The Battle of the Brands

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

Clever name, eh?

Overview:​

Yesterday at school, I was persauded by a good friend of mine to drop my Extreme Championship Wrestling thread. That wasn't hard for me as I never really got it to it at all. He said that he had read Profit/Battlez shows and wanted us to try something very similar. I agreed for probably the tenth time. We've done a couple of these before, but have never really been very dedicated to them. Hopefully this time is different.

We decided to drop E.C.W. and spread most of the talent between R.A.W. and SmackDown, much like our friends Profit and Battlez did with theirs. The difference with ours is that I am going to come up with a clever backstory that will explain why there are two totally unheard of general managers (who will be played by he and I) and why E.C.W. is gone and all the talent shuffled.

R.A.W. will be home to the World Heavyweight Championship, Intercontinental Championship, and World Tag Team Champions. SmackDown will have the W.W.E. Championship, United States Championship, W.W.E. Tag Team Championship, and the Undisputed Women's Championship which was won by SmackDown in an interbrand match at WrestleMania 25 but is currently inactive.

As I said earlier, we split up most of the guys. Anyone who you do not see on our rosters is a free agent who is free to be used on either show, but will most likely be insignificant or job nightly.

We also both agreed to be able to bring back two wrestlers from years past. We didn't place any limitations on who could be brought back for use, except for, well, death. SmackDown selected with one of their picks Rob Van Dam. The other will be revealed at a later date. R.A.W. has not made up it's mind completely, yet.



The backstory will be posted shortly, followed by my roster, then my friend's. After that, I'll likely post a preview of my first show. My first show should be posted by tomorrow night, then I'll let Aaron take over.

Thanks for reading. I hope that you'll read the show. It should be some good stuff.

- 48.7

Edit: I forgot to mention that we will be using all of the current Pay Per Views. After every four weeks, we'll have a pay per view. So, there will be a total of 14 Pay Per Views and 112 regular shows a year. While I realize that there would only be 104 shows in a calender year, the W.W.E. does not operate that way. They kind of just do things.

We will write joint Pay Per Views, with Aaron writing for SmackDown and I for R.A.W.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

The Backstory:​

In April of 2009, World Wrestling Entertainment held their largest event of all time, WrestleMania 25. For months, the show was hyped to the moon. The card featured such matches as Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy, Trish Stratus vs Beth Pheonix, Christian vs Edge, Randy Orton vs Triple H, and John Cena vs "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan. The buy rate was massive for the show. More people ordered WrestleMania 25 than 20-24 combined, which made Vince McMahon a very happy man.

Just about an hour into the show, during the third match, the broadcast cut off. Millions of customers dialed into their cable companies immediately. There was nothing that could be done. There was an unknown technical problem blocking the transmit of the program. The show continued on as normal. WrestleMania 25 lived up to the expectations of the fans watching live, but the millions at home saw only a portion of it. Vince McMahon was forced to refund all of the money that he received from the orders and actually ended up losing money. With huge checks to write to Trish Stratus, Hulk Hogan, and Stone Cold, changes had to be made. Dead weight like Jim Duggan had to be cut loose.

The W.W.E. continued to lose money in the coming months. The night after WrestleMania, R.A.W. drew a dangerously low 2.2 cable rating. E.C.W. and SmackDown's ratings followed suit.

In the summer, which is always the slowest part of the year, R.A.W.'s rating finally slipped under 2.0 and SmackDown drew equal to T.N.A. Impact. The was no profit being generated, but money wasn't being lost either. Vince was satisfied with breaking even, temporarily.

McMahon tried desperately to win back his angry fans. He worked his behind off, coming up with new storylines and giving the fans what they wanted. Just after Extreme Rules, the ratings began to rise. For two weeks, there was an increase in viewers. Everything looked good.

The dagger that looked to kill the W.W.E. was when My Network T.V. went under. With no home for SmackDown, W.W.E. began to freefall. Money was being lost like never before. Just two days after the first missed SmackDown, Vince had no choice but to halt the production of all shows.

***

WWE.com received more hits than ever before following the cancellation of the programs. Two weeks later, it was annouced that the following Monday Night, R.A.W. would air in it's normal timeslot and that SmackDown would also be shown on the U.S.A. Network on Friday. It was said that there has been a shuffle of the talent and that two new general managers, who have worked for years behind the scenes, will run the shows. Unfortunately, E.C.W. is not being reproduced.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

Monday Night R.A.W. Superstars:

John Cena
Shawn Michaels
Edge
Triple H
The Undertaker
The Big Show
Jeff Hardy
Matt Hardy
Vladimir Kozlov
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Charlie Haas
JTG
Santino Marella
Shad Gaspard
William Regal
Carlito
Chavo Guerrero
Ezekial Jackson
The Great Khali
Primo
Tommy Dreamer
Jamie Noble
Jimmy Wang Yang
Finlay

Divas:

Mickie James
Beth Pheonix
Katie Lea
Jillian
Kelly Kelly
Candice Michelle
Layla

World Heavyweight Champion:
Intercontinental Champion:
World Tag Team Champions: ​

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

SmackDown Superstars:

Chris Jericho
Randy Orton
Batista
Christian
CM Punk
Rey Mysterio
Kofi Kingston
Ted Dibiase Jr.
Hurricane Helms
M.V.P.
Mr. Kennedy
Shelton Benjamin
Umaga
John Morrison
Cody Rhodes
Kane
The Brian Kendrick
Jesse
Festus
The Miz
Dolph Ziggler
Sim Snuka
Evan Bourne
Jack Swagger
Mark Henry

Divas:

Alicia Fox
Brie Bella
Nikki Bella
Michelle McCool
Natalya Neidhart
Maria
Maryse
Eve
Melina

W.W.E. Champion:
United States Champion:
W.W.E. Tag Team Champions:
Undisputed Women's Champion: Inactive

​

 

[Mr. TM]

The show is looking really good 48.7. I think Raw has a great main event, but Smackdown is lacking that main event caliber. I sense a trade may be needed to give some talent to them. Anyways, I am looking forward to the show, and sense it will be easy to do for Raw with those stars!

 

[The Todd]

You do realise if that happens during WrestleMania you will be arrested and tortured by WWE and forced to pay the refunds yourself? But apart from that, sounds intriguing, now all you need to do is follow up.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

48.7,

I just wanted to let you know that I love what you're doing here. It is extremely well thought-out. But, this thread's biggest asset is its grounding in reality; although it would be horrible to think that WWE could experience such misfortune, it is entirely possible. Keep it up, and I anticipate your next installment!

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

From WWE.com:

Due to an unfortunate string of events, all W.W.E. programming was suspended two weeks ago. It was an incredibly difficult choice to make, but a necessary one. With no home for SmackDown, the money required to run the company was greater than the money being brought in. So, there was a freeze put on everything. We here in the W.W.E. needed time to regroup. It is with great pleasure that I can now tell you that Monday Night R.A.W. will air in its normal timeslot on the U.S.A. Network this coming week!

Many changes have been made. It's been reported that a massive talent shuffle has occured and dozens of W.W.E. superstars have swapped brands, all championships are vacated, and much, much more. To top it all off, a new General Manager has been named! His or her name has not yet been revealed. What kind of surprises will the GM have in store this week?

Two spectacular matches have been confirmed, the first being a WrestleMania rematch. Jeff Hardy will again face off against his brother, Matt. At WrestleMania, Matt bested Jeff. The younger brother gave everything he had, but it simply wasn't enough as Matt pinned Jeff in the center of the ring following a Twist of Fate. The night after, Jeff was drafted to E.C.W. and the brothers haven't encountered each other since. Surely Jeff will want to prove to everyone that he can beat his older brother. But can he?

The main event of the evening will feature two of the largest and most dominate forces on R.A.W. Vladmir Kozlov will square off against the World's Largest Athlete, the Big Show with the winner taking home the Intercontinental Championship. The Moscow Mauler holds a pinfal victory over The Big Show. It's certain that The Big Show remembers that. He'll be looking to avenge his loss. Will his emotion ultimately lose him the match? The Russian is always focused and any mistake the Big Show makes could cost him more than just the match.

Tune in Monday Night at 9 on the U.S.A. Network for all of this and more.

Confirmed Matches:
Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy
Vladimir Kozlov vs The Big Show for the Intercontinental Championship

 

[Mr. TM]

Shit son, to actually have Matt go over Jeff at the Wrestlemania is so wise. That will actually look to be one hell of a rematch. This is why I thought your car looked so good, because you are able to throw out 3 great sets of matches at the top of your card every week. So do we now have to wait 2 weeks for the first match, because that would suck, I am looking forward to it.

 

[Hip2bsquare]

Wow really looking forward to reading more of this.

I really like the backstory as it seems well thought out.

I think both rosters are looking pretty strong as well which is always a plus. The Raw roster may be slightly stronger but the Smackdown roster is good as well.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

Dear Readers:

I was hoping to have my first show posted within the next hour or two. It was about half done when I opened a new tab to look at my friend's FaceBook photos, and the whole thing froze up. Thus, I had to close the program and start anew. But, I would like to take this time to thank all of you who have posted here and given feedback and those of you who sent some rep my way. I appreciate it. Without feedback, there'd be no fullfillment in writing.

- 48.7

Also, for the dozens and dozens of you out there who wet them selves in excitement, thinking this would be the show, I'm sorry to disappoint. I'll give you another confirmed match, instead.

From WWE.com:

Just hours before the first broadcast program since the freeze, another huge match for Monday Night R.A.W. has been announced. Two E.C.W. draftees will face off in an Extreme Rules match! The Innovater of Violence will go head to head with The Belfast Brawler! E.C.W. Original, Tommy Dreamer will lock horns with The Man Who Loves to Fight, Finlay, in what should be a, in the words of Good Ol' J.R., a slobberknocker.

Confirmed Matches:
Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy
Tommy Dreamer vs Finlay in and Extreme Rules match
The Big Show vs Vladimir Kozlov for the Intercontinental Championship

 

[FromTheSouth]

The show is looking really good 48.7. I think Raw has a great main event, but Smackdown is lacking that main event caliber. I sense a trade may be needed to give some talent to them. Anyways, I am looking forward to the show, and sense it will be easy to do for Raw with those stars!

With Dolph Ziegler and Festus on SD! you still think the main event is lacking?

That was a joke, but 48.7, you look like you have something going here. Good luck!!

I especially enjoy how the IC title is immediately legitimate. Big Show, who is involved in World Title Fight, and Kozlov who pinned Taker clean, are fighting over the IC belt, and that is great for business.