WWE Rumors: Next Superstar Draft Being Discussed for Backlash 2018 PPV

WWE is considering bringing back the draft to shuffle the respective rosters on Raw and SmackDown Live, WrestleZone's Nick Hausman reported Tuesday.

Speculation began growing when Ticketmaster sent out an email regarding the Backlash pay-per-view on May 6. The show is supposed to be a Raw-branded event, but Wrestling Inc shared a photo of the email, which claimed Backlash would be co-branded with Raw and SmackDown Live wrestlers competing:

Fightful.com's Sean Ross Sapp reported WWE hasn't informed talent of any alterations to the PPV calendar, so no plans have been set as of yet.

Another WWE draft would be a good way to freshen things up a bit. By coming nearly two years after the brand extension in July 2016, it will have also allowed enough time for fans to become accustomed to stars exclusively on Raw or SmackDown Live.

The idea of co-branded PPVs makes sense in theory until remembering the fact WWE has already finalized its PPV schedule for 2018, courtesy of CBSSports.com's Adam Silverstein:

• Elimination Chamber: Feb. 25, 2018 (Raw)
• Fastlane: March 11, 2018 (SmackDown Live)
• WrestleMania 34: April 8, 2018
• Backlash: May 6, 2018 (Raw)
• Payback: May 27, 2018 (SmackDown Live)
• Money in the Bank: June 17, 2018
• Battleground: July 15, 2018 (Raw)
• SummerSlam: Aug. 19, 2018
• Extreme Rules: Sept. 16, 2018 (Raw)
• Hell in a Cell: Sept. 30, 2018 (SmackDown Live)
• TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs: Oct. 21, 2018 (Raw)
• Survivor Series: Nov. 18, 2018
• Clash of Champions: Dec. 16, 2018 (SmackDown Live)

Having another draft or doing away with co-branded PPVs doesn't eliminate the biggest problem since the brand extension: the watering down of PPVs resulting from a saturated programming calendar. Holding 14 WWE PPVs is a perfect way to make the shows outside of the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and SummerSlam feel less important.

The two-week gap between Raw's Extreme Rules and SmackDown Live's Hell in a Cell in September is the most extreme example.

The strategy also hurts WWE's storytelling, because everything has to be rushed in order to wrap everything up before the next big event.

As much as a draft will help create some post-WrestleMania momentum on WWE's two weekly shows, the effect likely won't last until the company seriously rethinks its PPV strategy.