Okay....this is beyond fantasy booking into complete wishful thinking, but I write fiction for fun and profit, so I'm spitballin'.
If I were Vince McMahon or Triple H, here's how it would go:
Around the first of the year, I decided to split the brands in the summer, recreate the tension of the Raw vs. Smackdown era, split the titles, hold drafts again (because they were actually pretty cool to watch). I mean, I can even have branded PPV's without the fans shitting on the fact that they're paying extra to watch half of the roster since I've got a whole subscription service to show these major events, so...separate PPV schedules. I'm getting ready to (or maybe had already announced, I can't remember for sure) move Smackdown to USA from SyFy and it's not going to cost me anything extra to air Smackdown live....plus, USA will have the two longest-running episodic shows in history and two of the highest-rated cable broadcasts every week, so they won't bitch if I want to do them on back-to-back nights.
But, I really want something to make it special. I'm going to put my golden boy Roman Reigns on Raw and Seth Rollins will be back around early-to-mid summer, plus, I've just gotten agreements from AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura (not to mention Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows....alright, we'll probably go back to calling him Luke Gallows, but still). I've got a burgeoning developmental brand that's rapidly building to be its own major brand in pro wrest......sports entertainment.
But, I still need something.....
Wade Barrett comes to me and says that he's not going to re-sign when his contract ends. This gives me an idea.
Hey, pal, here's a reason you should sign, but you can't tell a soul, not anybody, not even your buddy Drew over there in TNA. This sparks more thoughts. The internet will be rife with rumors around Mania about who won't be back, so why don't we toss a name that'll really stir some shit up and release Damien Sandow. And Sandow's buddy (and one of the top pure athletes on my roster, who's not really doing anything because Neville got hurt, which killed his angle) Cody Rhodes....no, I can't release Cody Rhodes, so I convince him to "ask for his release" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)...and his wife will need to also. This gets us to the week of the big announcement. There will be a new brand split and a new draft. The internet's arguing about a second world title, what do we do with the Tag titles and the Women's title and the Cruiserweight tournament....will there be a Cruiserweight Title?
My next move is to "fire" Zack Ryder (I'd have him tweet about how upset he is after not being allowed to do anything and how he's always booked to lose) and Ryback (who I had the foresight to have "walk out of Raw"). And I want Cody to drag me over the coals on Twitter and social media...and Ryback, too. It'll really make it look like a real thing. Maybe I come up with another couple of guys to "fire".
July 19...the first live edition of Smackdown. We've put Cena and Orton on Smackdown and they're going to fight in the main event. Out of the crowd comes Cody Rhodes, then Barrett, Sandow, Ryder, Ryback (I know, this will be familiar territory to Barrett, but that's alright), then the other guy or two I came up with. They attack Cena and Orton, who sell everything they do (just don't let any of the attackers spit in anybody's face or choke anybody with a tie). The Fatal 5 attack the ref, the announcers, the ring announcer, they destroy the ring and tear up the mats. We go off the air to silence, but with the Fatal 5 standing tall in the torn-up ring.
The next couple of Smackdowns end similarly. I make a big deal about the fact that security's on the lookout for them, but to no avail: somehow, they still get in and they still take out whoever they feel like taking out. The only thing we can do as management is to hire the guys so they have to follow the rules...
Of course, then they're also eligible for title shots, main event matches...and now you have a hot Cody, Sandow, Ryback, Ryder, and Barrett......and hot feuds to carry out the summer on Smackdown and into the fall.
Like I say, it's not real, but I think it would be interesting.
wk
If I were Vince McMahon or Triple H, here's how it would go:
Around the first of the year, I decided to split the brands in the summer, recreate the tension of the Raw vs. Smackdown era, split the titles, hold drafts again (because they were actually pretty cool to watch). I mean, I can even have branded PPV's without the fans shitting on the fact that they're paying extra to watch half of the roster since I've got a whole subscription service to show these major events, so...separate PPV schedules. I'm getting ready to (or maybe had already announced, I can't remember for sure) move Smackdown to USA from SyFy and it's not going to cost me anything extra to air Smackdown live....plus, USA will have the two longest-running episodic shows in history and two of the highest-rated cable broadcasts every week, so they won't bitch if I want to do them on back-to-back nights.
But, I really want something to make it special. I'm going to put my golden boy Roman Reigns on Raw and Seth Rollins will be back around early-to-mid summer, plus, I've just gotten agreements from AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura (not to mention Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows....alright, we'll probably go back to calling him Luke Gallows, but still). I've got a burgeoning developmental brand that's rapidly building to be its own major brand in pro wrest......sports entertainment.
But, I still need something.....
Wade Barrett comes to me and says that he's not going to re-sign when his contract ends. This gives me an idea.
Hey, pal, here's a reason you should sign, but you can't tell a soul, not anybody, not even your buddy Drew over there in TNA. This sparks more thoughts. The internet will be rife with rumors around Mania about who won't be back, so why don't we toss a name that'll really stir some shit up and release Damien Sandow. And Sandow's buddy (and one of the top pure athletes on my roster, who's not really doing anything because Neville got hurt, which killed his angle) Cody Rhodes....no, I can't release Cody Rhodes, so I convince him to "ask for his release" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)...and his wife will need to also. This gets us to the week of the big announcement. There will be a new brand split and a new draft. The internet's arguing about a second world title, what do we do with the Tag titles and the Women's title and the Cruiserweight tournament....will there be a Cruiserweight Title?
My next move is to "fire" Zack Ryder (I'd have him tweet about how upset he is after not being allowed to do anything and how he's always booked to lose) and Ryback (who I had the foresight to have "walk out of Raw"). And I want Cody to drag me over the coals on Twitter and social media...and Ryback, too. It'll really make it look like a real thing. Maybe I come up with another couple of guys to "fire".
July 19...the first live edition of Smackdown. We've put Cena and Orton on Smackdown and they're going to fight in the main event. Out of the crowd comes Cody Rhodes, then Barrett, Sandow, Ryder, Ryback (I know, this will be familiar territory to Barrett, but that's alright), then the other guy or two I came up with. They attack Cena and Orton, who sell everything they do (just don't let any of the attackers spit in anybody's face or choke anybody with a tie). The Fatal 5 attack the ref, the announcers, the ring announcer, they destroy the ring and tear up the mats. We go off the air to silence, but with the Fatal 5 standing tall in the torn-up ring.
The next couple of Smackdowns end similarly. I make a big deal about the fact that security's on the lookout for them, but to no avail: somehow, they still get in and they still take out whoever they feel like taking out. The only thing we can do as management is to hire the guys so they have to follow the rules...
Of course, then they're also eligible for title shots, main event matches...and now you have a hot Cody, Sandow, Ryback, Ryder, and Barrett......and hot feuds to carry out the summer on Smackdown and into the fall.
Like I say, it's not real, but I think it would be interesting.
wk
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