Even though the divide between Raw and SmackDown has provided some interesting television, many fans and professional wrestling reporters believe it would be best to let the brand split end. Here is the story.
Brand Versus Brand Does Not Always Equal Big Matches!
Despite having some excellent talent on each brand, the Raw versus SmackDown pay-per-views do not always lead to better television. Remember, these are matches that have little consequences, which means we are less invested as a viewer.
Reduced Interest in SmackDown Pay-Per-Views
I have to admit that I am one of the people who has little interest in the SmackDown pay-per-views, simply because Raw surpasses them where talent is concerned. Even though AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura keep SmackDown afloat, it pales in comparison with Raw pay-per-views.
The Star Divide
Since the beginning of the brand split, both brands have experienced a problem with the division of stars on the roster. At the start of the brand split, SmackDown was the superior brand, mainly due to the presence of Alexa Bliss, AJ Styles, and other big stars. However, when many of SmackDown’s stars moved back to Raw after the second draft, Raw became the superior brand.
It is clear that dividing the stars between brands is incredibly difficult, even though all fans get excited about the impending drafts.
Better Matches Without the Brand Split?
One big disadvantage of the brand split is that there are only a limited number of rivalries that can occur on the same brand. When I talk about rivalries, I mean interesting ones such as Shinsuke Nakamura versus AJ Styles, not Dolph Ziggler versus Nakamura.
Since the pool of wrestling Superstars is smaller for each brand that it would be if two brands were combined, it does make scheduling big matches harder. There are also less titles to compete for on each brand, despite the creation of a dedicated Universal Championship on Raw.
When looking at SmackDown at the moment, the problem definitely shows. Remember any recent match involving Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, which has peaked little interest among fans. Then you have the Jinder Mahal title run we all had to suffer. Do I need to say more?
Do you think the brand split should end? Or do you believe it can be saved? Let us know in the comment section below.