Reviewing The Brand Extension

[MCMG]

In 2002, just after Wrestlemania 18, the WWE decided to split their brands. ECW and WCW had both died a year before and there was a major pool of talent. Back in the Attitude Era and even before we were exposed to some average names: now the WWE had monopoly they had a seriously talented roster. The WWE decided to have two separate shows with distinct rosters. Raw and Smackdown had different rosters, commentators and eventually titles.

There are a lot to consider with the Brand-split. The first question is: Would the new talent have emerged as quickly or indeed at all? Lesnar, Orton, Cena and Batista all came from developmental. Cena, Orton and Batista all benefited from having different titles that may have not been the case in one roster. They were treated as important superstars on their respective brand rather than being lost in the shuffle. They were not behind all the top guys in the company it was merely the guys on their show.

These guys were talented enough so would have made it, no doubt. In the same time-scale is difficult to gauge.

What about Edge, JBL, Hardy, Rey? Would they have ever won World Titles if there was just ONE championship. Would they have become stars competing against Triple H, HBK, Angle Taker, Benoit and Jericho and eventually Cena, Orton, Batista. What about Punk? He got his chance in WWECW. He eventually became too good and moved on to greater things. Perhaps Punk never gets his chance if there wasn't ECW or indeed a brand-split.

There were some pretty big negatives, however. Initially Raw was pretty poor. Sight, Triple H vs Scott Steiner. The "brand" PPV's were very hit or miss. Often we had to pay to watch some very average talent compete.

We missed out on some feuds that could have been awesome. Cena/Taker is the biggest one in my eyes. Lesnar/HHH. There were feuds that I would have been interested in seeing but never got the opportunity because the rosters were split.

Personally, I liked the Brand-Extension. I enjoyed seeing different superstars for Raw and Smackdown. It made each show different rather than seeing the same matches twice a week. I think it was vital in helping the new stars emerge as well as giving existing superstars their moment. Would Jeff Hardy have ever been the sole World Champion in the WWE? I don't think so. Cena and Orton were both mid-card champs at the same time. That is definitely significant in my eyes.

Overall, how would you assess the Brand Extension?

What were your particular highlights/lowpoints?

Anything you would have changed?

 

[laodaron]

The brand split was genius in 2002. It could never work again, but when they did it, it really worked well. I used to love watching the drafts, and then the music would hit, and BAM, HHH is now on Smackdown?

It legitimized the WWE "B" Show. Smackdown wouldn't be here today still if there hadn't been a brand split, and it continued to be used the way it is now.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I remember at one point Smackdown was better than Raw. I mean legitimately better, not better because it's cool to think the less main stream one is better. During the time they had Triple H and The Undertaker, I looked forward to Smackdown mor than Raw. At the time I couldn't stand Cena or Jericho either. Now I can't remember the last time I watched a Smackdown other than their live "Super Smackdowns". The show just became dull. Nothing of significance happens. Anything remotely relevent will be shown on Raw. Plus it's very heavy on the Raw recaps.

I think the draft was a pretty decent idea and I liked the idea of the two fighting each other in elimination tags. I think the reason it was necessary was just to create some new big names. But with the roster they had in 99-00 it wouldn't have worked. So many big names and feuds that you wouldn't see happen or wouldn't get enough time.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Yeah I remember when Smackdown! was better than RAW. Edge, Angle, Benoit, Guerrero, Lesnar, Taker, Matt Hardy, Mysterio and all that when Heyman was one of the head in creative. I never understood why he was let go especially when he was turning mid carders into superstars, it's something I could never understand with the WWE.

As for the Brand Extension, I liked the idea. During 2002 to 2006 almost guarantees you are going to get something different between RAW and Smackdown! sure feuds were longer and drawn out but it made feuds better fleshed out.

 

[DexVendetta88]

I still remember when they instituted the brand extension back in 2002 after WM18. The idea was groundbreaking to say the least since they were fresh off the heels of buying out WCW, and ECW in the previous year. With the influx of talent at the time coming in from both WCW, and ECW (more WCW in this case) and more coming in the process the brand extension was necessary to handle the influx more efficiently. They had about 70+ talent on the roster at the time. So you can imagine how hard it would be to handle all that talent without a brand extension. Most talent wouldn't be given the proper TV time, and exposure needed to succeed. Plus, both shows were competing against each other on who had the better talent, show quality etc. Also, it helped elevate guys that we would've never thought of being a main event draw. Now that I think about it, without the brand extension a lot of talent would've been buried relatively quickly, and the numbers would've been catastrophic. I liked the brand extension because you could've had weeks where SmackDown was the better show, and vice versa. It gave a sense of competition after the Monday Night Wars.

 

[Aquaman6686]

The Brand Extension was one of the two best things WWE ever did with it's roster, the other being brand-exclusive PPVs. These two things brought so much more depth to the roster and allowed for the creation of new stars in a way that had never happened before. Other than the remaining Attitude Era stars, every top star in WWE today owes their career to the Brand Extension. Ending it was a horrible decision on WWE's part, because now they're right back where they were in 2001-2002, with FAR too many top stars and not enough spots on the roster.

 

[laodaron]

The roster now is so devoid of talent, it's nearly impossible to fill an entire Raw episode. This is like 1995, not 2001.

 

[Gibby]

Smackdown now seems like an unfortunate hangover from a better era (I wasn't a fan of the brand extension, but it was as JohnJohnson suggests, better at one point - as well as it famously being "The Rock's show") and personally I think it is in dire need of a complete reappraisal, visually, presentationally, etc. How they'd do that I don't know. It feels every inch the second show. The Smackdown taping I went to last year was a complete and utter snooze.

Whilst it was a good thing that many fresh faces got a chance under the aegis of brand extension, there is no way that there are 70+ good enough WWE-style workers in pro wrestling to keep two or three 'brands' entertaining and coherent at any one given time. There is no way they're all going to get the same amount of focus and nuance from creative and many of them just got lost in the mix. The amount of times I've been watching a PPV from 2005 (I stopped watching between 2002-2009) and said 'who the hell is this guy?', I've lost track of.

Let's face it, it didn't hold because we all KNOW in our heart of hearts that Monday Night Raw is the 'A' show. It's the show that triumphed over Nitro. It's the stacked show that goes head-on with NFL. It's longest-running continuously broadcast show or somesuch nonsense. It's the show people tune into to see the fallout from the previous night's PPV. So unless the company is prepared to shed that dynamic, and why should it, it could never have and never will in the future overturn the hierarchy it has made for itself.

As part of the international audience, coming from a sports culture that doesn't have drafts, drafts just seem like stupid and largely alien concept. Even more so a kayfabe draft - WWE was subjecting us to three hours of seeing what job people had been assigned to. Great. And yes, we missed a lot of good feuds because talent was split. Now, I realise most US sports leagues have a split system but they also created interleague play to allow the White Sox/Cubs, Dodgers/Angels, Islanders/Rangers etc. to occur.

I'm glad for the reformation of the brands as it means fewer belts and fewer belts mean creative and workers have to work hard to make feuds and rivalries actually memorable. What wrestling really needs is a viable non-Vince owned large American company, because when WWE had departing talent and a depleted roster in 1996 it was forced to take chances. You might say the brand extension was a taken chance, but I see it more as throwing as much mud against as big a wall as possible and seeing what sticks.

 

[Ubermensch]

When SmackDown was originally designed it was not a B show at all. It was not AS good as Raw, but it certainly wasn't a B show. SmackDown was successful long before the draft. It got The Rock's namesake and originally went head to head with WCW Thunder, which was not a B show for the WCW at the time either. These were the Thursday Night Wars. Eventually Thunder was moved to Wednesday.

It may be second tier now, but B shows are like Sunday Night Heat or WCW Worldwide.

Shotgun Saturday Night was amazing production that the WWF had despite being second tier.

 

[jameyt2003]

I stopped watching wrestling right before the brand spilt was implemented. A few years later, it was in full swing and I was thoroughly enjoying it. After awhile, nostalgia had me craving for the days of one official roster. Now that I have seen what both look like, I would not mind an explicit return to a brand split. I am now convinced a split is a good way for a wrestling company that has cornered that American market to promote and evolve its product.

I do believe more guys had an opportunity to shine with two brands. I also believe that Smackdown was always the "B" show. But that wasn't a bad thing. IWC and casual fans alike had their favorites. And for a moment, both shows had unique qualities that offered fans a reason to watch. For example, Divas on RAW and cruisers on Smackdown.

I enjoyed the US title being returned to Smackdown. The highlight for me was the UT/Edge/Batista fighting for the World Heavyweight title. With the right guys, The WHC was right on par with the WWE Title. Both shows had their own vibe. Smackdown was always a PG show way before RAW became one.

If I could have changed anything, than it would have been the opportunity to make Each show even more differentiated from one another. Make the Cruisers a big deal as well as your Divas. I liked two Heavyweight and midcard (US & IC). but for more emphasis on tag teams, just keep one set of belts and have those teams travel more between shows. Then keep your Women fighting for their belt on RAW and your Cruisers fighting for what I would hope would be a tad more prestigious cruiser belt. Perhaps have your Divas and cruisers travel more. Have your top draws stay exclusively on their respective shows.

 

[willross]

The brand extension was amazing. It made it easier on creative and it allowed WWE to run more shows and have them be more unique,

The brand extension got cancer when they got rid of "brand exclusive" PPV's. Those were the true genius of the brand extension. It got more guys PPV exposure and made the Big 4 seem more special and different than the B-Level PPV's. It also made that odd RAW and SD every other month, PPV quality due to them not having a PPV that particular month.

It's a shame that the WWE felt it was time dump it in order to try and boost RAWs ratings. They could have still unified the belts, etc. like they did even if they kept the brands seperate, it would have probably been better if they had kept brands seperate.

I understand why they did away with it, its easier to move anyone to feud with somebody else without explanation of a trade or contract expiration like they used to.

I am sure that one day the brand extension will return. They have done away with it for now so then it can be brought back and it will be freshened up. Especially with the WWE Network, it will be safer economically to re-introduce the brand extension and brand exclusive PPV's in a couple of years.

 

[lil steroid meat]

Definitely miss the brand split. Made stars and kept things fresh.

What's the point of having two shows now if I'm going to see the same Shield/Wyatt vs. Three Random Faces matches?

After Wrestlemania, I would not mind a WWE Draft out of nowhere. Although maybe this time, I'd have a draft every six months instead of every twelve.

Personally, I'd make Smackdown more of a "midcard" show where the IC Title is the top belt. And the World Title, Tag Team and Divas Title could only be defended cross brand at one of the Big Four PPV's. The World Champion would have the privilege of being on both shows.

Also would bring back the show exclusive PPV's, since they don't really live and die on buyrates anymore now that the Network is coming.

The end of the brand split was an intriguing concept when it first happened, but now, 2 or 3 years later, it's really kind of boring and we've seen the same guys in the main event and closing shows for quite some time now.

A new brand split could only work if the creative, production and all that were TRULY independent of each other. Everyone from the writers, wrestlers, and production teams would be competing creatively against the other. Would make for a great product.