WWE Debate: Should WWE Stop the Brand Extension and End the Draft?

The WWE’s brand extension hardly means anything these days. 

The Big Show is technically supposed to be a Raw superstar, Raw stars appear on SmackDown all the time (and vice versa), Kane feuded with John Cena even though he was technically a SmackDown superstar at the time, Mark Henry’s recently gotten a couple of WWE Championship matches even though he’s supposed to be on SmackDown, and so on and so forth. 

You get the point. There’s just so much crossover between the two major brands that it has rendered the brand split almost completely pointless. 

As a result, a number of WWE fans have called for the end of the WWE draft and the brand split, which has been in existence since 2002. 

“It just doesn’t matter anymore,” they say. 

I agree with that statement, but I disagree that the brand split and the WWE draft should end because of it. If anything, I think it proves that the brand split should remain intact as long as the WWE is around. 

Why? Because it gives us the best of both worlds. 

The WWE’s recent switch to the new “Raw SuperShow” format is like having a brand split and not having a brand split at the same time. 

Technically, Raw and SmackDown remain two separate brands, but it’s almost as if the brand split doesn’t exist on Monday nights but does exist on Friday nights. 

Every time we tune into Raw, every Raw or SmackDown superstar is eligible to appear on the show. Well, how is that any different than it would be if there were an end to the brand split? 

The answer: It’s not. 

There is no defined brand split on Monday nights, but for the most part, Friday nights exclusively feature SmackDown superstars. SmackDown is its own brand and a show that Raw superstars hardly ever appear on. 

As a result, SmackDown has become what I call “the land of opportunity.” It’s where young superstars go to grow—See: Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, etc.—or where established veterans, such as Mark Henry and Christian, get a legitimate chance to rise up the card that they probably wouldn’t get if they were on Raw. 

The reasoning is simple, really. Raw is the brand that focuses almost exclusively on upper mid-card and main event talent, while SmackDown is the brand that has a defined pecking order from the lower card to the main event. 

Take away the brand extension and the WWE draft along with it, and that completely goes away. 

Both Raw and SmackDown would now focus on guys like John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus and CM Punk. And they would do that every week. 

Do we really want that? Do we really want two shows where the guys who are already main eventing (or are at least on the cusp of it) get the spotlight week after week, month after month? 

I sure don’t think so.

If there is no draft and no brand extension, then there is also little to no opportunity for advancement. The already dwindling mid-card, tag-team and lower-card divisions would simply cease to exist. 

Instead, we’d start off both Raw and SmackDown with main eventers, watch main eventers throughout and then close the shows with main eventers. 

That cannot and should not happen. 

The WWE will remain stagnant and fail to grow if the two biggest contributions to the company’s growth—the brand split and the WWE draft—are no more. 

We need two separate brands with two completely separate philosophies, and that’s exactly what we have right now. And, oh yeah, it’s working brilliantly. 

SmackDown’s ratings are up because of the crossover, and the fact is that the show’s up-and-coming stars are given a chance to shine twice a week, a chance that they would not be given if Raw’s top stars were appearing on SmackDown every week as well. 

Raw is doing just fine as the show that focuses primarily on established superstars, while SmackDown is doing just as well as the show that cultivates new ones. 

Remove the draft and remove the brand split, and you also remove the best thing that the WWE has going on at the moment.

Note: If anyone would like to write the rebuttal to my argument, please DM me here on B/R and let me know. That way, you can write the article, send it to me and I'll get it up on the WWE blog. Also, don't forget to follow me on Twitter, where you can ask my question for the WWE Mailbag that I release every Friday.