The brand split is back: Official Draft thread!

briany

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Very happy with this news.

Is Heyman expected to run Smackdown? If so, we are in for a treat!

I don't think that Heyman wants the workload. He has other interests and ventures going on these days that would stop him working for WWE full-time. Last I heard, Road Dogg was one of the head writers for Smackdown. That's a step in the right direction.

CastorTroy

Chain Smoker wrote: »

How exactly will they fill 3 hours of raw if all the good workers are shipped off to Smackdown?

More Roman Reigns!

Wonder how they'll pick the roster. Hope they don't use this as a way to split up teams like Enzo and Cass or the Vaudevillains, like they did with The Dudleyz before.

One thing they'll really need to avoid doing is having a Raw recap taking up a good few minutes per episode.

orthsquel

Interesting, it ties to some musing I had earlier today with my disappointment that wrestlers after debut are ending up into losing streaks (like Tyler Breeze, the showcase success at the end of Breaking Ground) or those who should be on the main show shoved to the preshow or irrelevant shows like SD as is. Any change to SD would be a welcome one other than be majority of Raw or PPV rehashes or total promos with minimum actual wrestling. No doubt they'll squeeze all that in too just to make what could be a great thing instantly dislikeable. If HHH is at the helm it should be worth it though.

Frank O. Pinion

I might be going mad, but weren't people online begging for the first "brand split" to end and unify the two World Titles, for a long time before they actually did? I feel if this second "brand split" lasts as long as the first, people will be begging for it end once again. Especially if they introduce a secondary B-World Title, and dilute the prestige of the main World Title...again. Sure, it'll be exciting for six-twelve months, with a draft, a tournament for the b-title won by someone like Styles or Owens, roster interaction at the Rumble, etc. But I think by Survivor Series 2017 at the latest, they'll have made a mockery out of any "brand split", all over again.

PWTorch - January 2013 wrote:

"We are all telling the same stories. And digital and social offer the ability to continue storylines 24/7 so our fans can consume the content anytime, anywhere on the device they prefer," McMahon told AdAge.com in a story profiling top media executives under the age of 40.

With WWE increasing their emphasis on digital and social media, Stephanie suggested that the brand split caused blockages. Stephanie also said that WWE wants the content to flow in anticipation of launching a Network.

Chain Smoker

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

I might be going mad, but weren't people online begging for the first "brand split" to end and unify the two World Titles, for a long time before they actually did?

Smackdown was absolutely gutted a few times over in the draft switches, then they started doing the Raw supershow so Smackdown talent was appearing on raw whenever.

When you treat one show so thoroughly as a secondary entity, it's not going to work. I don't expect it to work well now either but, christ, anything new at all is good right now.

JP Liz V1

What does this mean for NXT, a call up for most of them to Raw or SD to make up roster numbers?

Ben Gadot

gimmick wrote: »

The brand split failed last time out and I cannot see how it can succeed the 2nd time. Im not sure the roster has enough bodies to fill 2 seperate shows either.

Its lazy booking of the highest order is all it is.

"How do we get Owens/Cesaro/Ambrose etc over without making Reigns look weak?"

"Eureka, we will have a different show where a belt will be passed around, while Roman will reign supreme over the other, then everyone is happy"

Im sure we will be promised the US Title and IC and tag titles will become very relevant again with the split, when in fact they will get lost in the shuffle (maybe not the IC) still. Then in about October we will have fellas crossing brands again and by Christmas the whole "split" will mean precisely nothing again.

/bah
#humbug

As a great man once said: don't be a lemon!

spektorfive

Finn has to be brought up. The best thing they could do is an angle with both shows wanting him, hyping him up as the hot new guy, with him going to Smackdown in the end and becoming a big star there. I see this as a way to break new day up without a feud. Kofi & Xavier stay on raw and they push Big E on Smackdown.

gimmick

Monokne wrote: »

My personal take is we should all wait and see what happens. If Paul has more influence now and he and Ward are allowed build Smackdown, I see this as a huge positive. If Vince can't help himself (very possible) then maybe not.

Those famous words eh!!! :pac:

Agent Coulson wrote: »

RAW the Entertainment show

Smackdown the Wrestling show.

I'd be pretty happy with that.

Thats the way it was in the original split. And once a guy started getting too popular on SD, he would be "drafted" to Raw.

ERG89

I'm kinda looking forward to the 5 vs 5 Survivor Series matches again. Is that weird? I always enjoyed them before.
Don't think this will make much of a difference to the "buried" talent. Raw was always the premier show so it will take precedence. I'd hope smackdown would work on character development or memorable storylines/feuds more cause there are a lot of guys who need that more than having good matches.

Hb6g6

The original draft ended for a reason it sucked. I can't believe people are excited to see something that everyone wanted to end when it ended the first time.

Can't wait for OTT on Saturday where I can watch a great wrestling product.

sky88

Hb6g6 wrote: »

The original draft ended for a reason it sucked. I can't believe people are excited to see something that everyone wanted to end when it ended the first time.

Can't wait for OTT on Saturday where I can watch a great wrestling product.

It really didnt suck at all till the end were it honestly didnt matter as they were all on raw anyway.

Ageyev

One point that must be made that noone has made is that Smackdown is not particularly necessary.

When WWF was on fire in 1999-2001 it made sense since they could fill the time with good angles and matches with both shows being necessary viewing to follow storylines. Once the the wet fart that was the Invasion angle died down and they were left with a slew of great wrestlers not to mention little to competition with national TV exposure that they could steal from, it too made sense.

In 2016 is 5hours of live WWE programming really necessary? And that's 8-10hrs on months were there is a PPV event, main roster special or NXT special(depending on the month the PPV could be 4hrs and you got the pre-shows). Also, fwiw, Main Event was initially live when the Network launched.

People are mistaken in the assumption here that this brand split will facilitate some kind of real or perceived split in the audience (as far as Vince McMahon's perception is concerned). The famed Smackdown 6 when Paul Heyman was lead writer only lasted 6-8 months. By Survivor Series 2003 you had the Luther Reigns and Heidenreichs at the upper end of the card. It's arguable that Eddie only got the title because Brock left.


So tl;dr I share gimmick's pessimism and I'll happily be proven wrong since like most others here I'd rather watch hot matches and hot angles than the god awful attempt at soap opera they've been trying for so long. Monokne quoted Meltzer earlier, another thing Meltzer said recently was that this decision appears to be a business money decision vis-a-vis for USA Network.

Bounty Hunter

Hb6g6 wrote: »

The original draft ended for a reason it sucked. I can't believe people are excited to see something that everyone wanted to end when it ended the first time.

Can't wait for OTT on Saturday where I can watch a great wrestling product.

I think one of the main reasons for peoples enthusiasm is that it is different and could shake things up a bit which is badly needed in the WWE. What harm if it isn't done perfectly and only lasts a few years tbh

If they get people watching SD again I think you could have new main event stars born there.

Everyone is reffering to the SD6 but im thinking of things like The Straight Edge society which although it coulda been much better probably would have never happened on Raw then and made Punk into a much bigger star. It'd be great if similar (in scope not in terms of the same thing) type of angles / pushes were given to people like Ambrose etc if moved away from the A show. The obvious thing like this would be the Balor club I suppose.

John Cena became a star as a SD exclusive guy during the brand split for example, who knows how he woulda done if not for that split. Hopefully more can benefit in that way now

Ageyev

Agent Coulson wrote: »

RAW the Entertainment show

Smackdown the Wrestling show.

I'd be pretty happy with that.

They could do this fantasy scenario today without SD being live and without splitting rosters. Afaik the former NXT writer Ryan Ward has been working on Smackdown for a while so you might get your wish!

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

What does this mean for NXT, a call up for most of them to Raw or SD to make up roster numbers?

NXT typically only tapes once a month for 4 weeks and then they have their specials. If the stars from NXT get put on Rawand/or SD then they're not doing NXT house shows which have been expanding out of Florida for the past year or so and people are unlikely to pay to see an NXT house show headlined by people who aren't on the NXT Network shows.

Since SD will be the 'B' show I could see NXT wrestlers splitting their time between the two but really, Raw already has filler and SD has been viewed as a skippable filler show for a while now so who knows. This is all armchair crystal ball fantasy booking.

CSF

I don't know how the brand split will affect the roster in the medium to long term but in the short term at least, so many people should benefit from no longer having any potential push annexed by the 'how does this make Roman look strong' logic.

In the short-term this can only be of benefit assuming Reigns isn't on both shows and Cena doesn't come to Smackdown to be Reigns 2. If this leads to the likes of Ambrose, Owens and Styles actually becoming characters WWE wanna do things with rather than mechanisms to enhance their preferred guy, then this is a good thing. Even guys like Cesaro, Zayn, Rusev would benefit from the fact that the aforementioned guys would never get the unnecessary protection that Cena and Reigns have benefitted from. There'd be room for more people to shine.

In the medium to long-term I think it's near on impossible to know how this will play out, largely because I don't think WWE ever really have clear plans for what they're going to do with their roster in the medium to longterm for anything other than Mania main events.

Agent Coulson

Daniel Bryan as Smackdown GM to lead the new era of wrestling on Smackdown.

gimmick

One of the reason people are saying the split will work is it will give others more opportunity to shine as World Champ. I am calling shenanigans on this as well. It simply diluting the booking. Why stop at 2 brands, why not add a third and Zack Ryder can get his well deserved run as a World Champion? Hell, add a 4th and bring back Hornswoggle.

I normally like Court Bauer and John Pollock, but they were both pushing this nonsense while seemingly willfully ignoring how badly steamlined they entire product is. There is essentially a main event, 2 sub fueds, the rest is filler. If they made the filler more watchable and added some lustre to it, then you do not need 3 world champions.

NOT EVERYONE DESERVES OR NEEDS TO BE CHAMPION.

Some times it can be about the chase and just the chase, but the guy, for whatever reason is just not good enough to cross the line. Call it Uriah Faber booking if you want. A UFC guy who has forever been knocking on the door of winning a championship, but cannot seem to beat the champion whomever he may be.

Build storylines this way, have major number one contender feuds. There are plenty ways to get talent over. A brand split is not one of them.

WinnyThePoo

I don't think anyone is saying we should having multliple world champions. Where you getting that from?.

Edited..left out the word should.

gimmick

Its the way the last one went, and it will be the way this one will go. Maybe not immediately, but by WM33 its almost a certainty IMO.

WinnyThePoo

Could happen. Might not. No way to tell.

CastorTroy

I'd say Smackdown could act as a transition brand for NXT guys. So get brought up to Smackdown to see how they do in front of a larger crowd and if they do well they get moved to Raw

CSF

gimmick wrote: »

One of the reason people are saying the split will work is it will give others more opportunity to shine as World Champ. I am calling shenanigans on this as well. It simply diluting the booking. Why stop at 2 brands, why not add a third and Zack Ryder can get his well deserved run as a World Champion? Hell, add a 4th and bring back Hornswoggle.

I normally like Court Bauer and John Pollock, but they were both pushing this nonsense while seemingly willfully ignoring how badly steamlined they entire product is. There is essentially a main event, 2 sub fueds, the rest is filler. If they made the filler more watchable and added some lustre to it, then you do not need 3 world champions.

NOT EVERYONE DESERVES OR NEEDS TO BE CHAMPION.

Some times it can be about the chase and just the chase, but the guy, for whatever reason is just not good enough to cross the line. Call it Uriah Faber booking if you want. A UFC guy who has forever been knocking on the door of winning a championship, but cannot seem to beat the champion whomever he may be.

Build storylines this way, have major number one contender feuds. There are plenty ways to get talent over. A brand split is not one of them.

Not everyone needs the push. But there are so many people who deserve a push (for some relatively speaking rather than THE push) who have seen it completely blocked off by WWE's obsession with getting Reigns over as a face. Escape from the Reigns shadow would see the other show's programming massively enhanced if you subscribe to the popular viewpoint that the quality of programming has been heavily affected by this 'how does this make Reigns look strong' mindset.

I'm not saying this is the only reason the non-in ring action side of things are pretty crappy, just to clarify.

Hb6g6

When the Draft was first done WWE had tons of Star power to carry both shows (eg The Rock, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, The nWo, etc). Nowadays WWE doesn't have the star power to carry even 1 show.

The ratings for Raw and Smackdown have been declining for years now and I don't see how splitting up an already weak roster (from a star power and drawing power point of view) will help increase ratings. its only gonna weaken both shows.

I think its doomed to fail if you ask me.

nasty_crash

I like the idea of the brand split.... only if its done right....

I dont watch smackdown anymore because half of it is raw recap which by the end of raw you have seen everything 2 or 3 times so i dont wanna watch it again!

Im all for increasing the value of smackdown by making it live - and having its own roster! Im in the camp tho that it might need a title to put guys over - consider how many guys it helped put over - Daniel Bryan - Sheamus. Regardless of in ring ability and mic ability you want to give smackdown every opportunity to succeed and putting a title back in play i think does that! Certainly when you consider that reigns is the champ and i dont wanna see him on both shows - never mind even one show!

It will be very interesting to see how it gets organised/drafted over the coming weeks - and considering that people dont think there is enough on the roster for 2 brands - there will a lot of movement up from NXT i feel and the likes of Cena, Orton, Rollins, Cessaro back from injury - could be plenty of talent there. Considering Joe, Nakamura, Aries, American Alpha, Asuka, Dash & Dawson, Finn, Hideo, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Sampson(dont like him but seems like a vince guy) could all move up to the main roster.

I'd watch it tbh!!

price690

Hb6g6 wrote: »

When the Draft was first done WWE had tons of Star power to carry both shows (eg The Rock, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, The nWo, etc). Nowadays WWE doesn't have the star power to carry even 1 show.

The ratings for Raw and Smackdown have been declining for years now and I don't see how splitting up an already weak roster (from a star power and drawing power point of view) will help increase ratings. its only gonna weaken both shows.

I think its doomed to fail if you ask me.

Yes but its failing at it is. Even a perceived failure will lead to better ratings than it gets now.

A previous poster summed it up perfectly, if they give it a fair shot and trully let the show exist on its own and try to compete with Raw (rather than cut its legs away when theres even a hint it may outshine the favourite child that is raw) then the benefits are twofold.

1) It leads to better ratings, increased coverage, new viewers and fans etc... They can really fill the gap thats there to entice wrestling fans who detest the WWE universe sports entertainment schtick. On network television too.

2) It stands to reason that it will create new stars if done correctly. Too many good performers now getting lost in the shuffle, they get stuck in the bottlekneck that is Raws top spot. Let some of the talented guys get themselves over by themselves without having to rely on a half assed rub by John Cena or Roman Reigns before they are inevitably fed to them.

It would also serve to give Raw a genuine competitor to keep it on its toes, except this time the competitor is under the very same umbrella.

I always like when there are smaller rosters segregated onto 2 different shows. Feuds don't need immediate pay offs. They can build organically. And there is a genuine freshness to them when the draft sees guys interact with each other who havent been on the same show in over a year.

But WWE must respect it and not start throwing guys onto different show willy nilly. More polished NXT talent can pad out the rosters aswell preferably the smackdown one.

It would be absolutely brilliant having Paul Heyman given free rein to make Smackdown great again, create new stars who can then obviously jump over to Raw with more of a mass appeal to continue onto the more WWE entertainment model. Daniel Bryan as a GM encouraging a more wrestling oriented show would also be brilliant, having himself and Triple H pick teams for the survivor series PPV arguing over the virtues of Sports Entertainment v Wrestling has a real david v goliath feel to it and would lend itself to some gripping tv.

Theres a world of potential here in this move, but you would have absolutely zero faith in WWE to execute it properly or indeed to take it seriously at all.

Monokne

I'm in favour of the brand split, but the logic that it is guaranteed to lead to increased ratings regardless how it's done is deeply flawed. Soon, Raw will have about 40% less star power than it does now. They'll do well to keep the audience that have, much less grow it.

Also, Paul Heyman isn't involved with WWE creative.

Lastly, if they were to create big stars on Smackdown just to ship them to Raw, Smackdown quickly gets defined as the B show. Given that the very idea of going live and creating its own roster is to put it on equal footing, that would seem like a very counterproductive move.

PTH2009

Will Bobby roode go straight to the main roster possibly SD in the draft or debut in NXT ??

They could really make SD Tna lite with so many ex tna guys in WWE now

Edit- latest nxt will give me my answer lol

Monokne

Casual NXT spoiler there, bro

I'd imagine EY & Roode are there to supplement NXT when the main roster takes a lot of the key talent.

martyos121

It's official, the WWE draft is set for Smackdown's live debut on July 19th!

Full story:

Breaking News: WWE’s destiny to be determined during SmackDown’s LIVE Premiere

The destiny of all WWE Superstars will be determined when SmackDown goes live for the first time ever Tuesday, July 19, at 8/7 C on USA Network. A WWE Draft will be conducted by respective General Managers to select which Superstars will compete exclusively on Monday Night Raw or SmackDown.

For the first time in history on back-to-back nights, these two distinctive brands (Monday Night Raw and Tuesday’s SmackDown) will compete with each other for television ratings, live events and pay-per-views.

“This is an exciting new era for WWE in which we will yet again reinvent ourselves by creating a second night of compelling live television,” said WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn.

“We’re already hearing the excitement among WWE fans for SmackDown’s new live format, and our audiences are eagerly anticipating the live Draft and what it means for their favorite Superstars,” said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

Where will your favorite Superstars end up? Find out Tuesday, July 19, when SmackDown goes LIVE!

http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/article/live-draft-smackdown-premiere

EDIT: Actually could a mod move this to the brand split thread, I fecked up.

J. Marston

Probably be my first time watching Smackdown in about 8 years.

spektorfive

The fact they said the two brands will compete for ratings, live events and PPV adds more to the idea of there being two ppv a month, one for each brand.

Mr.Nice Guy

I like that the draft is on Smackdown because when it was held on Raw it basically told you that Raw was the undisputed A show, whereas now there's at least a sense that they could be comparable to one another (though I still expect in time Raw will be seen as the A show)

Bounty Hunter

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I like that the draft is on Smackdown because when it was held on Raw it basically told you that Raw was the undisputed A show, whereas now there's at least a sense that they could be comparable to one another (though I still expect in time Raw will be seen as the A show)

I guess due to it being 3 hours it kinda has to be in some ways. Slightly bigger roster with slightly more star power and with that slightly more options booking wise at least one would think.

That said they are making all the right noises with regards SD, making it unique and relevant and not in the shadow of Raw etc

DM_7

New thread for the draft news maybe

Lithium93_

Being brought back this year as part of the brand split, who goes where, find out July 19th*

*(Would imagine that'll be early Wednesday morning in Ireland on one of the Sky Sports channels)

Lithium93_

DM_7 wrote: »

New thread for the draft news maybe

Done

johnnyryan89

spektorfive wrote: »

The fact they said the two brands will compete for ratings, live events and PPV adds more to the idea of there being two ppv a month, one for each brand.

If both shows are possibly getting their own PPV's then surely each show will have their own heavyweight champions.

Bounty Hunter

new thread, old thread and posts from the news thread all merged...

It's almost time for the 2nd most exciting draft of the year (behind the boards PW draft of course :pac: )

PTH2009

would love if they had the PPVs on the same weekend each month

Saturday Night (sunday morning here) would be smackdowns PPV and Sunday Night (Monday mornin here) would be Raws PPV. They rotate each month

Will the big 4 (Mania, Summerslam, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series) be shared and there will be no brand exclusive ppvs them months ???

johnnyryan89

PTH2009 wrote: »

would love if they had the PPVs on the same weekend each month

Saturday Night (sunday morning here) would be smackdowns PPV and Sunday Night (Monday mornin here) would be Raws PPV. They rotate each month

Will the big 4 (Mania, Summerslam, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series) be shared and there will be no brand exclusive ppvs them months ???

The big Four will always be shared and I'd assume there wouldn't be any brand ppvs that month. Hopefully that would mean the end of the money in the bank ppv and have the match itself at Mania between both brands.

DM_7

I hope groups are picked as groups, New Day, Club, Enzo and Cass etc.

This could be a cool way to bring up some NXT talent, Finn, Bayley or American Alpha.

I hope they keep one World Champ who defends across each show. Then they could have number 1 contender matches across the brand at the big shows to keep some interaction between the rosters, big matches.

Mr.Nice Guy

I enjoyed the way it was done with Flair and Vince with each one announcing a name and assembling the rosters that way.

I'm hoping for something similar.

The Ayatolla

Will Sky be carrying Smackdown live every Tuesday night / Wednesday morning?

Smackdown will need a belt of its own if its to be taken any bit seriously.

In fact I'd be in favor of moving the current belt to Smackdown and have RAW get the big gold belt. Gives Smackdown some credibility, especially given that Raw will always be the unofficial number 1 show.

Monokne

Yes
http://www.skysports.com/wwe/news/14203/10293785/wwe-smackdown-to-be-shown-live-on-sky-sports-from-july-19

Furious-Red

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I enjoyed the way it was done with Flair and Vince with each one announcing a name and assembling the rosters that way.

I'm hoping for something similar.

Yea that would make it an even bigger deal including the people they choose. I hope they can choose NXT in that as well during the live broadcast instead of the supplementary pick they do online

764dak

At least the brand split should lessen the number rematches.

A Rogue Hobo

764dak wrote:

At least the brand split should lessen the number rematches.

If it's anything like the last brand split it'll be quite the opposite unfortunately! That's something I never really understood with today's product with the combined rosters is how are they having so many of the same matches again and again.

Ageyev

This is probably BS

martyos121

Certainly doesn't look unrealistic by any means. Hope they bring back Vengeance and Armageddon though! Most important thing to me is unique sets, but I admit that's highly unlikely.