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Post by EventHorizon on May 25, 2016 22:23:56 GMT -5
I think this may be happening because Vince finally realizes exactly what he has in NXT. I don't think it's a coincidence that this news comes shortly after a day in which WWE ran three live house shows in one night (two WWE with a split roster and an NXT event) and the NXT event outdrew both WWE events. I hope they don't screw this up.
You know what I'd really like to see happen? I know this is a pipe dream but I hope that in the lead up to the split they tease an entirely new set design for Smackdown. When the split actually happens and the first Smackdown airs they have all of the branding covered up for a big reveal at the beginning. Shane comes out and announces that this show will not be WWE Smackdown. He then talks about the move he made about 15 years ago to swoop in and buy a competitor out from under his father's nose. Then he says it, "Welcome to WCW Smackdown!" I would love to see this brand split not in terms of Raw vs. Smackdown. I want to see it as WWE vs. WCW. Because Raw and Smackdown are two different TV shows from the same brand. WWE vs. WCW would have an entirely different feel to it. Just something I'd love to see happen that I know never would. But a man can dream.
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Post by Sinclair Promotions on May 26, 2016 1:04:02 GMT -5
I'm all for this as long as two things happen:
1 - Make the "World" Championships (WWE/Womens/Tag) floater belts and make either the US or IC Championship the top belt on Raw and the other the top belt on Smackdown.
2 - The Draft doesn't completely raid NXT for talent. There are so many guys on the lower end of the Main Roster that could really benefit from more exposure.
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Post by lucifer on May 26, 2016 4:21:59 GMT -5
I was really glad to hear that the WWE is finally returning to a full brand split. With the upcoming brand split, the upcoming global cruiserweight tournament, and next month's Money in the Bank at the new T-Mobile Arena here in Las Vegas, my interest in WWE is high going into this Summer. I wonder how the titles situation is going to work? Apparently, a new "World" title is to be created for Smackdown. The US title will be exclusive to one show, the IC title to the other. I too am psyched for the Cruiserweight Classic tournament! Great concept, just hope it's executed correctly. And I agree Vegas, interest in WWE right now is at its highest in years for me.
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Post by Crimson Cross on May 26, 2016 4:53:25 GMT -5
It is a very interesting time in wrestling and the end of the brand split to now we've seen the WWE roster grow and so going back to the split is a good thing and let's hope it'll be different as they state it will be. I was never a Smackdown guy, but maybe they'll do something different and it'll get me watching...
I'm not sure going to a new World Title is what I'd like to see, but it is what it is. What will be interesting is who'll be used from NXT up on the main rosters and what wrestlers from EVOLVE will be brought up to NXT with time passing as this brand split goes along...
I was reading about how talent from TNA (Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III) and ROH (Moose and Roderick Strong) could be in the sights of the WWE and with pretty much 4 options (Raw, Smackdown, NXT and EVOLVE) for these guys to goto, things will be interesting for sure. Plus, will Impact move once again with Smackdown going head to head at the 9 pm hour...
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Post by cruefan68 on May 26, 2016 8:43:04 GMT -5
This is exciting news for sure and hopefully the brand split is only for the television shows. I think that ppv events should feature both brands. I always hated the brand only ppvs. The only thing that has me worried is the world title situation. You have to figure Roman Reigns is a lock for Raw so how do they handle that on Smackdown? Will he travel between the two shows or will Smackdown have their own world title like in the past? Also if Smackdown does get their own world title I feel that they will make it inferior to the Raw title because you know that the "Big Dog" or "The Guy' will be recognized as the only real world champion. It will be fascinating to see how they handle this and I am very interested in it. Also they need to change Smackdown from 9-11 so they can officially put the last nail in the TNA coffin and Raw needs the same time slot on Monday. Three hours of Raw with a brand split could be brutal.
I do like what Crimson mentioned with Evolve and NXT feeding new talent to Raw and Smackdown which will help keep things fresh in all four promotions, so to speak. As for the Cruiserweight Classic, can't wait and it would be great if they crown a new champion out of it and put the belt on NXT, Raw or Smackdown. WWE has been pretty stale in the recent past due to The Authority and heel boss stuff so let's hope that these changes liven things up. I would love to see both Shane and Stephanie as face bosses of the two brands who only make rulings when necessary. Kind of like William Regal does on NXT. There is so much potential here to make fresh changes.
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Post by aceldamas on May 26, 2016 10:35:00 GMT -5
Bless you all for being so hopelessly optimistic.
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Post by Tournament Master on May 26, 2016 13:28:07 GMT -5
Bless you all for being so hopelessly optimistic. eh, I don't think the optimism is so hopeless. I think the WWE has made some great strides in the past year to better reach and engage its core audience in new ways. Excited to see what comes of all this.
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Post by Sinclair Promotions on May 27, 2016 0:10:26 GMT -5
I was really glad to hear that the WWE is finally returning to a full brand split. With the upcoming brand split, the upcoming global cruiserweight tournament, and next month's Money in the Bank at the new T-Mobile Arena here in Las Vegas, my interest in WWE is high going into this Summer. I wonder how the titles situation is going to work? Apparently, a new "World" title is to be created for Smackdown. The US title will be exclusive to one show, the IC title to the other. I too am psyched for the Cruiserweight Classic tournament! Great concept, just hope it's executed correctly. And I agree Vegas, interest in WWE right now is at its highest in years for me. I'd be all for a Raw Champion and a Smackdown Champion with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship sitting above those belts.
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Post by Tournament Master on May 27, 2016 9:36:06 GMT -5
Apparently, a new "World" title is to be created for Smackdown. The US title will be exclusive to one show, the IC title to the other. I too am psyched for the Cruiserweight Classic tournament! Great concept, just hope it's executed correctly. And I agree Vegas, interest in WWE right now is at its highest in years for me. I'd be all for a Raw Champion and a Smackdown Champion with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship sitting above those belts. The talk right now is a potential for the World Title and the tag Titles to be split back up to have a versions of each on each show. They could still keep the one and have champions float, but that may be confusing. The question is does the women's division just remain on Raw and be the focus of the extra hour there. Also, do we go back to the brand exclusive special events and just have cross over during the big 4? It may work now that the PPV model is gone, an you dont have to justify the expense for a Smackdown only PPV. Now you could have more special events on the network, and it would feel like more of a value to customers rather than feeling the WWE is trying to fleece you of more money.
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Post by lucifer on May 27, 2016 11:54:12 GMT -5
An ad for Smackdown on August 23rd from Mohegan sun currently lists Styles, Ambrose, Zayn and Cesaro as appearing at the event...
Also read yesterday that 2 separate announce teams will be calling the PPVs, one exclusive to each show.
Lastly, also heard talk of a few select Raw episodes that will feature talent from both shows.
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