This is my first written article in more than a year, it will kind of short just because I want this to be a debate starter. I’m hearing rumors that WWE is considering bringing back the brand extension. Originally there were things I liked about it ….
1) SECONDARY TITLES WERE MORE IMPORTANT
2) WRESTLERS WEREN’T OVEREXPOSED
3) DIFFERENT AUTHORITY FIGURES FELT MORE FRESHER (a MAJOR problem today)
4) ANNOUNCERS WEREN’T STALE (a minor problem today)
5) THERE WERE ACTUALLY DREAM MATCHES
6) PAY PER VIEWS FELT MORE IMPORTANT
7) SMACKDOWN WAS A MUST SEE SHOW!!!!!
Over time, it did have its drawbacks. SMACKDOWN became a raw recap show, the World Heavyweight Championship became less important and less attention was put on the midcarders and more on the big superstars who were invited from either raw or smackdown.
Side note: RAW and SMACKDOWN CAN NOT BE CONTROLLED BY ONE GM!
1) The world heavyweight title should not be split again. The belt should be shared between both shows. For example, let’s say brock lesnar is the champion and he is on the smackdown roster; the only way a raw superstar can get the title is one of 4 ways…
a) Winning the ROYAL RUMBLE and title match at WrestleMania (assuming RAW superstar wins it)
b) Cashing in the Money in the Bank (assuming RAW superstar wins it)
c) Elimination Chamber (whether it be a #1 contender match or a match where you have 3 superstars from RAW, 2 from smackdown, and your champion)
d) By beating top contenders on RAW.
But for the majority of the time, the world title is defended on that particular show, which in this case is smackdown.
2) THE DRAFT
WWE will draft superstars on main roster and NXT every year. Instead of putting in the entire NXT roster, put in 6 men and 4 women, (have them declare for the draft like college players going to the pros). Instead of it being on just RAW, I would make it a live special on WWE NETWORK or on USA, The draft would be done like it normally does. Some matches with be for 1 draft pick while others would be for 2.
3) NXT
Speaking of NXT, in order for this to work…NXT’s roster would have to get bigger and the show would have to be longer (TAPED SHOWS = 2 HOURS, LIVE SPECIALS = 3 HOURS) this would be a way to get eyes on more prospects.
4) SELF COMPETITION
RAW and SMACKDOWN are going to compete against each other for brand supremacy each year. I want to make survivor series an important event…I will combine the survivor series with bragging rights. Make the event a RAW vs SMACKDOWN competition, the elimination tag match can be the deciding match in the series. Also, to further increase the importance of the event. The winning roster would get #1 overall pick in the draft. I can see WWE doing a lot with this, someone betraying their team just to join a roster would be epic if done right. I would even make the world championship match part of the competition.
5) SECONDARY TITLES
DIVAS TITLE: champion would defend title against top contender from other show.
TAG-TEAM: BELTS WOULD NOT BE SPLIT. Champions would defend titles against top contenders from other show. IF NXT TAG CHAMP can hold onto belts after 6 months that team can decide if they want to challenge WWE tag champs thus surrendering NXT titles if they win.
IC TITLE would stay on RAW, US TITLE would stay on SMACKDOWN.
I WOULD ALSO BRING BACK THE CRUSERWEIGHT TITLE (smackdown) and LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE (raw) to help build midcard talent.
Being that RAW is 3 hours long, this idea would benefit talent like CESARO, DOLPH ZIGGLER or any other midcarder and NXT superstar. Let’s face facts: CENA & ORTON don’t have much time left, CM PUNK walked, you have guys and gals that are on the main roster that are ready for the chance that VINCE AND WWE are not giving them (even though he says they haven’t earned it)…it’s time to prepare for the future.
Now, I know WWE today is not bold enough or smart to even think of something like but after all, this is just an idea that I took about 20 minutes to think of…am not a booker, a writer or promoter and am only 21 years old - so give me your opinions in the comment section below the link to this article.