WWE Ending the Draft and Brand Split: Pros and Cons

The WWE Smackdown vs. Raw video game franchise was called off this year. The new title is now WWE '12.

Some reports stated that the change occurred because WWE didn't want the brands competing against each other anymore, which may be another reason why the Bragging Rights pay-per-view was called off as well.

Another reason could possibly have been a look into the future.

Last night on Monday Night Raw, C.O.O. Triple H announced that from here on out, Monday Night Raw would be a Raw Supershow. Personally, I'm hoping that "Raw Supershow" doesn't stick and that it will go back to being "Raw" sooner rather than later.

And tonight is the first live Smackdown in some time, consisting of Smackdown and Raw superstars. It hasn't been stated that both show's superstars will be appearing on Smackdown full-time, but HHH could make that announcement tonight.

For some time, the WWE Universe has been begging for the WWE to end the brand split. I can't lie, I've been pushing just as hard for its end, but after watching last night's show, I have my doubts about the split.

I think it would help the WWE more than continuing the separate shows, but there are some fallouts to ending the split.

Here are the pros and cons (in my opinion) to the WWE ending the split.

Con: The Writers

The first problem with the WWE ending its brand split is the problem with the boys upstairs. The writing.

This isn't so much a "problem," but this needs to get better, a whole lot better than it is now, if the WWE wants to put all of its superstars on one show.

Up until the CM Punk, John Cena, HHH and Kevin Nash feuds of the last couple months, the WWE writing has been poor. There haven't been any memorable feuds, matches or promos in the months prior, and that all falls on the shoulders of the writers.

Some stars are being underutilized (which is a whole nother con) and aren't getting the time they deserve, and when they do get the time, the writers build them up with a potential feud only to have it disappear.

The WWE had something good going with Alex Riley and Dolph Ziggler, with Vikki adding extra fire to the fuel, but for some reason, Alex Riley is out of the picture and Jack Swagger—who is never going to get the heat the WWE wants from its fans—is in it now.

So it looks like Swagger/Ziggler for NOC. Unless A-ry is in there too, it seems like a waste.

Pro: All Superstars

The first pro is the most obvious. It's just plain awesome to have every superstar on the show. Some guys might get left off on an occasional night (con No. 2), but in the long run, having these guys on the show is a plus.

Watching Randy Orton come out last night was a cool moment for Raw. Having it after the opening promo was even cooler.

The crowd was expecting a break in the action, or a lame backstage promo to come on, but the Viper's music hit and the crowd ate it up. This is a great thing. The WWE doesn't need to do any filler matches, or any lame promos anymore, because it has the superstar power now to make every minute of television count, and I think it has forgotten to do that of late.

And of course, having all the superstars on the show leads to....

Pro: New Matches with Fresh Opponents

Yes! We wouldn't have to see anymore of Randy Orton vs. Christian! While each one of their matches has delivered (some more than others) and I'm sure the Smackdown cage match will rock, let's hope this feud is done after that.

Maybe the reason the WWE dragged this feud on for so long is because there isn't anyone else to challenge Randy right now.

Mark Henry needed those months to destroy the giants of the WWE and blossom into the monster he is.

Sheamus needed to sit back and wait for Mark Henry to do the aforementioned so that he could challenge Henry and become a face.

Daniel Bryan is NOT ready for that stage, and Wade Barrett got stuck with him.

There is no one else there. No one else is ready to compete for the World Title besides those guys. Mixing Raw and Smackdown back together will give Randy more competition. Miz, R-Truth, Ziggler and all the other guys who were on top, but not on the bottom thanks to Cena's and Punk's run, could compete against Orton.

Con: Some Will Be Lost in the Shuffle

So, this is the point where the article becomes a little hypocritical.

Having every superstar is awesome, and it will lead to better matches, better promos. Just about everything will be better, except like I said, there will be the occasional superstar missing.

Where was Cody Rhodes last night? Why did the WWE do Ziggler vs. Orton when it could have been Rhodes vs. Ziggler?

Why couldn't Cody cut a promo with Ted, or something simple? Cody has been hot as of late, and after the Cross Rhodes on Ted last week, why didn't they build on that on Raw? Sure, most of you will say they can build on it on Smackdown, which they can, but if Raw is the flagship show with thousands more viewers, why not have Rhodes vs Ziggler last night and have Ted turn on Cody? More people would see it. But that is just an example.

With both superstars on both shows, some of the younger guys will be resting in the shadows.

Just because they are all on Raw and Smackdown doesn't mean time will be split up evenly. It really just means we will get more CM Punk, Cena and HHH during the week, and the same amount of everyone else. Which is a big concern for me.

But I firmly believe it is the mid-card success that needs to be revived to save the WWE

Con: Too Much Gold

Most of you will probably disagree with me on this one, but I think this is a major problem—maybe the biggest of them all.

Having two champions in the brand extension is needed. Eric Bischoff had it right when Brock Lesnar, the WWE undisputed Champion, jumped to Smackdown and gave HHH the World Champion. Both shows need something to fight for. Both shows need that top guy on the card.

But when you put them on the same show week after week, who is better? Who is the main-event guy? The WWE Champion because it's the original championship?

What if John Cena holds the World Championship and The Miz holds the WWE Championship? Then the World Championship is more prestigious because Cena has it. The confusion between which one means more needs to stop.

If the brand extension is over, the WWE needs to unify the titles into one Undisputed WWE World Champion.

This will open the door for many things:

1. The championship will mean something because it will really be the most prestigious title in the game. As of now, Cole says that both of them are week-by-week depending on which show he is on.

2. It will mean more because every top-card performer will be after that one champion. There will once again be a hard target on the title-holder's back

3. Finally, more time will need to be spent on storyline feuds. With one championship match, the other guys will need to fight over something, right? This means more personal problems, which leads to better matches, which leads to a better product.

Do You Agree?

In this article, I have three cons and two pros, which usually leads to not changing something, but the thing is that the cons are easy problems that can be fixed right away.

The product is coming together. The writers are beginning to understand today's generation and what needs to be done to fix Raw and Smackdown. HHH is doing his thing behind the scenes and giving the fans what they want to see.

Having the brand extension come to an end will lead to good things. Looking at the pros and cons will only provide argument for people's opinions on the pros and cons themselves.

The biggest thing to think about is this: If the brand extension does indeed end, do you really see any fan writing an article titled "Why WWE needs to bring back the Brand Extension?"

I don't think so. Do you?