Brand Unification and/or Talent Hopping or Neither?

[Mr.Enigma]

Considering all that has been going on in the WWE as of late, with;
*talent going back and forth and some weeks on both shows
*The Unification of the Tag Titles
*The Possibilities with the IC title & JBL; and
*The Reproducing of ECW (possible merger with RAW finally or SD)

The question is, do you think that silently they are finally starting to see the benefit of the reunification of the brands or at least certain talent jumping from show to show each week?

Personally: (May contain spoilers...read on at your own risk)
As I have followed WWE in the past few weeks coming up to WM25, I have noticed more and more show transfers of talent. There is also the rumor that RAW is going to get a major overhaul and have most of the core stars on it following WM25 leaving SD as the more developmental show.

Either way, then that also leaves ECW which has also been rumored to be totally redone in ways that no one is clear on just yet. One thought is that new guys looking for a shot on mainstream TV will go there no.

So, again, where does this leave the current "brand split"? Is the current transfer of talent just temporary to build up to WM25 and then follow with major decisions of who goes where or is this going to become more of what we see from now on without anyone saying much about it as in the past.

 

[WarMachine]

Every year before mania around the time of the RR maybe a bit before stars start jumping from show to show, to give them more air time to build feuds going into mania. I think at some point they will get rid of the brand split but not this year atleast I don't think.

 

[JMay187]

I dunno if they will ever git rid of it. There's just to much talent and if everybody is on the show than the main stars will get the t.v. time.

I like the brand splits. It keep things in control and everybody get a shot at the spotlight and every year they have the draft for fresh rivaleries.

 

[Moonlight Drive]

There are way too many massive downsides to a brand unification for it to happen. I honestly don't care about talent hopping, if it keeps Morrison on my screen three times a week, I see no problems.

 

[Airfixx]

Ultimately, what I'd like to see is

World titles: Unified (Bragging rights over who's holding the world title would be good for creating inter-brand heat).

Mid-card titles (inc. a re-branding of the ECW title): Brand exclusive (Finally they'd regain some value if they are the brands 'main' title. This would see them being contended for by anyone but the BIGGEST of stars).

Tag titles: Unified (Tag Div simply isn't big enough to sustain anything of interest on a mult-title platform.)

Women's: Unified (Same as above, but I don't see it happening any time soon as the Divas title is so new... Also the reason, however small, that I don't see them going all out and unifying ALL titles any time soon.)

 

[MikeRaw]

Well, every year before Mania there is some back and forth between the brands. However, you're right. There's never been this much. It's always been guys on SD fight for the SD title, and guys on Raw for the Raw one at Mania, and the only time guys go on the other show leading up to Mania was for either the MITB promotion, or something liek Ric Flair's angle, where he went to all the shows.

So it does seem that way. It seems like even though they always do this before Mania, they're doing it more this year.

Now, personally, what I want to see is more seperation with the brands. I want the opposite of this. I loved the days of 2002-2005/6 where every brand had a GM, and there was a rivalry between brands. I liked that, because it gave the midcard and tag team guys time to shine as well in the card of the weekly shows, and it had a cool feeling to it. It also made it more special when there was something like 'Mania, Summerslam, or the Rumble when all the brands go together. That's just me, but I crave those days.

 

[straight_edge76]

The brand split has been reletively opsolete for the last 2 or 3 years. It is really in theory just a way to get all the talent on air, which next to never happens. Around this time of year it happens more beacuse of inter brand feuds. It's only a matter of time before it all officially ends and everyone is on 3 different shows.

 

[LKP]

I love the idea of a brand unification but also i like raw and smackdown separate. I also like the fact that the tag titles are being unified and its only a matter of time before the two women s titles are to. If raw is going to be stacked with talent then im hoping for a 5 star show every week. I hope they rebuild all shows with a major shake up not just a few mid carders.

 

[Mr.Enigma]

I just wanted to add that the WWE Tag Team Titles unification makes perfectly good sense because right now, the tag team division needs to be upgraded and made over and fewer titles in that division is a step in the right direction.

Another title Unification I think that is needed is the US and IC title to make a new Prime Time title or TV title which like the tag titles can float between shows. That would only make sense and add to the title holder. If they can handle week in and week out defenses on a rotating show bases, they they deserve moving into the World or WWE title ranks and that would be a great way to validate it.

 

[noumenon]

I really think we're nearing the point where a brand unification is almost necessary. I really think WWE has truly fucked themselves over and painted themselves into a corner without even realizing it with this decision over the years. Why would you consciously divide your talent up into painfully obvious Grade A, B and C shows. You're almost putting down your own guys.
It's no secret...
RAW>SMACKDOWN>ECW

WWE TITLE> WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

IC TITLE > US TITLE > ECW TITLE (yes, it is a mid-card belt)

So yeah, with the a brand unification a title unification would definately be necessary. It would eliminate the need for the company to focused around title-centric feuds and perhaps start the trend of making sure everything they do is up to par and entertaining. It would also create more competition and interest in the belts they did have.

 

[Mr.Enigma]

I really think we're nearing the point where a brand unification is almost necessary. I really think WWE has truly fucked themselves over and painted themselves into a corner without even realizing it with this decision over the years. Why would you consciously divide your talent up into painfully obvious Grade A, B and C shows. You're almost putting down your own guys.
It's no secret...
RAW>SMACKDOWN>ECW

WWE TITLE> WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

IC TITLE > US TITLE > ECW TITLE (yes, it is a mid-card belt)

So yeah, with the a brand unification a title unification would definately be necessary. It would eliminate the need for the company to focused around title-centric feuds and perhaps start the trend of making sure everything they do is up to par and entertaining. It would also create more competition and interest in the belts they did have.

Now I have to agree with that totally. Until the brand split, the titles had much more worth and not until the brand split did almost all of the titles lose outright or most of their historic prestige. I remember at one point when the WWE was looking for new leaders in the wrestling world, a couple of titles almost or did become jokes to the masses like the IC title for starters.