WWE Brand Split News, Rumors, and Other Tidbits Thread

[WarMachine1]

Here are some more details coming. And to say the least, these are the things I was expecting to be reported.

Thursday's episode of Wrestling Observer Live, shared some new information about the upcoming WWE brand split, according to sources and backstage talk. Plans are of course changing all the time and nothing is set in stone, but at the moment it looks like RAW and SmackDown will be standalone television shows except for two exceptions every year.

According to Wrestling Observer Live, WWE is planning on having two massive episode of RAW every year that will be dual-branded. One of the episodes will be the day after WrestleMania and the other will come the day after SummerSlam. One imagines that one of those two annual episodes will feature the annual draft -- if they're planning on having a draft every year.

Every pay-per-view is planned to be dual-branded, with both announce teams present and alternating matches, just as they did with dual-branded RAW and SmackDown PPVs during the initial brand split.

Bryan Alvarez also asked how a more-hands-on production by Vince McMahon on SmackDown would affect Mauro Ranallo. Dave Meltzer said it depended on what Vince's mentality toward Ranallo is. Meltzer's understanding is that Vince's opinion of Mauro is not for the best, but time will tell exactly how badly McMahon will micromanage his announcing.

Though the announcement is still fresh and most plans haven't been finalized, details are starting to emerge regarding just what WWE's decision-makers have in mind.

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan is for Roman Reigns to be the top babyface on Raw, while John Cena anchors SmackDown. Beyond that, there are no solid plans, as even Brock Lesnar is currently not considered a lock for the Raw roster.

The championship situation is still very much in flux, with the only definite being that one brand will get the Intercontinental Title and the other will get the United States Title. There has been talk of both the WWE World Heavyweight and Women's Champions working both shows, but in the case of the WWE Title, at least, that's a temporary measure - currently, the plan is for each show to have its own world champ. There hasn't been a decision regarding whether a new set of Tag Team Titles will be introduced.

Backstage, the power structure is expected to remain the same, though there will be shifts in individual clout. Vince McMahon and Triple H will still have final say, but Ed Koskey and Ryan Ward (who are in charge of Raw and Smackdown, respectively) are rumored to have more control over their individual brands.

Finally, there are reports that the idea of a "hard" split versus a "soft" split (with wrestlers occasionally making guest appearances on the rival brand) is still being debated.

Internal competition is good. It keeps people being productive. Most individual stores within a franchise are measured against each other even though they are part of the same company. You want your people to always strive to be the best. For a long time, WWE had no competition, internal or external. Doing this, and creating your own competition, should push each brand to outdo the other.
If Vince really wants to create an internal war, he should add incentives to each brand. Rating increases, merch sales, other measurables for each brand to push these guys to try and outperform each other. Competition is healthy. It makes people be more creative and work harder.
The Monday Night Wars were real and gave us some of the best wrestling in history. That's gone. The original brand split was a good idea, but ultimately they screwed it up by having too much integration and SmackDown still being a taped show.
Now things are totally different. 2 live shows so you aren't just reading spoilers is a huge difference and I think people are overshadowing just how important that is to this. If WWE has learned just a little bit from the past on this idea(and they are investing a lot into it) this could be an amazing step forward. Those who are against the idea of manufactured competition really make me wonder if they want the product to get better, or just really want to have something to complain about. For years I've read that 'things are stale', and 'WWE has gotten lazy'. They're taking a chance. A pretty good risk financially. They're mixing things up. Making a bold change like this is great for the fans, hell, even if it only works for a year. That's a year of better product. Enjoy it. Or...at least allow yourself to try to.

 

[Zany Clowny]

I hope Mauro doesn't get molested backstage and becomes a shell of his former self. He shows excitement now but nothing will bring that to a screeching halt quite like Vince screaming in your ear.

If they do a soft brand split, go fuck yourself. Nothing will change long term if that's the case. I see no reason why they can't make the IC title the main for Smackdown and bring in the vanilla midget championship, do another tournament and you have a good cruiserweight divison. Raw should keep the women's title imo.

 

[Stopspot]

Manufactured competition doesn't always work tho.

Organic, actual competition does on the other hand. Vince needs to create a work environment that breeds friendly competition. Not try to manufacture it

 

[Aids Johnson]

Honestly at this point, they should have a 2nd womens title for the better part of a year, before moving them to one. NXT womens champ, WWE womens champion, and somehow a 3rd would make the most sense, considering how many talented females they have, and also negating a tag team option. I'd love to see a promo from charlotte about "that other womens champion" scoffing at the fact she has to share her greatness with someone else (becky for sure) while also having to acknowledge the NXT brand. Any opportunity to have to acknowledge NXT is great in my book.

I think this is a great IDEA on WWE's part, but how they execute it will be another thing. I like the idea of Shane O Mac running Smackdown as we all know Trips and Steph will run RAW, but it makes Smackdown for the first time in the 4 fucking year's i've watched that dogshit seem like it matters.

Honestly, have we ever seen ONE SINGLE Smackdown show matter in the scheme of things? One whole show. Go home shows mean shit, Smackdown after WM is full of DQ's and tag matches no one cares about...etc

The way I look at this (being from the midwest too) is that I can actually go see a Smackdown taping in Minneapolis and possibly see great matches, and not just a 10 minute promo from Paul Heyman with Bork Laser standing next to him making funny faces. I'm jacked.

*I'm not going to green bay or milwaukee...unless there is a brewers day game twice in a row - which never happens.

 

[alexb]

Interestingly enough, some parts of this newsletter are quite similar to my thoughts I posted a little while ago in the "Smackdown goes live" thread and well, it's commense really.

Nonenthless, I will once more express my disagreement regarding a second champion. I made my point in the other aformentioned thread so need to repeat myself, the gist of it being that at the end of the day, even we are talking about to seperate shows, it's still ONE company so there should be ONE WWE Heavyweight champion, thus ONE big prize up for grabs, otherwise both would be devalued. For the time being at least, same goes with the Womens Champion and the Tag Team Champions.

Other then that, uh, Vince's opinion about Mauro is not the best??? Is this some kind of joke?????

P.S.: If, say, there was a poll, I'd definetely vote for the soft split....

 

[Krendall]

Meltzer's understanding is that Vince's opinion of Mauro is not for the best, but time will tell exactly how badly McMahon will micromanage his announcing.

Vince: "What the hell is this guy doing?! He's just talking about the match going on in the ring! Doesn't he know what announcers are for?!"

the current plan is for Roman Reigns to be the top babyface on Raw, while John Cena anchors SmackDown]

So Cena or even crappier Cena. Goody. Heaven forbid they use this opportunity to push talent the fans clearly want to see (Styles, Cesaro, Owens, etc.).

currently, the plan is for each show to have its own world champ

This is stupid. Have the IC and US titles represent the best of their respective shows while the WHC is THE champion of the company. I was so happy when they finally unified the belts, too.

 

[edge4ever]

I hope Mauro doesn't get molested backstage and becomes a shell of his former self. He shows excitement now but nothing will bring that to a screeching halt quite like Vince screaming in your ear.

If they do a soft brand split, go fuck yourself. Nothing will change long term if that's the case. I see no reason why they can't make the IC title the main for Smackdown and bring in the vanilla midget championship, do another tournament and you have a good cruiserweight divison. Raw should keep the women's title imo.

I liked everything you said except for the IC title reigning supreme on smackdown while Roman holds the WWE WHC on Raw. It would not only make smackdown look like a fucking joke, but it's belitting. If they're doing the full fledge brand split, they need cena to have the world heavyweight championship to show credibility and true brand split.

 

[Prince Bálor]

Not sure if it's been posted already, but the word on the street is RAW and SD will have their own referee crews when the brand split kicks in on Tuesday, July 19th.

 

[Solidus1]

It'd be so much better if Raw was reduced to 2 hours also, it's the perfect length as SmackDown will surely prove. Cut the Backlund/Goldust/other crappy segments and there's plenty of time.

 

[¡Tranquilo!]

So like I've been shut off from the world for like five days ( typing this via phone) missed RAW and this is announced...

I'm all in for a full on Ruthless aggression like brand split. It will be very interesting to see how this works out being currently there is only one world champion and one set of tag titles. Maybe the Champions, with exception of the midcard champs, will work both shows. Bringing in new belts IMO would be wasteful, I'd rather see this split work around five belts. My biggest question though is does this mean the IC belt will be a main event belt on Smackdown going forward?

One suggestion/wish I have is that Smackdown becomes the main roster bridge for NXT.

 

[Krendall]

It'd be so much better if Raw was reduced to 2 hours also, it's the perfect length as SmackDown will surely prove. Cut the Backlund/Goldust/other crappy segments and there's plenty of time.

That would be great. Unfortunately, according to interviews, the USA Network insists on keeping the show at 3 hours.

 

[Rogue]

It'd be so much better if Raw was reduced to 2 hours also, it's the perfect length as SmackDown will surely prove. Cut the Backlund/Goldust/other crappy segments and there's plenty of time.

Don't dare try to cut Goldust's segments, only reason I get to see my boys pick up some wins. FaBreeze for life.

 

[Stopspot]

I hope the draft is done more like in contemporary sports these days. With Shane and Steph making and trading picks to put together their rosters.
Rather than back in the old day when they had a tombola drum or similar pick who went where.

 

[Stopspot]

I liked everything you said except for the IC title reigning supreme on smackdown while Roman holds the WWE WHC on Raw. It would not only make smackdown look like a fucking joke, but it's belitting. If they're doing the full fledge brand split, they need cena to have the world heavyweight championship to show credibility and true brand split.

Are you saying the IC title cannot be elevated?

Pro tip: Vince treated the WHC as a joke 90% of the time back then, let the old WHC stay dead because there already is a world heavyweight title strapped to Roman Reigns. Either elevate the Intercontinental belt (Which is easy to do), or bring out a brand new belt for Smackdown. Let the old WCW remnant finally sleep

 

[Rogue]

I hope the draft is done more like in contemporary sports these days. With Shane and Steph making and trading picks to put together their rosters.
Rather than back in the old day when they had a tombola drum or similar pick who went where.

Not enough excitement lad. Gotta start it out with Roman being drafted to Smackdown, then end with him being drafted back to Raw.