WWE Raw Supershow: Is It WWE's Way of Accepting That There Is a Lack of Talent?

In my opinion, it has been a long time coming. It is the near-final nail in the brand extension scheme that has been running since 2002.

In 2002, Raw and Smackdown became separate entities in their own right. ECW (remember that show?) came back in 2006 as Vince McMahon and his creative team wanted to "revive" the show, but we all saw how that ended. During that year and the next, it became very obvious that the brand had become a feeder show to the other.  

Up until 2007, things remained relatively separate. Like the shows were different worlds that rarely collided except in special instances. For example, WrestleMania or when the two brands went to war.

Then 2007, the deal between Estrada and Vickie Guerrero (then ECW and Smackdown GMs, respectively). From this point onwards, the mixing commenced and those walls between brands were becoming penetrable. That year, I never thought we ever going to go back to those pre-2002 times. But the signs have been so blindingly obvious.

Backlash (2007) was the first "normal" pay-per-view which featured superstars from both brands. This was to increase star power and cash in more at the PPVs. Seeing the best stars every month at big events must be a better idea, right?

Wrong. This caused WWE to ignore the mid-card and younger talents. They only concentrated on big-ticket rivalries and superstars—Batista, Cena and HHH to name just a few. The same few fought each other for the top prizes of WWE and World Heavyweight titles. These top-level parts of the show received all the attention.

However, that policy has come to haunt WWE, as everything has a time. Those wrestlers who made great TV during that period slowly left. One by one. That has left us with a situation where the main event is as shallow as a toddler's paddling pool.

The two secondary titles, Intercontinental and U.S., have become useless and have lost all prestige. Not sure how WWE managed this one, but the best excuse I've been able to muster up is that there isn't enough time to promote them, especially with how the show is set up now.

Talent that could have potentially replaced them has left for a number of reasons. MVP and Mr. Kennedy were some of the least forgiving releases. But some were self-inflicted like the Hardys.

I'll play devil's advocate with my own article about Kevin Nash. I generally have no problem with old superstars coming back. Personally, I think it provides variation, and WWE should show gratitude to those who made it what it is today.

However, I don't like how he's being used to paper over the cracks. Cracks caused by a lack of vision and planning.