More and more I think they should just reunite the rosters...

[Kane Knight]

They keep firing people, which leads to a leaner roster. Sure, they've brought some people in, but not as many as have gone out, and most aren't even on TV. And let's face it, these are leaner times for the WWE than there were even a couple years ago when the rosters were fist split.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I want an extra 30 minute HHH promo on my TV each week, or I think we should screw the undercard, but let's face it, what undercard? The CW belt gets defended (And changes hands) on the lesser show (Velocity, not Smackdown ;) ), and there's not really an established base for the other guys. There's what, two tag teams on each show (And I'm being generous here)? there STILL is no diversity in the title scenes (It's just now we get to see the top choked in STEREO).

It probably won't solve much of anything, but at this rate, they might as well do it.

[Loose Cannon]

yea, I kind of want to see this too. I mean the brand split has done some good like creating new faces (Batista, Cena, Orton, CCC, Masters (looks like they're hell bent on pushing him) Benjamin) but I just think the WWE needs to settle down and go back to once a week programming. The oversaturation of wrestling is not doing them any good I don't think.

In a way I kind of hope Smackdown fails on Friday and gets pulled from UPN. Then they could just take all of Smackdown's stars, take Raw's stars, get rid of ALL the crap and do one show. So I guess I'm even furthering your point and saying not only reunite the rosters, but go back to once a week programming.

[darkpower]

I'm kind of torn on this.

One one side, it would make sense to unite the rosters, merge the shows and belts and whatever else they would have to do since the rosters aren't that big now.

However, considering how much the WWE has put into this brand extension, and with whatever brand seperation that they DO have now, I am also thinking that maybe they shouldn't do it just yet. Plus it would mean less of a chance for some wrestlers to get to the main event, since the main event scene in the WWE would be cut in half.

I dunno. I'm leaning more towards not doing that until they know they can do without losing much, if anything, but who knows what Vince has planned.

[Joey Slugs]

just keep the new guys and some lower end mid-carders on heat and velocity. rejoin Raw and Smackdown once you start using the other two shows like a minor league (which they pretty much do now anyways)

[Kane Knight]

I'm kind of torn on this.

One one side, it would make sense to unite the rosters, merge the shows and belts and whatever else they would have to do since the rosters aren't that big now.

However, considering how much the WWE has put into this brand extension, and with whatever brand seperation that they DO have now, I am also thinking that maybe they shouldn't do it just yet. Plus it would mean less of a chance for some wrestlers to get to the main event, since the main event scene in the WWE would be cut in half.

I dunno. I'm leaning more towards not doing that until they know they can do without losing much, if anything, but who knows what Vince has planned.

They may have little choice. Especially if SD! Can't survive the Friday Night shift.

[Gertner]

my signatures breasts are bouncing with agreement

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>I'd like to see them reunite the rosters, but keep two shows a week

Problem is, how do you think of a logical way to reunite yet keep both shows? I suppose the obvious way would be to have a unification match with the winning brand taking over both shows (and then have the winning brand "hire" some of the losing brand's talent), but eh I dunno.

Bottom line: I think they've done all they can with this brand extension....it's been nearly three and a half years, and I think it's run its course</font>

[ThruTheWire]

They may have little choice. Especially if SD! Can't survive the Friday Night shift.

I really do not think it will, wwaaayyy less people sitting around at home at that time on Friday nights....

WWE was at it's best when it was just RAW.

[Corporate Gr8 One]

They should reunite them. And use Smack down as a Raw recap and have the tag divisions and cruiserweights. That way Monday will be packed and Friday is worth a TiVo and some pushes for some underused performers.

[ThruTheWire]

They should reunite them. And use Smack down as a Raw recap and have the tag divisions and cruiserweights. That way Monday will be packed and Friday is worth a TiVo and some pushes for some underused performers.

nooo.... moreee ....RECAP... shows.

[Corporate Gr8 One]

nooo.... moreee ....RECAP... shows.
but cancel all the other shite on now, like velocity and the other thing heat.

[darkpower]

but cancel all the other shite on now, like velocity and the other thing heat.

They've already axed Afterburn and Bottom Line, in case you didn't know.

[Kane Knight]

I'd like to see them reunite the rosters, but keep two shows a week

Problem is, how do you think of a logical way to reunite yet keep both shows? I suppose the obvious way would be to have a unification match with the winning brand taking over both shows (and then have the winning brand "hire" some of the losing brand's talent), but eh I dunno.

Bottom line: I think they've done all they can with this brand extension....it's been nearly three and a half years, and I think it's run its course

Simply continue the "Network "Angle to a logical conclusion, they could push for such a match to decide the fate of the WWE and control. Doesn't make sense, does it? NO!! But it's the WWE!

More realistically, Vince could end it like he started it. OR we could see more competitionbetween the two GMs, one upping each other or whatever. Either this could end with them wagering their brands, or Vince saying they're jeopardising their superstars for some petty grudge, and end it.

[ThruTheWire]

but cancel all the other shite on now, like velocity and the other thing heat.

They can't really get rid of Heat, it's actually a decent pre-show for PPV's.

[Kane Knight]

They've already axed Afterburn and Bottom Line, in case you didn't know.

They had shows named Afterburn and Bottom line? :?:

[Corporate Gr8 One]

Yeah but nobody watches that garbage. All right keep heat, create a new title, the television title, throw it there and let younger wrestlers and some past there prime try to make a name for themselves. All I'm saying is that if Raw is the Flagship show, all your major players should be there.

[TerranRich]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned a SmackDown! invasion of RAW. They could invade and say that their Friday slot no longer exists because they "don't need it", now that they have the RAW time slot. I mean, in some way, it could be interesting to see a REAL inter-brand war where SmackDown! and RAW fight for the Monday night time slot, eventually compromising (or being forced by Vince McMahon) to share it and re-merge.

[V]

I have been against the brand split since the beginning.

Ever since I heard Smackdown is moving to fridays, and ever since they were starting to get "screwed" over by the trades, i PRAYED smackdown would fail.

Remember when Triple H, Flair, Angle, Batista and HBK were all in the ring when Angle was traded to Raw? That was AMAZING.

I know it "could" still happen, without Batista... but with rosters reunited, this would be a regular thing.

[Joey Slugs]

Just the idea of going back to ONE champion is enough for me to vote yes on the merge.

[Londoner]

I'm all for the idea of WWE just going back to one show(obviously, Raw) WWE really doesn't seem to care about smackdown yet for some reason they seem to expect to profit from it by doubling the amount PPV's each year, it really makes no sence to me.If they actually cared about the show in the first place, we wouldn't be discussing this, but the fact is they don't, so why should we?It's either cancel smackdown or reunite the rosters, but I don't have enough confidence in the un-creative teams ability to write for two shows, so I just think they should cancel smackdown and put everybody on Raw.

[Joey Slugs]

Could you imagine....

WWE Programming:

TV
Raw is War (2 hours) - Monday Nights

PPV
Royal Rumble (3 hours) - Mid January
Wrestlemania (4 hours) - Mid March
Ring of the Ring (3 hours) - Mid June
Summerslam (4 hours) - Mid August
Survivor Series (3 hours) - Sunday after Thanksgiving

All remaining months have a themed "In Your House" PPV (2 hours)

King of the Ring and Survivor Series both go back to original formats.

* This could be done again with the current roster.

[Kane Knight]

If they had the roster to support two unique shows, and the writing talent to keep up interestin storylines nonstop, I'd be all for it.

The problem is, I think between the two shows, you get one GREAT show every week. And let's face it, the continuity on that would suck (If you just chopped outthe bad and spliced the good). IT entertains em, but I KNOW it could entertain me more.

What worries me is that if they do have only one show or one "brand," The creative team will then just go and put in half the effort. That they won't take advantage of a stronger roster, and we'll end up with no undercard/little midcard and no tag team division...Just like now.

[Kane Knight]

Could you imagine....

WWE Programming:

TV
Raw is War (2 hours) - Monday Nights

PPV
Royal Rumble (3 hours) - Mid January
Wrestlemania (4 hours) - Mid March
Ring of the Ring (3 hours) - Mid June
Summerslam (4 hours) - Mid August
Survivor Series (3 hours) - Sunday after Thanksgiving

All remaining months have a themed "In Your House" PPV (2 hours)

King of the Ring and Survivor Series both go back to original formats.

* This could be done again with the current roster.

Hopefully they'd go back to IYHes costing less than the big "4"

[Londoner]

If they had the roster to support two unique shows, and the writing talent to keep up interestin storylines nonstop, I'd be all for it.

The problem is, I think between the two shows, you get one GREAT show every week. And let's face it, the continuity on that would suck (If you just chopped outthe bad and spliced the good). IT entertains em, but I KNOW it could entertain me more.

What worries me is that if they do have only one show or one "brand," The creative team will then just go and put in half the effort. That they won't take advantage of a stronger roster, and we'll end up with no undercard/little midcard and no tag team division...Just like now.

I don't see how it can be worse than it currently is at the moment though, they only put in 'half the effort' for two shows right now, if anything I reckon they would be more motivated to write better shows if we just had Raw, not only would it involve less writing, but a packed roster.It would also mean we wouldn't have to see Val Venis jobbing on Raw every week, he can do that on heat for all i care.

[Joey Slugs]

Hopefully they'd go back to IYHes costing less than the big "4"

exactly

[Mr. Nerfect]

I am a fan of the brand split, but I think it does need to be freshened up a little. Constant trades or something. I dunno.

If the WWE did re-unite the rosters, it would be so cluttered it wouldn't be funny.

Here's an idea (not many people will like it, but I can see them doing it), have two rosters (roughly, you can make some exceptions for major guys occasionally), but instead of having two major shows a week, just have one major show, and then a little show later that week. One week the first brand has the big show, and the second brand has the little show, and the next they switch. It would force them to actually make the most of their time, and it would allow roughly the same amount of talent to remain under contract, but with a reduceed schedule (slightly). PPVs would probably have better stories, too.

[PorkSoda]

If they don't reunite the rosters, shoulden't they put the tag teams on one show? I think that would make sense, cause you could have a decent show with the teams they got right now. :)

[Kane Knight]

I don't see how it can be worse than it currently is at the moment though, they only put in 'half the effort' for two shows right now, if anything I reckon they would be more motivated to write better shows if we just had Raw, not only would it involve less writing, but a packed roster.It would also mean we wouldn't have to see Val Venis jobbing on Raw every week, he can do that on heat for all i care.

Hence I said "half the effort," I was referencing half their current effort.

[Kane Knight]

If they don't reunite the rosters, shoulden't they put the tag teams on one show? I think that would make sense, cause you could have a decent show with the teams they got right now. :)

Can't effectively do that without ending the roster split. :)

[Pepsi Man]

Yeah, it's getting ridiculous. Hell, they're already doing "super shows" all the time lately, and Raw and SmackDown! goers often get a "bonus dark match main event" that's often interpromotional. It's to the point that recently, someone complained here on TPWW that the show he was going to didn't feature a dark match including Hulk Hogan.

I think we MAY ALMOST be on the cusp of it, but I'm still not getting my hopes up.

[Kane Knight]

Yeah, it's getting ridiculous. Hell, they're already doing "super shows" all the time lately, and Raw and SmackDown! goers often get a "bonus dark match main event" that's often interpromotional. It's to the point that recently, someone complained here on TPWW that the show he was going to didn't feature a dark match including Hulk Hogan.

I think we MAY ALMOST be on the cusp of it, but I'm still not getting my hopes up.

Yeah, and at the point that I don't have to leave the State of Vermont to see a show anymore...

[Scarface]

Who the hell watches Smackdown anyway?

[cafctom]

I would like to see them reunite the rosters for three reasons:

1) It would increase the value of somebody being a champion of their division, hence there's "more on the line" in title matches.

2) The saturation of PPVs really takes away the value of a PPV each time it comes around.

3) I know it was a good idea to try and push mid-card wrestlers (eg - Bradshaw and Batista) to main-event status and create new rivalries. But the rivalries go on for so long because there is a lack of competition on each brand. Batista/Triple H got boring after about 7-8 months (From the start of the tension between them up until after HITC) and Batista/JBL is getting boring (Infact, I got pretty bored of it before their first title match had even happened.

[Batsu]

Nah...

I like the shows the way they are. WWE just needs to stop putting out pisspoor overall product.

[Kane Knight]

I would like to see them reunite the rosters for three reasons:

1) It would increase the value of somebody being a champion of their division, hence there's "more on the line" in title matches.

2) The saturation of PPVs really takes away the value of a PPV each time it comes around.

3) I know it was a good idea to try and push mid-card wrestlers (eg - Bradshaw and Batista) to main-event status and create new rivalries. But the rivalries go on for so long because there is a lack of competition on each brand. Batista/Triple H got boring after about 7-8 months (From the start of the tension between them up until after HITC) and Batista/JBL is getting boring (Infact, I got pretty bored of it before their first title match had even happened.

1) Yeah, and short of having one champion for two brands (Thast was stupid), I think they need that.

2) I don't think that'll change though. They've been steady in adding PPVs.

3) Yeah, the big selling point was more people would get their shots. But really, they're booking the same tired programs, just like before.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Maybe the WWE should just swap their divisions around a bit. Unify the Tag Team Division on SD!, unify the IC and US Divisions on RAW, and that leaves you with three titles on each show. WWE, IC/US and Women's on RAW; Heavyweight, Tag Team and CW on SmackDown!.

Maybe have dual-brand PPVs again, too. I'd much rather see a full dual-brand PPV than a lackluster single brand PPV.

If they make the most of their TV time, I think they could really make the brand split work. They only use about half-an-hour of Sunday Night Heat and Velocity respectively. Nunzio, the Cruiserweight Champion had no match this week, nor did Steven Richards. Nunzio vs. Steven Richards for the Cruiserweight Title? It's better than both guys doing nothing.

On Heat, why not stick Viscera in an impromtu match with Romeo? It wouldn't be great, but at least it's something. Hell, why not have Val Venis & Viscera vs. The Heart Throbs right there? Why not have Damaja work a televised match, or have Rene Dupree squash someone. Heat and Velocity are great avenues to showcase talent, but the very rarely do.

PPVs run short these days. I watched Backlash 2002 today, and one thing that hit me was how the had practically NO backstage segments. Every match wasn't recapped on the show either. Instead of wasting 20 minutes with that recap stuff, and instead of cutting the show back another 20 minutes, why not give that 40 minutes to guys like the cruiserweights and the other tag teams and mid-carders who don't get as many chances to shine.

If you could have found a way to get 40 minutes onto Summerslam, you could have had Christian & Booker T vs. The Mexicools, William Regal vs. Scotty 2 Hotty and Heidenreich & Animal vs. MNM. They're all SmackDown! matches, but the point still stands.

The WWE can keep the brands seperate, but they need to start working more effectively with what they have.