WWE: 5 Reasons the Brand Extension Needs to End After Wrestlemania

The Raw/Smackdown Brand extension is closing in on celebrating its 10th anniversary, and with the annual draft looming, I feel there is no better time than now to follow through with dismantling the “separation” of the two shows.

Even now, it’s apparent that some aspects of the promotion are crossing over and it’s honestly left some fans in the WWE Universe a bit confused. However, I can see some of these cross-overs as indications that the extension may be coming to an end.

In short, I’ve noticed little aspects such as Santino (a Smackdown! Superstar) holding the US Championship (a Raw championship), and the fact that in November the company released their newest video game, WWE 12—instead of the traditional Smackdown vs. Raw. Not to mention the constant cross-over on the Raw Supershow, which is getting annoying, so let’s return the full roster to equal representation and end some of this confusion.

Believe me, I understand the legal issues behind the need to distance the two brands in order to avoid the implications of a potential monopoly, but in an ideal world I feel the following reasons could expand the audience appeal and enrich the competition of the company. 

5. More Talent; More Options for More Feuds

After watching Smackdown! last Friday it was apparent to me that Sheamus and Chris Jericho need to feud at some point down the line. I couldn’t believe it was the first time they’d ever been in a singles match against each other. They work so well together. They have such opposing styles and strike incredibly different chords with the crowd.

But Sheamus is on Smackdown! and Jericho is on Raw.

When these two were squaring off as the final two competitors in this year’s Royal Rumble, they put on an incredible five-minute show. With the added stipulation of the winner being able to choose their Wrestlemania opponent makes things more interesting because it provides the opportunity to cross brands—however, Creative probably wouldn’t throw that in a storyline.

Then again, we’ve seen some crossing over a lot lately.

But with the brands combined again, we can open up the door for Cody Rhodes to feud with Kofi Kingston, which would make for amazing matches, or CM Punk and Sheamus, or The Miz and Randy Orton. These feuds could also be created by the upcoming draft—but I don’t even want the draft to happen.

It would make for a much more interesting set of shows each week if the Superstars were competing against the full roster. Opening up the roster can create opportunities for the resurgence of stables, rivalries, and even new tag teams.

4. Tag Team Division Would Thrive

The fact that the tag team championships aren’t yet on the match card for Wrestlemania is atrocious.

The tag titles and the Divas title are the only titles defended across brands, hence why there could/should be teams across brands as well.

It’s been apparent that Creative hasn’t had much to work with in regard to the tag team titles since Air Boom was forced to give up the titles to Epico/Primo, who in my opinion is a solid team.

Epico and Primo create solid heat and work well together, which is surprising because I didn’t foresee these two getting as large of a push as they have.

Then again, what else is there to work with?

The Usos still need some crafting, and American Perfection is signed up for the Waste of Time and Talent 12-man Tag Team match at Mania.

The team I wanted to see challenge for the titles was Kofi/R-Truth, who also work together much better than I expected. However, they are also signed up for the Waste of Time and Talent 12-man Tag Team match, so I’m left wondering if the titles will even be featured at Mania.

If not, where do we go from here?

Combining the brands allows for more experimentation with new teams, possibly bringing back stables and establishing more prestige to these titles.

Speaking of an old prestige title…

3. Revival of Cruiserweight Division

With the apparent re-return of Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara approaching, not to mention many FCW stars potentially making the jump to the main roster, the idea of combining the brands shall extend this once-prominent division into all-new heights.

This would give many of the superstars left in the mid-to-lower-card shuffle, like Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Yoshi Tatsu and Hunico an opportunity to showcase their many talents in a different light. Even Daniel Bryan could make a better, more realistic impact at this level.

Naturally, the level to which Cruiserweight competition used to exist cannot be replicated since there is an immense absence of Luchadore wrestling in mainstream WWE programming. But I think there’s an opportunity for much more interesting matches.

The pace of these matches would thrive in the PG-Era, since the allure of this division lies with the high-flying, risk-taking and opportunistic in-ring abilities of these superstars.

Maybe I’m just getting bored with Brodus Clay squashing dudes in 30 seconds, Mark Henry hobbling around the ring, and the Great Khali being a completely incoherent mess of a human being.

I’d like to see some of the younger talent developed to create a division comparable with TNA’s X-Division, which may take some building, but this could be an intricate element in moving forward after Wrestlemania.

2. Championship Confusion/Undisputed Championship

Santino Marella’s United States championship situation is confusing.

The future of Cody Rhodes’ IC title is also blurry. The title needs to move from him so he can enter the main event scene—but to whom?

Suggestion No. 1: Not the Big Show.

Suggestion No. 2: Open up the roster. Get it on Kofi again, or the Miz again, or even Drew McIntyre again so he can prove useful.

Or bring in the new guns from FCW, like Dean Ambrose or Seth Rollins. Get creative, Creative!

Then there are the main titles.

Something interesting about this year’s Rumble, as I pointed out earlier, is that the winner was allowed to wait before choosing the wrestler they wanted to face at Wrestlemania—which, in the most logical sense, meant that the winner could jump to any show and pursue any title they wished.

I expected Sheamus to choose Daniel Bryan because I figured Creative wouldn’t have jumbled up the roster as much as they could’ve if he went after CM Punk, but it was also expected for Jericho to get his shot, regardless of winning the Rumble.

And with Jericho’s return, the commentators have made sure to mention that he was the first undisputed champion during each of his matches. This seems to allude quite well to the possibility of bringing back the short-lived, yet stunningly presented Undisputed Championship title belt.

John Cena recently spoke out in rebuke of his once-loved spinning WWE Title belt, so why not make the change now?

Set up both brands with a trusted champion. I’d choose CM Punk and Randy Orton and have the two battle it out for the Undisputed championship.

This would alleviate any confusion over who is the top dog in the company, and it would restore some validity to what it means to be the champion, instead of having useless Champion versus Champion matches that hold no weight, and simply waste our time.

1. Long/Laurinaitis Feud Alludes to the End

This may be the most obvious reason the brand extension needs to be brought to an end.

I mean, what comes of this feud other than trying to diminish the amount of perceived power backstage?

With one person running both shows, wouldn’t it be easier to combine the rosters instead of having to maintain each separately? We already witnessed that when Long ran Raw and Laurinaitis ran Smackdown! for one week that they wanted to cross their superstars from their branded shows to shake things up a bit during their test-run efforts.

It seemed like there was little respect for the system by which superstars are branded. This portrayal makes it seem as though Creative could be getting tired of the restrictions in place when dealing with Superstars relegated to respected brands.

However, we’ve also seen that they’re not afraid to shatter these restrictions—case in point: Santino…and this big 12-man match at Mania.

And earlier I coined the eventual culmination of this feud the Waste of Time and Talent 12-man Tag Team match. It seems like a lot more time at Wrestlemania is being devoted to the already-set super card—which makes sense given that Vince and Creative have dug deep to incorporate

I hope that match makes sense and that the proper superstars are allowed to shine on the biggest stage because it seems like a lot of the younger talent involved in the match are being short-changed on the biggest pay day of the year by having limited action at the event and having to be roped into this ridiculous storyline.

Not to mention the teams are completely cross-branded, which actually makes sense since the winner will control both shows. So, there’s something going well for this match.

All I can hope is that something more fruitful comes out of this feud.

Something new. Something exciting.

Conclusion

I recognize that I’m not the first to write an article about the Brand Extension needing to end, but I don’t see any better time to do it than after Wrestlemania.

The timing would be perfect, especially with a full-time GM for both shows being determined by the Waste of Time and Talent 12-man Tag Team match.

I also acknowledge that disbanding the brands means superstars may have to compete more often, meaning less days off but an opportunity to even get more creative with house where there already is a lot of experimentation.

Hopefully some of this made sense.

This is something I think about a lot and it seems foolish not to consider these reasons when looking forward to life after Wrestlemania.

Thanks for reading!

Be well.

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