Per a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is planning to go back to fully split rosters for Raw and SmackDown Live by the time SmackDown makes it’s move to Fox in October.
It’s fair to say that the situation with the roster split has been in disarray for the last few months. In April we had our usual Superstar Shake-Up, but then the very next week they announced a new wrinkle. The Wildcard Rule prescribed that three superstars from one show could appear on the opposing one per week. This was of course nominally changed to four on the same night that it was announced. Mind you, five SmackDown superstars appeared on Raw that night regardless.
The number and specifics of the rule was swiftly ignored soon after, with the term ‘Wildcard’ not even being used regularly over the past couple of months. As of now, WWE superstars can just appear whenever they feel like it. Effectively, we’ve seen the brand extension take a break for the sake of growing ratings. Sadly, the ratings still hit new lows amidst this rule but that’s neither here nor there.
The rhyme or reason to this was dropped so quickly with crossover becoming so casual and frequent that many assumed the brand split was quietly fading away in the same vein that the original incarnation did years ago. This in spite of the fact that such a thing would kill SmackDown, like it did last time. And this is a show that’s theoretically meant to be their most important as soon as it moves to Fox.
However, reports now suggest that WWE is not killing the brand extension, gradually or otherwise.
They are seemingly taking the opportunity to make a more strict roster split come October, with Raw and SmackDown being able to focus solely on themselves. This will certainly make the jobs of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff much easier, as they won’t have to worry about the portrayal of each other’s superstars. Being able to focus entirely on their own angles is obviously a plus.
The Wildcard Rule has also been largely blamed for the lack of exposure for newer talent, with aspiring midcarders being largely ignored in favor of established stars. This obviously greatly inhibits their ability to get over and become big names themselves. With any luck, the likes of Buddy Murphy, Cedric Alexander, Ali and many more will get their chance this Fall.
I’ve always personally been a proponent of the brand split when the roster is deep enough for it. And right now WWE’s roster is as bloated as it’s ever been. That it’s been largely mishandled does not mean that there’s anything wrong with the concept. Over the past few months, we’ve seen what the WWE would look like if the brand extension were gone. It was not pretty.
Hopefully with this news we will see them become more serious about promoting two distinct shows. And with this, perhaps putting out the best product they can in the process. Stranger things have happened, I suppose.
