Welcome to Day 4 of 5 Days of Columns!
This was a piece that I had originally planned on holding off on until Friday. But to be completely honest with you: I had a hard time coming up with something to write about for today. I had some ideas written down, but nothing I could really go extended on. I plan on writing again tomorrow and hopefully I will have a solid piece for you guys. 
But today I’m writing about something that I have been thinking about for a long time. It is a simple fix I have for the WWE product at the moment. While neither of these things may end up happening, it is fun to think about what could be possible if they did.
I think there is no denying that the current WWE product is over-exposed at the moment. We have three hours of RAW, two hours of Smackdown, Main Event and Superstars and a PPV every month. That means that certain weeks of WWE TV could have 10 full hours of programming on it. While shows like Main Event and Superstars allow some of the lower card guys to wrestle, it also just adds to the hours and hours of WWE programming that is already on there.
So I have a quick, two step fix that might go a long way to helping the current WWE product get a little better than it currently is. The first step is a pretty obvious one, but the second step may be one that hasn’t been thought of in quite some time.
Step 1: Move RAW Back Down To 2 Hours
-Any long time wrestling fan knows what happened when Nitro moved to 3 hours. While it didn’t take effect right away, 3 hour Nitros eventually lead to the downfall of WCW. Sure, there was some REALLY bad booking involved and a lot of overpaid veterans pretty much running the show, but 3 hour Nitros along with the addition of Thunder ended up over-exposing the product. Thunder ended up turning out to be a bad show. And I’m not saying that Smackdown is at Thunder levels yet, but it is dangerously starting to show some bad signs.
The WWE has trained their audience to believe that everything of importance happens on RAW. When you have to fill 3 hours of programming, that expect you to believe that only important things happen there. Add to the fact that Smackdown has had a hard time selling tickets for their show in recent months, that pretty much backs up the audience’s belief that RAW is much more important than Smackdown.
That is why my first step in my two step fix is to move RAW back down to 2 hours. Part of this just comes from me as a writer. It can be really hard at times sitting through a three hour RAW. I would say there is as much filler as there is actual important wrestling and story-telling going on. I think you could go back to any RAW in the past month and easily find a way to cut it down to two hours. You can cut out about two or three recaps from each show. Then there are at least one or two filler matches that can be shopped out. It isn’t like three hour RAWs are doing those low card guys any favors.
Some will argue that three hour RAWs have given us better matches because there is more time for them. But why isn’t it possible to have a good match or two on a two hour RAW? You could fit at least one 15-20 minute match in there along with a couple of 10 minute matches. It wouldn’t be hard if the WWE actually put some thought into it. There are ways you can have a good show with wrestling and story telling, and maybe even still find time for a 20 minute opening HHH promo.
Another thing 3 hour RAWs have done is watered down the WWE product. How many times have we seen the same rematch happen on RAW, then see it on Smackdown and eventually see it again either on RAW or a PPV. When you have all of that time to fill, it can be tough to come up with new ideas.
I’m sure the USA Network would object to this. The third hour of RAW gets better ratings than any re-run of NCIS or Law and Order SVU ever did. But the WWE has to realize that, for the long term viability of their product, three hour RAWs will be much worse than two hour RAWs ever have been. Whatever extra money the WWE is getting from ad revenue they might end up losing from PPV buys and live event ticket sales. I’m no money expert on the WWE and I don’t know how their finances work, but why would you want to pay for a PPV when you’ve seen the majority of the matches on it happen already on RAW?
I don’t know if there is a single wrestling fan out there that enjoys RAW being three hours. If there is, then I haven’t found them yet. A move back down to two hours may not please the USA Network, but it might better the long term viability of the WWE down the line. I’m not saying you can’t have maybe three or four RAWs during the year that go three hours (like maybe a King of the Ring Tournament for one), but having three hour RAWs every week make PPVs less special and ruin the product as a whole.
Step 2: Bring Back The Brand Split
-This is something that I have been thinking about for a little bit now. I couldn’t even tell you when the brand split officially ended. For those of you that have been keeping up with me this week, I reviewed No Mercy 2002 yesterday. That happened during the brand split and it was a solid PPV. Sure, there may not be the star power now compared to back then, but the WWE definitely has the roster to have a brand split at the moment.
The WWE has no one to blame but themselves for the viability of their mid-card right now. With all the time they have at their disposal currently, they could have developed more than just the handful of top players that they currently have on their roster. If they re-introduced the brand split, they could have the potential to make a handful of new top tier players to the WWE. It isn’t that hard to make a new star if the WWE actually put some time into it and didn’t change their damn mind so much.
Now this brand split would have to happen with a fully healthy roster. Some of the guys I have listed are hurt or off TV for various reasons. But this would be a solid brand split for me. No crossing over shows except for the occasional three hour RAW that I mentioned above. One thought that did cross my mind was the possibility of an “open-season” from the beginning of the year until Wrestlemania. During that time could either be a free agent period where wrestlers can switch brands or just allow wrestlers to appear on every show to build their matches to Wrestlemania.
One thing the brand split would immediately help is the World Title. This past Monday on RAW was the first time the World Champion Alberto del Rio was actually used prominently on the show. And even by the end of his match with Daniel Bryan, Del Rio became a non-factor in it. Having the World Title be the main focus of one show will bring its prominence back up to how it was during the original brand split.
And sorry Dean Ambrose, but I’m eliminating the US Title with the brand split. There is no need to have two mid-card Titles during the brand split. In fact, my brand split will somewhat break up the mid-card a bit. Obviously each brand will have its own top title. But one show will have the Tag Titles and the other will have the Intercontinental Title. I understand an argument could be made to have one Undisputed Champion that appears on both shows, but you can’t have the Champ feud with two different people on each show. When the Champion would be involved in a feud on RAW, it would kind of bring down Smackdown a bit. A WWE and World Title allows something of prominence for both shows.
So, how would my brand split work? Here’s my roster breakdown.
RAW
Faces: CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Rob Van Dam, Prime Time Players, Tons of Funk, Los Matadores, Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd
Heels: Randy Orton, The Shield, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, The Miz, Real Americans, 3MB (well Slater and Jinder), Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins
Smackdown
Faces: John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes, Christian, R-Truth, Goldust, Big Show, Evan Bourne, Sin Cara, Big E, Santino, Great Khali
Heels: Alberto del Rio, The Wyatt Family, Damien Sandow, Ryback, Fandango, Curtis Axel, Kane, Drew McIntyre, JTG
So, a couple notes from my split:
-The big one is that John Cena is on Smackdown. I’m sure the people at USA wouldn’t be happy with it. But I don’t care. If you are worried about Smackdown live events not selling tickets, then you put your biggest star on the show. During the last Draft, there was some serious thought put into it. So I’m pulling the trigger here. I think Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are big enough stars to carry the show on RAW. It may not show during a three hour RAW, but it should during a two hour show.
-The Tag Team Titles end up on RAW (I’m not taking into effect the recent title change) and the Intercontinental Title ends up on Smackdown. You can have some of the guys in the teams in singles matches. Imagine a Punk/Cesaro match!
-Sheamus turns heel in this scenario. If there was anyone who needed it besides John Cena, it was Sheamus. The guy had been so stale before his injury that he needed it badly.
-I’m going to try and re-push two guys that looked like they had bright futures at one point. Wade Barrett gets it on RAW, while Drew McIntyre gets the push on Smackdown. I still think there is potential for both men, Wade especially. I’m also re-uniting Ryder and Hawkins and making them heels again. And there are a couple of pairings in NXT that could be brought up to the main roster at any time.
Again, this is something that I wouldn’t expect to happen today. But if it was something the WWE wanted to try and the end of the year, or after Wrestlemania season, why not? It would add a fresh kick to the product and make people tune into certain shows if they wanted to see their favorite wrestler.
Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts below!
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
