Smackdown Situation/Split Superstars Separation

[Max Headroom]

As we all know quite well, the whole roster split thing is pretty much non-existent anymore. You see the same wrestlers on both shows, and there are no longer brand-exclusive pay-per-views, which kind of lessens the big feel of those few events where both brands had matches.

Now, with things changing up in there being word that Smackdown is *possibly* going live & moving to Tuesday night, and the fact that we have all these great new NXT talents either already debuting, or just waiting to get called up, plus the fact that they seem to have trouble giving everyone enough proper time on television to develop feuds as it is, maybe we could look into bringing this split back?

If the split stays extinct, they run the risk of having essentially two of the same shows running back-to-back, which could get rather boring & could hurt Smackdown's viewership. However, with the split coming back into effect, it would make sure that both shows have points that make you want to watch, and that there is no risk of possibly seeing the exact same show two nights in a row, as there will be different wrestlers exclusive to each show.

Seeing how pay-per-views won't actually be a thing once everyone around the planet gets the Network, they run a much lesser risk at giving the brand-exclusive events a shot as well, while still keeping a few mixed events around to give them a bigger feel. The split will also give the wrestlers more time to develop feuds, as there will be about half the current roster on each show.

With the titles, I say finally merge the WWEWHT into one belt, and have it & the Intercontinental Championship be the big belts on each show. The U.S/Tag Team Championships could be used as titles that can change sides, having them be defended as normal, but have a rule that every mixed pay-per-view/special event has those titles defended against someone from the other side or something. Then we can also have the draft back, which was always good fun.

That's my take on everything, at least. What do my fellow wrestling fans feel about this? Anything to add? Anything to change? Anything to slightly modify? Or do you just all-out dislike the idea?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally, I've got no real desire to see the brand split return because it's all smoke and mirrors. All in all, the Raw & SD! brands were separated by nothing more than Vince's say so and could be tossed out the window at any specific time for whatever purpose Vince saw.

If there was a genuine, 100% split of SD! and Raw talent with this split legitimately in place, then there might be something interesting to talk about. In order for that to happen, and this is only my POV, I'd rebrand SD! by renaming it WCW SmackDown! and reinstate WCW championships. I'd literally run SD! as if it was its own separate and distinct world from WWE Raw with no interaction between the brands, neither show talking about the other or what's going on with the other brand. As far as "WCW" is concerned, they're the top of the mountain just as WWE would hype for themselves on Raw.

I'm not suggesting this for the purpose of restarting the Monday Night Wars because it'd be asinine to try. People would ultimately know that SD! is still a WWE property, so it'd be ludicrous to take the angle in that direction and expect anyone to buy into it. Even though WCW would exist, generally speaking, in name only, there's a good possibility that it could generate enough illusion by keeping the roster separate. There'd have to be restructuring, obviously, and even though fans would be attending house shows branded "WCW", it'd still be WWE. If it works out and starts taking off, maybe they could use this "WCW" SmackDown! to hold traditional ppv events while WWE is obviously going the route of the WWE Network.

Overall, the idea probably isn't doable from a practical standpoint. But, if they did bring back the brand split, I'd rather see an actual & genuine splitting of the brands rather than some extremely cheap illusion of separation with no real effort put into it.

 

[Pedigree1]

Im happy with the way things are now,no need for a brand split.. If it were to happen,I would want SD to be in its totally own universe with zero ties to Raw.. Only and only at WM would i care to see the SD guys go at it with the Raw guys,it would make it special IMO..

I be down for it to be named WCW smackdown bring back the old WCW titles,such as cruiserweight and TV titles.. Old War games Clash of the Champions and what have yah,it be an interesting concept,but i dont see it happening..

 

[Aquaman6686]

The Brand Extension was excellent the way they first did it from 2002 - 2005. Once they started muddying the waters, it wasn't as good anymore and they diluted the concept to the point where it meant nothing by 2010.

But as much as I loved the Brand Extension, it's gone and never coming back. It's one of those amazing things that Vince tries to pretend never existed, like The American Badass.

 

[MCMG]

The brand split was great for a lot of superstars. Overall there were some very good things and it allowed Cena, Orton and Batista to all emerge rapidly. It also helped the likes of Edge, Punk, JBL, Rey and many more.

However, I have very little interest in seeing it back. The roster looks good as it is and splitting it up dilutes the quality of the product. Two separate shows with distinct rosters is risky. It limits the possibilities and it would get boring quick.

Sure it would help guys like Ziggler, Cesaro, Barrett and Rhodes which would be fantastic but the WWE have proven that they can elevate guys without having two shows.

 

[kadroan]

The brand split was great for a lot of superstars. Overall there were some very good things and it allowed Cena, Orton and Batista to all emerge rapidly. It also helped the likes of Edge, Punk, JBL, Rey and many more.

However, I have very little interest in seeing it back. The roster looks good as it is and splitting it up dilutes the quality of the product. Two separate shows with distinct rosters is risky. It limits the possibilities and it would get boring quick.

Sure it would help guys like Ziggler, Cesaro, Barrett and Rhodes which would be fantastic but the WWE have proven that they can elevate guys without having two shows.

I agree. WWE just need to continue to take advantage of the extra television time they have now with RAW being 3 hours unlike how it was two hours during the roster split, they got Main Event in the middle of the week compared to how Velocity/Sunday Night Heat were at the conclusion of the week.

So far from TLC to now it's been consistent with booking. New stars from NXT getting exposure like Adam Rose, you got young talent like Reigns and Cesaro stepping up to high profile matchups. I can't complain

 

[J~P]

No! I hated the brand separation. I love that they use different feuds for different brands, but at the same time use most superstars on both brands. For example I loved watching RAW seeing Daniel Bryan as the main attraction and although they would use the shield on RAW it was still mostly highlighted by Daniel, but then comes Smackdown and they use that show to highlight the Shield. I think it works a lot better that way. And you don't have to wait a week to see your favorite superstar for just one show. Plus I love the idea of just one world title. It makes it feel much more legitimate that way. No one cared when Daniel Bryan won the world title for the first time, no one cared when CM Punk won the world title the first time. No one really considers Ziggler a former world champion. But when Punk and Daniel finally won the WWE title it was such a big deal, and if Ziggler was to win the WWE title people would consider him a world champion for once.

 

[sjdigitall]

Pretty simple reason why they dont do it anymore. There isnt enough over superstars to support the brand split. The only way i see the brand split coming back is if there is another boom in wrestling popularity and you have enough stars to go around. At the moment there isnt any reason for a brand split.