Is it time to end the brandsplit?

[FromTheSouth]

Note: I looked around for this thread and didn't see it, so if it exists, please just merge it and don't sanction me. Any reoccurance of the thread is accidental.

I have thought for a while that the "E" is getting stale, and a draft wouldn't help.

Let's take a look:

1. Storylines have to be rushed with only 2 hours of time for each show. During the height of popularity, Stone Cold and the Rock could feud on multiple shows and draw so many more people into their feuds. People are underutilized. Burchill has nothing to do, but with 5 hours a week for everyone, they could find five minutes to get his sister's fine ass on my TV.

2. With shows being split, we get stuck with Finlay on Elimination Chamber matches. That match would have been so much better if it was HHH, HBK, Jeff Hardy, Taker, Batista, and Y2J. The bran split will only serve to make new feuds stale after a few months. Taker and Batista feuded for a year. Let it go four months, then move on the Edge and Taker, and Batista would have someone to feud with. Umaga last month, HBK this month, and then what? MVP has Matt Hardy already.

3. The tag division would be outstanding with everyone together. Cantino vs. Moor/Wang, Miz/Nitro vs. Londrick (I hate them, but matches with shaman and the magnet could be entertaining) Jessie and Festus vs Cade and Murdoch might not even suck.

4. Title changes would be signifigant. If Jeff Hardy goes to SD! and beats Edge, cool, I'd be happy. With one belt, a Jeff hardy win would make me shit myself. I know we complain about no one being elevated, but that's because the title scene is stale with the same matches over and over. With a top tier of Taker, Orton, Cena, HHH, Batista, Edge, JBL, and Y2J the possibilities are great. Throw Hardy, MVP, and Kennedy in there and you have quite a top and uppermid card. Plus the IC and US belts at this point are props. Ending the brand shift would make that something. When Warrior beat Rick Rude for the IC title at Summer Slam 89, I nearly shit myself, and it propelled him almost immediately to the top.

5. I understand that some guys would get lost in the shuffle. This is why I propose ECW sticking around, as the top developmental. Keep the "E" guys off of ECW, and keep ECW guys off of "E" programming, unless you plan to keep them there. Seeing the Bros. of Destruction was cool, one time, but I have no idea who Kane, Morrison, Miz, etc. work for now as they are on two shows. The top developmental could be televised for one hour a week. Imagine seeing the Batista/Lesnar matches from OVW on TV. That would get you excited for new guys. It's like watching college basketball and wondering what that guys could do for your team.

6. Taking the best writers and putting them together gets rid of who's the midget's daddy and is he going to fuck his sister storylines. Maybe getting the best bookers and writers together gets us Invasion, Corporation, Ministry, Austin 3:16, and the Rock says again.

7. Ratings will rise on both shows because you have to watch to follow your favorites. If you love Taker and hate Cena, then you might not watch Raw as much. If they were in the same "league" you would be forced to watch. Ratngs up, exposure up, both good.

8. Everyone would have to step up to get TV time. This would lead to better wrestling, better acting, and less stupid shit like Shelton Benjamin saying, "I'm the man, so there ain't no...." and that being his only promo. Shelton, get better on the mic, and you get a push, keep sucking and you get sent down to ECW. Sounds like he would try harder.


Anyway, that was all just my idea. I would love to have it critiqued.

 

[Audioslave]

Ending the brand split takes television opportunities away from lower tier guys trying to get over and for that reason alone it should not end.

They can easily up the ratings if they adapted a somewhat more action packed feel to their shows and gave the undercard guys more meaning.

On Smackdown, you've got Undertaker, Batista, MVP, Edge and Matt Hardy.. and that's all the feature stars I can name on that show. Those are the guys that get emphasis. If they started packing the shows a bit more, then they could potentially bring up ratings. Same goes for Raw. Except they seem to be playing a bit with the tag team division, so that's good.

I don't think the WWE understands the value that lower card titles have and how midcard storyline stuff can help the overall product draw. That's what needs to be remedied. Ending the brand split would take opportunities away from guys who normally wouldn't be called up for years.

 

[SpiralHands]

I think WWE has put themselves into a bit of a problem, they have made too many stars, if they were to carrying on Raw on Smackdown and so on, then theres no room for Undertaker, Batista, HHH etc. too many stars! Simple as. I cannot see the brand split ending anytime, makes too much money for WWE and I dont think they need to, if they did forget about the mid cards etc no room for them!

 

[L4L]

I don't think ending them is a good idea I would like to see WWE make the brands more even though, I mean Raw and Smackdown are evenly split with talent but ECW has next to no one on there roster. I would like to see them get a 2 hour timeslot and distingusih themselves from the other brands with there own style. Raw and Smackdown are the same just a different brand name. I would like to see the WWE use the same approach as NJPW does with there different brands each with its own seperate style of Wrestling. I know its not going to happen but I can dream can't I.

NJPW- Uses the strong style as they call it. basically a modified Fighting stlye mixed with Pro wrestling and relativley stiff action.

Lock Up- Choshu's brands this is a more tradition pro Wrestling stlye very stiff hardhitting traditional wrestling action.

Wrestleland- This is a style based more on Gimmicks and storylines with wrestlers cutting promos basically WWE's style of Wrestling.

This is what I would like to see WWE do maybe not the exact same thing but make the brands distinguishable from each other.

 

[Canadian Knight]

No, because they would have to merge the belts again. You might lose some wrestlers to more useless roles in the organization. What they should do is move people over to the other brand for a little while to make new story lines. Why not have HHH go to Smackdown for a month or two while Undertaker goes to Raw. Ending the split may sound good but what would you do with Smackdown and ECW? Would you improve them or hurt the other brands?

 

[mark4life]

I totally agree with this thread. I mean the brand entension to me was an experiment because the WWE had no competition at the time so Vinnie Mac decided mind as well compete within his own company between the shows. TNA was still a baby at the time so they really couldn't touch the WWE. Granted the extension showcased the stars on a bigger platform today than they were before the extension ( ex. Edge, Cena, Orton, JBL, Batista, Jericho, Hardy's just to name a few) Everytime I read one of these type of threads so many ppl are so pro brand extension & that's fine ya know that's their opinion. I just think when watching the WWE before the extension you had guys busting their ass to get their spots(Triple H, Rock, Austin, Foley, Big Show, Kane, Angle just to name a few) and ya know what the people weren't complaining then about these guys getting held back because there were so much talent in one company. I'm sorry but if you are a wrestler you then or even now I believe that in your own hearts that you try to get yourself over and perform on the level that will get you notice(that covers all basis-work ethic, promos, behavior) . The stars of today are fortunate enough to be where they are now because yes they are profiled even more exclusively than they were 5-10 yrs ago, but just like that one guy said that Finlay in Elimination Chamber match is kinda fuckin wrong here. Not take any of his talent but it seems like that he's just a filler and really doesn't have a damn chance in the match. Hell they even had Khali & Big Daddy V in the bout. Come on. Let me wrap this up. Latley the brand extension has pretty much run its course. Storylines are very predictable & the feuds are getting stale. To me the talent is kinda going through the motions & not really pushing themselves to the level of where they should be. Especially for me & I'm sure others to enjoy the same product week after week, month after month, year after year. So please Vince, end it already. Take me back to great unpredictably days of wrestling where anything can happen in the WWF(E) So before anybody roast my reply, yea this is my opinion. Get over yourself.

 

["Rush" GSP]

Note: I looked around for this thread and didn't see it, so if it exists, please just merge it and don't sanction me. Any reoccurance of the thread is accidental.

I have thought for a while that the "E" is getting stale, and a draft wouldn't help.

Let's take a look:

1. Storylines have to be rushed with only 2 hours of time for each show. During the height of popularity, Stone Cold and the Rock could feud on multiple shows and draw so many more people into their feuds. People are underutilized. Burchill has nothing to do, but with 5 hours a week for everyone, they could find five minutes to get his sister's fine ass on my TV.

2. With shows being split, we get stuck with Finlay on Elimination Chamber matches. That match would have been so much better if it was HHH, HBK, Jeff Hardy, Taker, Batista, and Y2J. The bran split will only serve to make new feuds stale after a few months. Taker and Batista feuded for a year. Let it go four months, then move on the Edge and Taker, and Batista would have someone to feud with. Umaga last month, HBK this month, and then what? MVP has Matt Hardy already.

3. The tag division would be outstanding with everyone together. Cantino vs. Moor/Wang, Miz/Nitro vs. Londrick (I hate them, but matches with shaman and the magnet could be entertaining) Jessie and Festus vs Cade and Murdoch might not even suck.

4. Title changes would be signifigant. If Jeff Hardy goes to SD! and beats Edge, cool, I'd be happy. With one belt, a Jeff hardy win would make me shit myself. I know we complain about no one being elevated, but that's because the title scene is stale with the same matches over and over. With a top tier of Taker, Orton, Cena, HHH, Batista, Edge, JBL, and Y2J the possibilities are great. Throw Hardy, MVP, and Kennedy in there and you have quite a top and uppermid card. Plus the IC and US belts at this point are props. Ending the brand shift would make that something. When Warrior beat Rick Rude for the IC title at Summer Slam 89, I nearly shit myself, and it propelled him almost immediately to the top.

5. I understand that some guys would get lost in the shuffle. This is why I propose ECW sticking around, as the top developmental. Keep the "E" guys off of ECW, and keep ECW guys off of "E" programming, unless you plan to keep them there. Seeing the Bros. of Destruction was cool, one time, but I have no idea who Kane, Morrison, Miz, etc. work for now as they are on two shows. The top developmental could be televised for one hour a week. Imagine seeing the Batista/Lesnar matches from OVW on TV. That would get you excited for new guys. It's like watching college basketball and wondering what that guys could do for your team.

6. Taking the best writers and putting them together gets rid of who's the midget's daddy and is he going to fuck his sister storylines. Maybe getting the best bookers and writers together gets us Invasion, Corporation, Ministry, Austin 3:16, and the Rock says again.

7. Ratings will rise on both shows because you have to watch to follow your favorites. If you love Taker and hate Cena, then you might not watch Raw as much. If they were in the same "league" you would be forced to watch. Ratngs up, exposure up, both good.

8. Everyone would have to step up to get TV time. This would lead to better wrestling, better acting, and less stupid shit like Shelton Benjamin saying, "I'm the man, so there ain't no...." and that being his only promo. Shelton, get better on the mic, and you get a push, keep sucking and you get sent down to ECW. Sounds like he would try harder.


Anyway, that was all just my idea. I would love to have it critiqued.

i love your thought process on this i thought they should end the brand extension about a year ago. Just look at the landscape now HBK vs Batista..inter brand. Umaga vs Batista..inter brand. Punk vs Jericho...interbrand.Jericho vs MVP..interbrand.

You get rid of the brfands shows become stacked like the old days. I dont think people complain about ppv's cause theres more order to it instead of two main events a month there is one. Longer feuds can occur with guys furthering there feuds on raw and smackdown. i think a feud only on raw becomes somewhat stale to quick cause ppl forget about it when its only on once a week for a few minutes. if its on two shows it gives a main feud a half hour a week to grow on the fans and develop over time and not being rushed.

Think of the possible LENGHTY feuds i'm talking months here... HHH vs Taker, Cena vs Taker, Orton vs Taker, Edge vs HHH, HBK vs Taker, HBK vs Edge, Cena vs Batista, Orton vs Batista, Edge vs Jericho and thats just the main event players

 

[Bobby B]

I think the brand extention still works , its just mismanaged so badly. I'd be happy to have the lower card float between Raw and Smackdown!. I still believe that there are too many big guys to have them all put together. I'd still like to keep them on separate brands. But the rest I'd want to be able to compete on both shows.

As for ECW , I'd still keep it. As a high profile feeder brand. Give the likes of CM Punk exposure that the need to 'test the water' if you like.

 

[mynettv]

Wwe Will Never End The Brandsplit Because It Makes Them Too Much Money.

It Allows Wwe To Run Double Tour Groups In Different Places At The Same Time .

With This European Tour, Wwe Is Running 20 Shows Instead Of 10 Which Means More Money For The Wrestlers Who Work The Tours.

THE COMPANY PROMOTES ITSELF UNDER 3 BRANDS .

HOWEVER, WRESTLERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO APPEAR ON OTHER SHOWS FOR ANY REASON WWE SEES FIT LIKE TO GIVE A SHOW A RATINGS BOOST OR FOR STORYLINE PURPOSES.

 

[NYSandman]

I don't think it will happen anytime soon. WWE, as mentioned earlier in this thread, simply has too many guys. If there were only one brand, there would only be room for a few top guys. HHH and Cena would be all over all three brands, and no one else would get a shot at the top.

I think instead of remerging, WWE should try to make things more interesting.

This was tried before, but of course was ruined. We need a really hardcore battle of the brands. It could start off with Vince making comments about Smackdown and ECW, saying shit like Raw is and always will be the top brand, and the guys on those brands are worthless. I know, it could be considered bad for ratings, but hear me out.

ECW/Smackdown guys could get pissed at this, and try to prove themselves by invading Raw and leaving top guys laying. I mean it has to be pushed hard, almost like the NWO. Fans would pick sides, and T-shirts could be made with Smackdown, ECW and Raw specific logos and the such, and you could have Raw stables and Smackdown stables. I mean, it HAS to be done right, with true hatred seemingly emerging between the superstars.

I know the idea sounds old, but IMHO it has never been done correctly! Vince could say how his company is in turmoil, with guys fighting backstage and jumping each other in the parking lot. It has to appear that both sides have true venom for each other.

Remerging the brands is too complicated right now, and I don't think the company will head in that direction. They need to stop stripping ECW and Smackdown of talent. They need to stop having 2 matches on ECW, and push it harder.

I'm not sure what the final solution is, but as of right now the shows could be better. Perhaps a draft lottery will help, but who knows?

 

[Kyphael]

First off, I would revamp ECW. Bring Paul Heyman back and let him book outside the box. Separate ECW as much from SmackDown as possible and re-establish its spirit. That would lure free agents such as RVD, Raven, Credible and others to come back which would mean higher ratings. Of course, for this to happen Vince has to put his eho aside which is very unlikely...

RAW? Turn Cena heel. Have him turn on the fans and just shoot on everyone out of frustration that no matter what he does, the people still jeer him. He targets The Canadian Bulldog and Cody Rhodes, claiming the crowd only support guys like that because of their last name, opposed to guys like himself that got to the top because he can, not because he's second generation wrestler. These feuds would help Cody and Smith get over to the midcard, where Jericho whould be waiting to feud with and bring prestige back to the IC title.

The title picture needs a shake-up and JBL is due for another title shot. He pins HHH, who Orton then targets, blaming him for the loss. But this won't just be the continuation of their feud; things get personal. Like the snake he is, Orton targets HHH's family (everyone knows he's married to Stephanie now.) It culminates at Summerslam after a series of brutal matches.

JBL goes on to defend the gold against other main event guys and up and coming midcard talent such as Kennedy, King Colon (Carlito = KOTR winner) and Punk (after draft, who finally dethrones him.)

Over on SmackDown, Undertaker defends his title against every heel that comes at him, from Edge, Big Show, John Morrison and MVP. Matt Hardy would have the US title by now and defend against the likes of Shelton Benjamin, The Miz and others before Elijah Burke gets a push with the title.

The tag team divisions are united into one; have both sets of champions face off to determine the undisputed WWE tag team title holders. The titles would be more prestigious and have a better chance at being featured on PPV's.

 

[Audioslave]

Turning Cena heel is probably the dumbest suggestion people have for the WWE. He sells the most merchandise in the company and he gets the best reactions out of anyone there, whether it's face or heel. He may get largely BOOED up in the northeast, but he still has a significant fanbase that cheers him and likes the guy. He's perfect where he is right now. Making him go off on everyone would alienate those that DO cheer him.

Again, ending the brand split would cause a lot more problems than it would solve. Guys like Burke, Benjamin, Yang, Morrison, Miz, Kingston, and various tag teams wouldn't get a shot on the main roster. The way things are now it allows for those type of guys, and young dudes in developmental, to get a shot on the main roster.

ALL they need to do is start diversifying the brands. Get an idea of what you want each one to be and go for it. I'd keep Raw as it is, but give the lower card a bit more time to get over. I'd make ECW the Attitude-esque Crash TV type of program, but intelligently booked. Not sure what they could do with Smackdown, but it'd be great if they booked it like they did during the Smackdown Six era, where Brock was the top guy on the brand.

 

[Kyphael]

Keeping the man face when you can use him to breed new babyfaces can also be determined a dumb move. He only gets cheered when he's facing someone the fans hate even more than him. Put him in there with someone who is a superior wrestler and they boo him out of the building when he starts throwing fake haymakers and that clusterfuck of an elevated fireman's carry he so creativelly calls "FU."

And gee, wasn't heel Cena over on SmackDown the one getting huge pops and at one point was even called the next Rock? Face it, watered down baby Cena blows chunks. Heel Cena got cheered and now that he's a household name, people wouldn't suddenly stop buying his merchandise just because his character became edgy again. The fans who boo him now would support him again. The moment they made him Hogan 80's with a buzz cut, the fans with half a brain about the business shit all over it. Just watch the main event of Wrestlemania 22; I was there.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I don't think NYSandman read anything past the title of the thread. Let me explain this again.

Raw and SD! would be one brand. HHH, Undertaker, HBK, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Batista, Edge, Cena, Orton, Kane, MVP, Y2J. If they feuded amongst themselves, and were given 15 minutes on each show (which would way more than it would actually take being that feuds would be combined to where two of them could develop in one 20 minute span.) That would be 165 of 240 minutes. There are 48 minutes of commercials. That leaves 37 minutes garbage like Palumbo. ECW gets an entire hour as a developmental. There are 0 WWE stars on ECW. You go from one to the other like AAA and the bigs. FCW becomes AA.

Anyway, in 37 minutes of TV you can get two diva segments, a tag title match not featuring any of the big 12, and a singles match or two. After you take into account that not everyone of the big 12 is getting a promo, some weeks they might just get a run-in, some weeks they might be in a tag match that encompasses multiple feuds, that would leave something like 57-78 minutes (just crunching numbers on the fly) depending on circumstances. That is plenty of time for Morrison, Miz, and Punk, Burchill, Shelton, and Burke to be developed, and to look at Torrie's boobs, Kelly's smile, and Michelle's, well, everything. Santino can be funny, and Carlito can be technically sound, Matt Hardy can continue to struggle to find an identity without his brother. Big Show can be Big and Finlay can fight. All these people don't need to be on TV every week. LAX and the machine guns aren't, that's why people aren't tired of them. Curryman and Sharkboy are super-over, and they weren't on TNA last night. WWE can take a page from their book. Plus, you can get rid of deadweight like V and Khali. Put em on ECW or on Heat. Take 3 minutes out, give a heat recap and make it seem like there is a struggle to get on to Raw. That would benefit Heat, maybe get it back on TV. I wouldn't be upset if I didn't get to see Jamie Noble every week.

Is there anything outside of the big 12 that you think can't fit into an hour of TV? Don't say Londrick. You only like them to feel like a workrate mark. You know you can't suspend disbelief for them, and you think you could kick both their asses at the same time.


I think the problem with WWE, the reason people bag on it, is that the brandsplit forces us to see Chuck Palumbo, Mark Henry, and Supercrazy because the WWE can't fill out a show with solid talent up and down for 8 matches and 12 promos over the course of two hours.

originally posted by someone

Again, ending the brand split would cause a lot more problems than it would solve. Guys like Burke, Benjamin, Yang, Morrison, Miz, Kingston, and various tag teams wouldn't get a shot on the main roster. The way things are now it allows for those type of guys, and young dudes in developmental, to get a shot on the main roster.

Really? They would have their own show (ECW, or be given signifigant TV time with the real roster, not amongst themselves to open SD!)

Plus, if the brand split gives these guys such a showcase, then what the fuck are Hacksaw and Super Crazy, and Val Venis doing on my TV?

 

[Total Impact]

I would like to see the Brand split end as it has made for some great wrestling on brand and you get something different to watch from the three different brands. You got your storyline driven Raw, Younger Talent of ECW and the rasslin of Smackdown so it makes for good wrestling in my opinion. I think the WWE is doing a great job with what they are doing and putting the brands together wouldn’t be great right now or in the future as the WWE took time to build this different brands and putting them together would cause a clusterfuck of storyline and feuds. I like where the WWE product is right now and hopes it never changes as bring the brands back together wouldn’t be good, just see what it has done with the ECW-Smackdown talent exchange, no change in the ratings for either brand and nothing major that says we need just one WWE brand.

 

[Evan Snow-Wolf]

Of course they need to end the brand split.

In fact, it should have ended 5 years ago, in my opinion. It was a cute idea, it had its merits, and now instead of opening up a world of possibilities it just limits everything. And when we want a cross brand feud, it just happens without any real reason. I remember back when crossing a brand got them suspended in kayfabe. So if we are getting rid of that, might as well get rid of the entire brand concept.

On a side note, ECW hasn't been ECW since the very first One Night Stand pay per view. LET IT DIE IN PEACE!

 

[Los666]

Ending the brand split would have pros and cons so lets go through them.....

Pros:
- The return of the Undisputed Championship which was a far better belt then the current WWE Title.
- Better Tag Team division, more tag teams challanging for only one set of titles.
- Keep I.C. and US Titles and allow them to have equal value. They would have to keep them because all the midcarders from Raw, Smackdown and ECW couldn't be expected to challenge for just one belt!
- Better rivelrys
- Better womens division, well kinda.
- ECW title could be fought for only under extreme rules and therefore would be the WWE's new version of the Hardcore title.

Cons:
- Too many main eventers, some people would have to drop to the midcard.
- Too many midcarders, again, some of them woud have to wrestle on Heat, Velocity or ECW.
- Some wrestlers careers have been made because of the brand split (Cena, Batista, Orton, etc.). Get rid of it and how many wrestlers will be able to goto the top with so many already up there.

Besides, technically the brand split is already over. Too many wrestlers can jump from Raw to Smackdown and back again. Its nothing like when it first started, when wrestlers could only wrestle on their own brand. They each had there own brand exclusive pay-per-views, but now they all share the same ones. WWE is already trying to put the company back together, they're just doing it slowly, thinking no-one will notice.

 

[justinsayne]

You know I've thought about this, and I really don't see much point in ending the brand split, if you did, then you'd just see the same guys on two-three different shows a week, and others would get less time if any TV time, I say just leave it as they have it now, sure they could use a few minor tweaks here and there, but for the moist part your getting to see more guys preform each week, I mean does any one really want to see the same guys ME both Raw and SD!?

 

[HellBoundPower]

The Brand-Split has run it's course. All the titles on the roster are devalued because there are just too many titles. Feuds are limited to people on the rosters, and unless there are drafts yearly or even twice a year, all the feuds go stale pretty quickly. Honestly it's just a waste. If all the brands were back together again, ratings would go up. I think the casual viewer gets confused, having to pay attention to who is on which show, and it creates more trouble than it's worth. Have everyone available for every show, to feud with anyone on the roster, and you get a better product.

Everyone likes to bring up the fact that a lot of talent wouldn't be used. The easiest way to solve this problem is cut 1/3 of the roster. The roster is too big as it is, and there are a lot of people that are useless. WWE should just keep the best of the best, and cut all the rest. So what if they go to TNA. You still have your Main Event players, which are the people most casual fans want to see in the first place.

Have all the WWE Titles (WWE, Intercontinental, WWE Tag Team [use the World Tag Titles, but change the name to WWE], and WWE Women's) on both brands, and drop the WCW Titles (World Heavyweight, United States, World Tag Team [WWE right now]), and keep the ECW just on ECW. Now the WWE Titles have all raised in value and prestige just on the fact that they're the only Titles. People would be interested in them again, and there would be multiple challengers (so you don't see Undertaker vs. Batista for a year).

I personally think that this would bring more interest back to the WWE, seeing as how a lot of people tuned out when the Brand-Split happened. The best of the best would earn there spots on the Roster, just like it used to be before Vince purchased WCW. People that stopped watching might be convinced to watch again, knowing that they're favorite wrestler is on both shows, instead of just one. I think WWE would be in better shape if they ended the split.

 

[Player_1]

I think the brands being split is still a good idea. I just think it needs to be managed better. I agree with one of the posts earlier, bring back Paul Heyman and let him run ECW the was it should be run. The company will still fall under Vince McMahon anyways. As far as "too many talents" goes, it is necessary to build future stars for the company. Some of these wrestlers are just hit or miss. Just remember that at one point all the top stars of today were considered useless and boring.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

The way its set up now, you have one brand for your biggest stars and not so much of a focus on midcarders and tag teams (Raw), one brand for a focus on midcarders and tag teams with less of a focus on the biggest stars (Smackdown), and one "grab-bag" training ground show for people that want to move up, whether it be just that you're being introduced and you want to become known or you're a midcarder who wants to be moved up to the main event (ECW).

That being said, if you eliminate the brand concept in its entirety, you open up more possibilities for Creative. People that feel there aren't enough feuds for main titles and that we see too many repetitive matches, this would help it out - but only if the WWE is willing to look outside their core 4 (HHH, Cena, Taker, and Batista).

The downside AND upside to this = demotions. Not everyone who is near the main event would even be close to it if you still had a good ten heavy-hitters like the four above along with people like Orton, Edge, HBK, and Jericho. Now, that's a positive because it gives a legitimacy to the Intercontinental title, as you'd have guys like MVP, Kennedy, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, John Morrison, and so forth, all competing for it. The downside? You don't have guys like MVP, Kennedy, Morrison, Hardy, etc, fighting for the top title, as by the time you get done with all the feuds of the "top ten guys" then its time to rotate the ten again with other people. Another positive is that the lower guys on the food chain that aren't big enough for the IC title would move down to become extremely solid tag teams. This includes people like The Miz, Elijah Burke, Carlito, and so forth. I wouldn't mind seeing Matt Hardy & Shannon Moore as a solid tag team, would you? However, the down side to that along with everything else is that you've got a laundry list of guys that are fantastic at this low level, but are going to waste as they can't be featured all the time.

So overall, the best thing to do, in my opinion, is to only have two brands (Raw and Smackdown). That way, you split up the "power 10 or so", boost up some of the nigh-main event guys (like MVP, Morrison, and Jeff Hardy) while still maintaining a very solid midcard and a much, much improved tag team division. That gives you more than enough room and justification for two top titles, two midcard titles, two tag team titles, a women's division, and maybe one more "fun belt" like a Hardcore/TV championship just for people with nothing else to do. The people that you would "cut" if the rosters were too large, just put them as some of the jobber tag teams that don't show up that often (ala people like Super Crazy and Funaki that don't matter at all).


Firefox is lagging too much for me to elaborate any more than that, but I don't think I really have to anyway, do I? I think I pretty much made my points clear after all that lol.

 

[FromTheSouth]

originally poster by Los666

Cons:
- Too many main eventers, some people would have to drop to the midcard.

Which would lend legitimacy to the IC/US belt. Ultimate Warrior fought Rick Rude for the IC belt. That feud was great. When he had it, you felt like he was the number 2 guy in the company. It meant more. WCW used to do rankings weekly on the Saturday morning show. The US champ was always #1 contender. If you do it that way, #1 contender matches become a bigger deal, because someone is jumping in the rankings, as opposed to being thrown into a match.

- Too many midcarders, again, some of them woud have to wrestle on Heat, Velocity or ECW.

So you improve the quality of those shows, and maybe get them back on TV? Increased revenue to WWE? Not a bad thing for stockholders. (I bought 100 shares a few years ago.) Plus, when you make it seem like the guys on Heat are on constant audition status for Raw, you make those matches more meaningful, and probably better.

- Some wrestlers careers have been made because of the brand split (Cena, Batista, Orton, etc.). Get rid of it and how many wrestlers will be able to goto the top with so many already up there.

Undertaker, HHH, HBK, and Kane are all getting up in years. Plus, having to use all those guys every PPV implies non-title feuds. If HHH is tied up with Taker for six months, someone can move up to challenge for a title and then go back down, because the mid card is important. HHH and Rock had a great feud over the IC title while Austin and Michales were worried about the big belt. Bret Hart had an awesome IC reign.


Adding legitimacy to belts and importance to matches is never a bad thing. Improving the midcard is always beneficial, and making the action on all the shows better is of the utmost importance to the future of the company.

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

For the sake of creativity and interest, the brand split needs to be ended. However, WWE is a business, and a public business at that. Because of that the brand split with never end unless they are explicitly losing money.

Also, for younger fans who didn't experience the wrestling boom of the late 90's they have no idea what they are missing. They don't know what it's like when you have a stacked roster with good matches and promos from top to bottom so they don't really have a need to see a combined roster. What a shame.

The bottom line is, as long as WWE is making money now there will be no combined rosters. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw even more brands/shows pop up in the future.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I don't think there will be new brands. CW wouldn't keep SD!. That's enough to tell me, at least, that the WWE won't be expanding.

I do agree with you that younger viewers don't know about a stacked show. I think those are the people who are calling for more London and Kendrick. I would rather see Shelton and Burke. They do the same stuff as Londrick, but they are believable. I think the brandsplit leads to unbelievable characters getting over. Daddy V is one for sure. Also, Mark Henry getting Wrestlemania matches against Undertaker? That's what the brandsplit does. Without a brandsplit, they could've done that gimmick with HHH. Or like I said, one Elimination Chambler match with Taker, Batista, HHH, Jeff Hardy, HBK, and MVP, or Y2J, or JBL would've been better. This is exactly what the WWE needs. They wouldn't have had to cut Y2J and JBL short to fill in the EC. Instead, their feud lingers one more month, the EC has six contenders in it, and you have a title match. Then you put Miz and Morrison against Rhodes and Holly, add a women's title match, put the IC belt on Shelton and have him beat Punk. You add one or two more matches involving someone like Finlay or Edge and No Way Out is a great PPV. You can always count on seven good matches involving HHH, Taker, Batista, Edge, Orton, Cena, Jeff, Y2J, JBL, Big Show, MVP, Finlay, etc. That is a good start to a PPV. You add two matches with younger guys,m give them a chance to steal the show, and move up, and PPV's are set. Not everyone needs to be in every PPV. If you put that carrot in front of these guys,m everyone's matches are better.

Edited to add:

Look at tonigt's show. That is exactly what I am talking about. 8 or the top 12 are in one match. They will get max, including promos 35-40 minutes of a THREE HOUR SHOW. Someone is going to get a push tonight, and everyone will have plenty of time.

 

[RKO Orton]

I know fans are going to hate this, but the WWE shouldn't listen to us and should keep the brand split. It provides them with tons of money (Yes even ECW) and seems more special when interbrand matches happen. If you want an interbrand feud like HBK-Batista, that's fine, but don't merge the three as it'll hurt the WWE in the long run. What'd they do with the ECW and World Heavyweight Championship? Throw them in the garbage? Keep the brands, it's the right thing.

Besides, if the WWE always listened to us Cena would be fired, Triple H would be jobbing to younger stars, and Kennedy would be the ECW, WHC, and WWE Champion.