wrestling / Columns

Hits and Misses of the WWE Brand Split

February 17, 2018 | Posted by Jeremy Lambert
WWE USA RAw Smackdown Live Events Superstar Shakeup Image Credit: WWE

Did you hear the news that WWE is thinking of ending the brand split? It lasted almost a year longer than most expected, so you have to give the company credit for that. While it’s easy to make fun of the company for giving up on an idea that should have led to bigger business and more stars, there were some positives to come out of the brand split. There were also plenty of negatives. But we’re not doing Pros and Cons this week. Instead, we’ll change it up and call it Hits and Misses.

Hit – AJ Styles and Kevin Owens

It’s unfair to say Styles and Owens would have never been champions had their been no brand split, but the opportunity certainly would have decreased. Based on WWE match, two world titles means you have a 50 percent chance of winning the title. But one world title means you have a 100 percent chance of not winning unless your name is Roman Reigns. Or something like that.

Point is, we can forever call AJ Styles and Kevin Owens “former world champions” thanks to the brand split. And that’s pretty cool.

Miss – Jinder Mahal

While Styles and Owens may have never won world titles had there been no brand split, at least they would have been in the conversation. There’s little chance that they put the belt on Jinder Mahal had there been only one belt. Even though they desperately wanted to break into the India market, they weren’t going to tank their U.S. business on two shows for Mahal. Tank SmackDown business? Sure, why not. But tank RAW? No chance in hell.

Hit – Alexa Bliss

She turned out to be the best NXT call-up of all-time and has carried both women’s programs during the brand split. Her talent would have made it hard for WWE to ignore her even if the brand split didn’t happen, but there’s a good chance she doesn’t get called up if there’s no brand split. WWE needed extra females when they split the division in two. Despite not separating herself from the pack, Bliss had been around for awhile and wasn’t doing much of anything in NXT. She was given the opportunity due to the brand split and she surpassed all expectations.

The women’s division as a whole were able to thrive under the brand split. They made history a couple of times, incase you weren’t aware, but Bliss stood out above the rest.

Miss – General Managers

You know why the XFL is going to fail again? Because Vince McMahon doesn’t understand how sports work. He never has, but it became obvious once again during the brand split. Having Daniel Bryan and Mick Foley as general managers, on the surface, was a good move. The draft was fun and showed that this could be a competition between the two brands, instead of two separate entities.

It turned out to be two separate entities.

They tried at first. Miz was unhappy on SmackDown and took a recruiting meeting with RAW. Jack Swagger’s RAW contract expired and he showed on SmackDown. Heath Slater was an actual free agent. This could have gone somewhere.

It didn’t.

“Free Agent” John Cena never actually signed with either brand, proving both general managers as being incompetent. NXT talent just got called up to whichever color the coin landed on. The Survivor Series match meant absolutely nothing. The general managers just became more people for the McMahon’s to yell at. Which was probably their whole purpose all along.

Hit – Tag Team Division

The tag team division was revitalized under the brand split. The Usos and New Day had arguably the best feud of 2017 featuring the best Hell in a Cell match since Undertaker-Triple H at WrestleMania. Cesaro and Sheamus went from mid carders going nowhere to being workhorses who constantly stole the show against a variety of opponents. They even got some life out a Heath Slater and Rhyno tag team.

There was some bad stuff. Everything The Club did was terrible. American Alpha were forgotten about far too often. Breezango ended up flaming out.

But it the two divisions were given far more attention than they would have had the brand split never occurred.

Miss – Cruiserweight Division

This got so bad that they had to give them their own show to save it. It should have been something to set RAW apart from SmackDown. Aside from the purple ropes, it was no different than anything else on either show. Not only did the division fail as a whole, but they managed to upset the two guys they spent months building the division around, causing both to leave the company.

They tried to make the division meaningful by putting the title on Enzo Amore, but we all know how that turned out.

Hit – Squash Matches

For the first time since the inception of RAW, we were fed a steady diet of squash matches on both shows. There is nothing wrong with this. Not only did it help get Braun Strowman, Nia Jax, the Bludgeon Brothers, and others over, but it gave us the great James Ellsworth. I hope squash matches continue when the brand split ends because establishing dominant characters benefits multiple parties.

What are your memories of the brand split? Leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter @jeremylambert88

article topics :

RAW, Smackdown, WWE, Jeremy Lambert