WWE Brand Split News/Rumors/Discussion

[Fnord]

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Regarding the WWE brand spit and SmackDown going live beginning Tuesday, July 19th, the belief is that one show will feature Shane McMahon in charge and one show will have Stephanie McMahon in charge, perhaps RAW. It's also believed that while Vince McMahon and Triple H will continue running creative, current RAW and SmackDown head writers Ed Koskey and Ryan Ward will end up with more power since the creative writing teams will have more control and won't have to constantly work together on ideas.

We noted yesterday that it was already being rumored that the WWE Women's Title would be exclusive to one show. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the tentative plan is for the women's division to be on both brands but the exclusive talk is there. The Women's Champion would be the only person to appear on both brands, with the exception of whoever the singles champion is. It was also noted that they are still looking at doing two world titles again but that is not a lock and they could end up with just one top champion. The WWE Tag Team Titles are also still up in the air but everyone is still saying that the United States Title will be on one show while the Intercontinental Title will be on the other. There's been talk of having two sets of tag champions or one set that would work both shows.

The WWE Draft is still rumored for July 11th in Detroit but not a lock. There are people in WWE campaigning for a hard split of the rosters while others want a soft spit with top stars making guest appearances on the other shows, allowing for more unique top matches on TV or pay-per-view events.

The Observer also reported internal belief is that John Cena will be the main star on SmackDown while Roman Reigns will be the top star for RAW. There's still no word on what will happen with several top stars, including Brock Lesnar. It's believed Lesnar will end up on RAW when he returns for SummerSlam hype but word is that even his brand is not a lock at this point.

As noted, everything is still up in the air and one guarantee is that many plans will change over the next month or so. WWE is officially saying that all the big questions will be answered in the next few weeks.

[Cory]

Cena and Reigns on either show. Makes sense, but no.

[Gravedigger]

I wouldn't mind a Cena/AJ/Owens/Jericho/Cesaro Smackdown Main Event scene for the WHC...

Raw would probably, in this case, be a Shield battle for the title, which would be good as well...

[BamBamBunglow]

Right, I'm not meaning to piss in anyone's chips here but...

if this ends up in a hard split (totally seperate shows, no cross over matches), how will it not get boring? I mean, we've all complained over the last X number of years that we're sick of seeing the same people in the same matches over and over. Well... numerically speaking, if you ony have half your roster on one show, isn't that going to happen EVEN more?

Just isn't making much sense to me. didn't the first time around either.

[Gravedigger]

Right, I'm not meaning to piss in anyone's chips here but...

if this ends up in a hard split (totally seperate shows, no cross over matches), how will it not get boring? I mean, we've all complained over the last X number of years that we're sick of seeing the same people in the same matches over and over. Well... numerically speaking, if you ony have half your roster on one show, isn't that going to happen EVEN more?

Just isn't making much sense to me. didn't the first time around either.

NXT will get raided....

[Drama Queen]

The point is if there are two world titles then nobody can claim they are number one, which is the whole point of wrestling. Reaching the top. Not one of the twin peaks.

[Mike Powers]

The point is if there are two world titles then nobody can claim they are number one, which is the whole point of wrestling. Reaching the top. Not one of the twin peaks.

Remember back when WCW was a thing....there were "twin peaks" at that time.  Hell, during ECW's apex, you could argue that there were 3 World Titles worth a damn.

[Drama Queen]

Remember back when WCW was a thing....there were "twin peaks" at that time.  Hell, during ECW's apex, you could argue that there were 3 World Titles worth a damn.

Different universes. (But no, you could not argue that there were 3 world titles worth a damn. )

I know that's what they are trying to sell here (separate companies), but I didn't buy it then and I can't see myself buying it now.



I'll be honest the thing that's really pissing me off is reading this after trading Okada to Bam for Ambrose

(Though I am curious to see how this plays out in FWL)

[Mike Powers]

(But no, you could not argue that there were 3 world titles worth a damn. )

This is how fights start.

(I was a regular at the ECW Arena for years back when I lived in Philly)

[Drama Queen]

This is how fights start.

(I was a regular at the ECW Arena for years back when I lived in Philly)

That's nothing to be ashamed of! I like to play Bingo sometimes too!

[T-Bonizzle]

POWERS IS REALLY OLD, YOU SEE

[Mike Powers]

ATTENDING WRESTLING EVENTS IN THE LATE '90'S DOES NOT MAKE ME OLD!!!!

*slowly realizes this is now 20 years ago*

*cries*

[Dorling]

You old.

There are two arguments here. Will individual rosters mean limited choice of wrestlers and thus boredom, or will it present an opportunity for guys and girls that we all know are good to get more recognition and focus?

I'm a little of column A and a little of column B.

In an ideal world it would mean a lot more of the roster getting utilised and having meaningful TV time, which I think would be great.

But this is not an ideal world and I think WWE will mess it up, so it is broken.

[J-Reb]

My favorite event ever was the Monday where DX invaded Nitro. I was at The Scope in Norfolk that night. #dontworrypowers #imoldtoo

[Gravedigger]

ATTENDING WRESTLING EVENTS IN THE LATE '90'S DOES NOT MAKE ME OLD!!!!

*slowly realizes this is now 20 years ago*

*cries*

I hear ya buddy....