick because they were given time to cut promos and have matches that lasted longer than 3 minutes on their respective shows. Raw right now is packed with talent, more than they know what to do with honestly. Guys like Drew McIntyre, Zack Ryder, Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger could really benefit from seperate shows.
Storylines: This one is pretty simple storylines sale PPVS. It has always been that way and it seems WWE has kind of forgot this. I really loved the PPV every other month, because it gave storylines time to build in between now it seems like one PPV ends and two weeks later another one. We have a top contender match on Raw one week, two promos the next then the match. Imagine if R. Truth really had time to play off his "the man is holding me down" character. Could it have got stale? Yes, but it could have also really catipulted him into a credible top of the roster heel as well. Imagine if The Miz and Riley could have really had an emotional program. Maybe one week Miz just beat the hell out of Riley and have him carried off, then the next A Ry come out and just snap on Miz, then the next have them promo face to face in the ring and have a brawl erupt that would have to have security break them up, then the next week Miz come out with a restraining order on Riley and so on. We could have really learned to like Riley and really hate Miz. I think that is another issue today, there is nobody I really love and nobody I really hate. Seperate PPVs could also build storylines for undercarders and test them out of sorts to see how they handle the verbal part of the business. It made events like the Rumble and MITB more dramatic as well. You would get a guy on a show that you never seen on there, and felt like something big was about to happen whether it did or not.
U.S./IC titles: During the brand extension these belts meant something. Cena and Orton both used them as their catapult and the matches on the cards meant something. Now the title matches are just thrown on PPVs last minute sometime with no promotion at all. Back then these matches were at least one of the top three on the card. Eddie vs. Big Show, Cena vs. Booker/Carlito/Big Show, Orton vs. Foley/Benoit, Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan, RVD vs. Regal just to name a few were all major parts of their shows storylines and usually high on the chain come PPV time. I really have no con on this one.
Exposure of Stars: This one is very hard pro and very hard con. I am not going to knock Cena, I don't mind him, I think he needs to be on top if he is ever going to turn heel. That being said I think the way the brands are now protects him more than anything. I have never seen Cena carry a lengthy program that requires a ton of mic work as well as emotional storytelling. You can argue his programs with Edge, Orton and Triple H, but those three guys are so good at telling a story that you could probably put anybody in that spot with them and they would sale. I mean Triple H had a lengthy program with Eugene and sold it as the co-main event on a Summer Slam card. A lengthy match on a PPV can also expose a lot of faults. Look at Rene Dupree WWE really tried to push him on more than one occasion but when he really had to show up he just kind of came up short. That being said, I think if you put Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes and some other guys out there and told them to go for 30 minutes they would expose just how good they really are. I have seen Daniel Bryan and Del Rio wrestle hour long matches in ROH and Mexico and I have seen guys like Cody Rhodes and others show sparks of excellence they have just never been given a large amount of time. I think the seperate PPV would really give them time to show the casual fan just how good they really are.
The Draft: The Draft used to be an event Cena moving to Raw, Triple H moving to Smack Down these were huge moves. The entire look of those shows changed when certain stars were drafted, now it doesn't matter Orton leaves Raw for Smack Down and I barely realized it, being that he is on Raw every week anyway. Five years ago Orton going to Smack Down would have been huge, Sheamus going to Smack Down would have been serious business and Del Rio coming to Raw would have been big. There is honestly no use for a draft anymore. If Kofi Kingston went to Smack Down next week and beat Orton for the belt I'm sure we would forget that Kofi actually is on the Raw roster and it would not feel like such a big deal. I used to love roster moves because without really a number two anymore that was kind of my way of seeing dream match scenarios play out. The only big move that could be made in the draft now would be if Cena would go to Smack Down and stay or Taker would go to Raw and I'm sure Cena would still be on Raw every week anyway so would it really matter?
