In the Spring of 2002 WWE was a strange place to be, Steve Austin had walked out, HBK was back, Hogan was WWE champion and the roster was brimming with ex ECW & WCW talent and of course WWE’s own talent. I also think the product had become stagnant. This was also the first time since I started watching that I turned off from the product, from Wrestlemania to Summerslam my attention was elsewhere. WWE needed a change, talent and storylines were becoming lost in the shuffle, the attitude era was over and fans were leaving in their droves. So WWE devised the ‘Brand Split’ with then (kayfabe) owners Vince McMahon & Ric Flair deciding who would go where, it was different at least and it also offered talent the chance to make a name for themselves.
The Brand Split was a radical decision by WWE to try to change the product and to create new stars. At the time of the roster split only the WWE World title and Women’s title were available on both brands, the other titles respectively belonged to the brand the current title holder was on. The audience was also introduced to the stars of tomorrow as Ohio Valley Wrestling graduates Batista, John Cena, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar debut on the main roster, they would collectively become known as the ‘Class of 2002’. The Rock was the reigning WWE Undisputed champion at the time as he had defeated the Undertaker and Kurt Angle at the 2002 KOTR, however all that would change come Summerslam in August.
One certain OVW graduate Brock Lesnar was given a monster push upon his debut in April of 2002, flanked by Paul Heyman Brock truly was the ‘Next Big Thing’. In June Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament, in August when he defeated the Rock at Summerslam he became the youngest ever WWE champion. The following week Stephanie McMahon then GM of Smackdown announced that Brock had signed an exclusive contract with the brand to be their recognized champion and wrestle only on that show. Battle lines were drawn further as then Raw GM Eric Bischoff declared Triple H the World Heavyweight Champion for Raw, WWE resurrected the WCW World title to massage the ego of ‘The Game’
As Brock Lesnar clearly exhibited over the course of his tenure in WWE the splitting of the roster worked, many stars were given pushes during this time, some failed others succeeded. The most successful star of the brand split is John Cena, debuting in 2002 Cena made Smackdown his home for 3 years before moving to Raw after winning the WWE title at Wrestlemania 21. During this time John became the true face of the WWE and one of it’s biggest most recognizable superstars. Other successes of the split were Randy Orton, Batista, M’N’M, Jeff Hardy, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Edge and others. It truly allowed the development of talent that maybe would never have been given the chance.
Another welcome change was the dividing of PPV’s between brands, each had 4 per year and only the stars of those shows could appear. The only time Raw & Smackdown talent could appear on the same show was on one of the big four PPV’s be it Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Summerslam or the Survivor Series. For as long as the split existed the moments talent did cross over was exciting, stars who hadn’t crossed paths in years were suddenly feuding, it created great TV and matches. The Survivors Series elimination match in 2005 is a perfect example of what cross brand promotion could achieve when utilised properly.
As the brand extension reached a decade old WWE decided it no longer required two separate entities so in August of 2011 COO Triple H announced that Raw would now feature Smackdown superstars and vice versa thus bringing an end to the brand split altogether. As the curtain came down and the superstars went back to appearing on both shows change was happening in WWE as we were in the middle of the ‘Summer of Punk’ a summer which would define the future of the WWE. CM Punk called for change, a sentiment that was echoed by the fans throughout PPV’s and TV and WWE was listening.
I personally believe that WWE did away with the brand split because of their complete failure to create profitable stars since 2002 and the loss of talent over the last decade. Creatively the lack of new stars and interesting storylines fall squarely at the feet of the WWE, however they cannot be blamed for the loss of some talent either through death or retirement/semi retirement and or leaving. Stars such as Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, HBK, The Rock, Triple H, Batista, Undertaker, CM Punk and others. By the end of the decade the talent pool in WWE was depleted and we had the same old stars in the same old spots.
Since the inception of NXT and the new wave of talent WWE is either signing or organically producing through their Performance Centre the roster is growing once more and the talk of a possible brand split is being discussed on social media between fans and industry insiders. With the veterans entering the winters of their careers and the NXT graduates bulking out the roster now would be the time to once more bring on the annual draft. WWE is slipping back into the old ways of using the same talent on every show to attract the viewers, yes new characters and storylines are being developed but many are still being lost in the shuffle.
NXT has become the 3rd brand, it has it’s own identity separate from Raw & Smackdown, yes it’s a brand where stars grow and move on but it also replenishes the ranks and starts again. WWE are in the perfect place to split the roster and create three completely different brands but under one banner, stars like Cesaro, Neville & Barrett might get a chance to establish themselves properly and become the superstars we all know they can be. You could even make Raw the place for the World, Women’s & Tag titles, Smackdown could make the IC & US titles the staple of their show. The possibilities are truly endless right now especially with the array of talent WWE have at their disposal.
WWE as a company has grown massively in the last decade, it’s a sports entertainment juggernaut that keeps making money no matter what but right at it’s core and the reason people tune in week after week is because of the wrestling. WWE have shown signs of great improvement with the creation of NXT, the Performance Centre and the Network and there is still areas of growth to be made. Another radical change in a new brand split/draft which would only create more superstars, intriguing storylines and moments that will capture the audience. WWE have all the resources at their disposal right now, they could make shows dedicated to Raw, Smackdown and NXT, like the new ‘Breaking Ground’ show they could give time to emerging talent that make it to Raw/Smackdown and follow them on their quest for titles, fame and fortune.
The time is right for this to happen, with the emergence this year alone of Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Tyler Breeze, Samoa Joe and others WWE is in a great place creatively right now. We will soon have the Survivor Series PPV which I always think plants the seeds for the ‘Road to Wrestlemania’, so what a time for WWE to start laying out the post Mania season and fingers crossed another new start for WWE.
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