WWE recently applied for a trademark for ‘Bragging Rights.’ If you were a fan back in 2009 and 2010 you’ll remember Bragging Rights as the Raw vs. Smackdown pay-per-view, meant to establish brand dominance and award the prestigious BRAGGING RIGHTS TROPHY. It was like a company picnic for WWE. Eventually the brand separation was phased out and Raw and Smackdown became the same show, but rumors of another split are spreading and that trademark only makes it worse.
So! Today’s Friday Wrestling Conversation is a complex one. Assuming WWE split the rosters in a draft on the next Raw and the decisions were purposeful and binding, who would you put where, and why?
Your answer can be as thorough and intense as a complete breakdown of roster changes and booking plans, or as simple as “I’d put John Cena on Smackdown and everybody else on Raw so Smackdown would just be Cena cutting spirited promos and threatening ghosts for two hours.” If you think the brand separation shouldn’t happen, tell us why. If you think it should be something completely different, tell us what it should be. I want ideas, people!
My idea’s an obvious one — keep Raw and Smackdown as one “brand” and turn NXT into a free-standing thing. When guys get signed to NXT and put on the show, they’re no longer there to practice and get ready for the chaos theory of the main roster, that’s their job. Pay the top NXT guys like top WWE guys but keep the show (and most importantly, creative) the same. That way you’ve got truly competing brands. Some people prefer what Raw does. Some people prefer what NXT does. One’s more about mass entertainment, the other’s about putting on a good wrestling show. It’s a real alternative, and can create spirited brand loyalty. I know I’d go to the grave defending NXT against the distraction rollups and DQ finishes of the flagship shows.
Why do you need a developmental territory if you’ve got the Performance Center, you know? Put on NXT style “shows” there featuring the green talent that shouldn’t be on TV, and let NXT be a showcase of a new generation that IS, but might not be ready for “WWE.” Does that make sense?
Let us know what you think. Keep it civil, but if somebody posts an idea you hate tell them they’re stupid and explain why in 40 dense paragraphs. Do it.
