Would Bringing Back a Third Brand Be Good for the WWE Network?

WWE at one point had three separate brands, each with their own superstars and title. Raw, SmackDown and ECW were separate shows, but after the death of ECW, we have been back to the old format of two brands.

While ECW was essentially a failure, I do not think that it was necessarily an idea that had to die right then and there. Having a third brand had plenty of advantages.

Young superstars like CM Punk, Zack Ryder and Sheamus got their first breaks in WWE on ECW, while guys like Christian and Morrison filled out the upper-card talent.

There was no shortage of great matches from ECW during its run. The feuds between the new blood and ECW originals had some great encounters, including many which helped to launch CM Punk as a real attraction for fans.

I think WWE had three problems that contributed to the downfall of ECW.

• Having only one major title and no tag or secondary titles.
• Being broadcast on Syfy, which at the time had a much smaller reach to the fans
• Only being one hour long

Had WWE gone with a show on USA or even a smaller channel like FX—or even Vince's old nemesis, TNT—then they would have had a much larger audience.

Having a two-hour show with more than one title would have actually made ECW seem like a real brand as well.

The ECW title had prestige, which was tarnished by some of the horrible booking WWE had on ECW during a period of time.

If WWE really wants this new network to have live wrestling every week but still keep Raw and SmackDown where they are now, then a third brand beyond NXT and Superstars would be beneficial for more than one reason.

It would give a bigger incentive for fans to purchase the new network, knowing they would get to see some matches they won't get to see otherwise.

This would also allow WWE to use the show in the same way they have used Superstars and ECW, to get over the younger talent.

There are plenty of guys on Raw and SmackDown who would benefit greatly from the addition of another brand, because they would not have to contend with the more established stars for the spotlight.

Michael McGillicutty, The Usos, Yoshi Tatsu, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins and Drew McIntyre are just a few of the people who would thrive with a third show and a third set of titles to compete over.

There is a very easy way to set up championships for this brand as well.

• The top title would be the new WWE Television Championship.
• The second tier title would be something old like Cruiserweight or European title.
• Then Tag and Divas titles would also be contested, as they are included with every brand.

With this setup, a two-hour format and a larger audience, a third brand could definitely be a success, especially if the WWE network has this as part of their exclusive content.

This could also be a great way to test talents from ECW instead of having them just job in dark matches before Raw and SmackDown for several months.

What do you think? Would a third brand thrive under different circumstances than ECW?