What if wrestlers were signed to brands?

[johnnymnemonic]

This is kind of confusing, but I'm going to try and explain this like how I envision it.

Say after Wrestlemania next year WWE has all their feuds have their pay off and WWE drafts completely new rosters for each show, like in 2002.

The unified champions, if WWE decides to go that route, would appear on both shows. WWE could make this a huge deal out of this and have a pre-show, people like Jim Ross and other legends could be scouts and have mock drafts and talent can show off why they should be drafted. They could make it an event like the NFL draft.

Then sign wrestlers who were drafted to contracts with a set number of years and money. An example would be that Raw signs John Cena to a 3 year contract worth $5 million with a guarantee and a signing bonus. Make it more like real sports.

Also wrestlers who are younger start to get a push but are not making that much money. Wade Barrett signs for 2 years and $500k and starts to make waves on Smackdown. As his contract starts to come up he will ask for more money and Teddy Long says he can't give it to him. So Barrett speaks out against Smackdown management and jumps to Raw, by either demanding a trade or asking for a release, and is given a new contract for 3 years and $2 million.

I think this can add a sense of realism and whenever the Bragging Rights pay-per-view comes up it can show there is tension between Raw and Smackdown instead of just two different shows.

It isn't perfect, but what do you guys think?

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Like Brock Lesnar was for Smackdown in 2002?

I can see that happening eventually, but for next year I doubt it. Cena has been on Raw since time began (or at least it's felt like it) and Taker has been Smackdown exclusive forever. I'm sure a good amount of people would like to see them mix that up a little bit; at least be solid for a year like the Draft Lottery was for such a limited time. I enjoy seeing Edge on SD for about a year and then swap over. Makes the product feel fresh.


But in the long run being signed on will make things feel stale. Practically 90% of the IWC bitched about John Cena being on Raw this long and being the Main face for 8 odd years. So in other words sign someone on and if you keep them long enough people will feel tired of the product your selling.

 

[King_of_Swing1520]

i like the idea. maybe not so detailed like contract years and money but i would love for wrestlers to actually be available for trade or could quit one show to go to the next. with the apparent unification of the titles it really makes this impossible. even though the champ could go from show to show, the person their feuding with could not.

 

[martymcfly]

I don't mean any disrespect, but I really don't understand this idea and I will admit that perhaps it is because I'm just missing something. But having all the wrestlers sign contracts? I'm not really sure how that would add to our entertainment as viewers. Also, it severely hampers shifting from brand to brand, which sometimes becomes necessary to keep potential rivalries from getting stale or when injuries happen.

I suppose it would make things seem more like NFL drafts or something, but I really don't see how that would make things more entertaining.

 

[mrbrownstone]

I get the idea and all but I don't see the point of it. How would having contracts add anything different to the show, how would it be entertaining? I mean with the draft wrestlers already have "contracts" to be on which ever show they are drafted to for atleast a year and that isn't entertaining or used in any way so why would this be. Also what if say WWE signed HHH to Raw for 5 years but 2 years in decided there was nothing left for him to do on Raw and they wanted to move him to SD, a face like HHH (or any face really Hunter is just an example) is hardly going to go "I hate Raw I want to move to SD" so unless they want to turn him heel they are fucked. So yeah I dont think this is a very good idea.

 

[Buster]

I like the idea too, and other creative thinking along these lines. WWE falls in ratings when going up against real sports, thus why not incorporate more themes and systems from real sports?

Whether this could be a further more detailed draft system with contracts, or perhaps an off/on season to entice ratings I don't know.

But I do know that as soon as you bring real wrestlers real pay checks and contracts to the forefront it will be detriment to the credibility of the athletes when in comparison to what other sports stars earn.

For example Yaya Toure of Man City reportedly earns $343,200 a week on a guaranteed contract.

With the case of MVP it was a gimmick, I earn more than all you other guys etc, but with the whole roster it will appear as if they are schmocks