In case you have taken the last month to hibernate from all things pro wrestling, you’ve assuredly heard by now that WWE is bringing back the brand split along with a live weekly Tuesday night SmackDown come July.
Most of the focus has been on how the brand split will shake out when it comes to the rosters. However, one thing that hasn’t been really at the forefront of the discussion is how the split will affect WWE’s pay-per-view schedule. Would the current structure remain with each show contributing three to four matches per-card? Or would the company do what they did during the first brand split and give each show their own monthly pay-per-view?
Jerry Lawler, of all people, has apparently revealed the answer to that question. During an appearance at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois, he told a fan that the old model would be coming back and there will be two pay-per-views per-month.
Prowrestling.net has the report.
The interesting news was what he told my best friend later. He said that they would have two pay-per-view events monthly, one for Raw and one for Smackdown. This would happen except for the big four events (WrestleMania, SummerSlam, the Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series). I can’t imagine how this will work but he told us last year about Smackdown coming to USA, moving to Tuesday, and going live at some point.
Obviously, plans can change in WWE, but if Lawler also knew about SmackDown going live last year, he assuredly knows what’s going on with this. If indeed they do split the brands into pay-per-views, one would think it wouldn’t be until after SummerSlam, although there is the oddly-timed Battleground which is happening just days after the rumored date of the draft, so perhaps one of the brands will claim that show as their own.
If indeed this does happen, WWE will have to either create some new themed shows or bring back some old favorites that have since been retired (No Mercy, Judgement Day, Vengeance, and Backlash are a few that come to mind). It will be interesting to see what shows, if any, make a comeback, and which brand uses them for their pay-per-view events, especially considering many of the current WWE pay-per-views have super-specific themes like Hell in a Cell, or TLC.
