Projecting Biggest Pros and Cons of WWE Raw-SmackDown Brand Split

As WWE reconstructs its universe with a Raw-SmackDown brand split, major opportunities and major challenges will arise.

There will soon be more room for WWE's underused Superstars to spread their wings. With that comes added pressure and a less concentrated collection of star power. 

After five years of Raw and SmackDown sharing the same roster and storylines, WWE is set to move into a new era, one that mirrors the period after WWE bought out WCW and ECW. The brand split is on its way back.

PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson confirmed on Wednesday that when SmackDown starts airing live on July 19, "There will be a new brand split between the two brands."

Writing for Variety, Brian Steinberg noted, "A draft will be held before the 'Smackdown' launch date to determine which wrestlers on the company’s talent roster will be assigned to which program. Each show is expected to feature separate cast, plots and writing teams."

Shane and Stephanie McMahon are already talking about who will lead the way for what has long been WWE's B show:

Regardless of who takes charge of Raw and SmackDown, adjustments both positive and negative aplenty are on their way.

Pro: Lightening the Load

WWE rides its top stars hard. Last year, Roman Reigns worked a total of 213 matches. Dean Ambrose wrestled 218 times. 

That will lessen with the brand split. If Ambrose is drafted to SmackDown, he won't be wrestling on Monday nights anymore. If Reigns stays with Raw, he won't also have to step into the ring every Tuesday.

As the guys at the Mat Men podcast pointed out, that will equate to less injuries:

And after Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Cesaro and John Cena all missed WrestleMania 32 because they were still recovering from their respective surgeries, the importance of that won't be lost on anyone. The brand split will spread the weekly workload around, something every aching body in the locker room has to be happy about.

Con: Stretching the Roster Thin

When WWE initially had two separate brands, it boasted a roster that included Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Steve Austin and The Undertaker. As much talent as WWE has today, it doesn't wield that kind of star power.

Going back to a brand split means that WWE is essentially dividing its crop of headliners. In an era that has a lot of potential megastars and not as many actual megastars, that's a risky move.

It will also mean that WWE's bottom-rung talent is going to get a lot more time. Big Show and Kane, a pair of wrestlers many fans have little interest in, will be around far more often. Fandango will be more prominent. The Shining Stars will get more TV time.

Wrestling Inc writer Sean Ross Sapp joked about the previous brand split opening the door for guys such as Luther Reigns to get high-profile spots:

It's strange that WWE decided to do this after letting Damien Sandow go. He would have been one of the more intriguing options for the company to pull out of obscurity for the sake of filling two separate rosters.

Pro: Better Use of Midcard Talent

Cody Rhodes' recent frustrations over not being a big enough part of the show is a result of one of WWE's biggest issues. It struggles to find roles for many a talented wrestler.

With the brand split, WWE suddenly expands its stage, making more room for the talents who too often spend Raw or SmackDown watching from backstage.

Titus O'Neil returned from suspension only to get lost in the shuffle. Tyler Breeze moved up the main roster and soon found it difficult to stay on TV. Zack Ryder won't have to battle so much for his share of airtime. 

Credit: WWE.com

After the Raw-SmackDown draft, each of those Superstars will move up on the depth chart automatically. WWE will have to rely on them more. As a result, someone unexpected is bound to catch fire. Stardom in wrestling is often the result of a performer maximizing an opportunity.

Come July 19, the number of opportunities awaiting to be maximized will shoot up.

Con: NXT Bound to Suffer

To combat the thinness of its roster, WWE will need have to pluck more names from NXT.

Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and others have been kept around that third brand—not so they can develop but as a means to keep up interest in it. It certainly helps NXT when it goes on tour to have established grapplers like them as headliners. But there will be less of that ahead.

Balor, Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura are now all destined to leave NXT for Raw and SmackDown. WWE will have important holes to fill once Raw and SmackDown diverge. 

That will leave the thriving NXT brand with less to work with. Wrestlers such as Tye Dillinger and Elias Samson should be thrilled with the doors that will open, but the buzz around NXT is bound to diminish some.

NXT's level of star power was a luxury WWE won't have for much longer.

Pro: Proper Space for Women's Division 

As much as WWE has talked up a Divas Revolution and boosted its women's division by rebranding it at WrestleMania, there is still a fight each week for Charlotte and company to get a big enough slice of the TV-time pie to make a true impact.

WWE's women are still shorted when it comes time to book Raw and SmackDown. Take Emma's last five bouts on that show as an example.

Matchup	Show	Date	Match Time
Emma vs. Paige	Raw	3/28	2:55
Emma vs. Paige	SmackDown	4/12	3:16
Emma vs. Natalya	Raw	4/25	2:40
Emma vs. Becky Lynch	Raw	5/2	5:45
Emma and Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch and Natalya	SmackDown	5/3	13:20

Those three-minute bouts won't happen as much. SmackDown won't need to tell Raw's stories and showcase Raw's stars. The division of the brands will mean each show can focus on a portion of the women's division, giving each wrestler more stories and matches each week.

It allows WWE to explore a number of options, too, from having two women's titles to having one of the shows feature female tag teams. Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net wants to see a women's tag team championship born from the brand split:

Sasha Banks won't have to sit around so much with the return of Raw and SmackDown doing their own thing. Paige and Naomi will get more work, too. Count on more narratives from this division and a bigger buzz around the division as a result.

There will be ample buzz in general about WWE's move back to two brands. The continued promise of a new era is now coming to fruition.

The company's women, midcarders and the underutilized now have an increased number of brass rings hanging above their heads.

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.