IYO: The WWE roster is losing depth

[GD]

The whole brand expansion thing was really great when it started back in 2002 when Raw and Smackdown both had appropriate, adequate and amazing talents such that they kept them exclusive and even had brand exclusive pay per views. It's not possible to have a brand exclusive ppv with the amount of talent depth on the respective brands.

The brands have lost their identities now. You might argue about the ropes, lighting and the fact that Smackdown is more of a wrestling tv show but since the third draft took place, things have gone horrible. There was a time when you thought of Smackdown, you would think about Brock Lesnar, Angle, Taker, Cena and all. It's not the same now. They have over done the whole draft thing.

Plus bringing guys like Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne to Raw was one of the most premature moves I can remember. Feel free to post in your thoughts, thank you.

[GD]

Now I can't add a poll. :nono:

[Chavo Classic]

I think the roster is a strong as ever. The Midcard hasn't been this exciting since the late 90s with guys like Morrison, Ziggler, Swagger, Kingston, MVP, DiBiase, Rhodes, The Colons, Miz and Bourne. Furthermore, the midcard championships are being defended at PPVs more frequently as of late and getting some decent attention on Raw and Smackdown.

The main event title scene is becoming stale but this is somewhat expected. It's only a matter of time before the aforementioned step up a gear and establish themselves in the top ranks - it worked tremendously for a certain straight-edged superstar earlier this year and for a charismatic engima the year before.

The future of single competition in the WWE looks bright, although the tag division remains to be neglected.

[Chavo Classic]

It's not possible to have a brand exclusive ppv with the amount of talent depth on the respective brands.

And I don't miss brand exclusive PPVs at all. It was a horrible idea that wasn't sustainable without constantly drafts and reshuffling.

The brands have lost their identities now

Smackdown is very distinctive from Raw from now, and I'm glad. I hate the brand of sports entertainment the WWE puts out there with Raw, so having a wrestling show in Smackdown, and to a lesser extent ECW, means I can continue watching WWE without wanting to throw a shoe at my television. This diversity in the WWE covers all the bases and keeps (most of) the fans happy.

[GD]

Smackdown is very distinctive from Raw from now, and I'm glad. I hate the brand of sports entertainment the WWE puts out there with Raw, so having a wrestling show in Smackdown, and to a lesser extent ECW, means I can continue watching WWE without wanting to throw a shoe at my television. This diversity in the WWE covers all the bases and keeps (most of) the fans happy.

:y:

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think they could do brand exclusive PPVs. You'd feature longer matches, and probably develop the mid-card a lot more. You could also insert ECW onto both RAW and SmackDown!'s PPVs, and I think you could fill a card no worries.

The only problem is "star power," and whether those PPVs would sell. Let's just say there are eight matches on a PPV card. Two of those could be "big main events." A third can go to an ECW Title match. A fourth can go to a second ECW-presented match. A fifth to the ladies, and a sixth to the mid-card title. The seventh can be a tag team match, and the eighth can be another mid-card bout.

So RAW could probably put on something like this:

* John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
* Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. D-Generation X for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
* Christian vs. William Regal vs. Zack Ryder for the ECW Championship
* Legacy vs. MVP & Mark Henry
* Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger for the WWE United States Championship
* Shelton Benjamin vs. Sheamus
* Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix for the WWE Women's Championship
* Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Masters

[Dorkchop]

Yes and no. The problem is that we're still getting the exact same feuds. WWE needs to let some new guys feud. After HHH is done with DX an Legacy have him feud with a mid carder for a while. Same for HBK. WWE has so much potential for feuds and matches, but week/month/year and week/month/year we're still getting pretty much the same shit.

Lately it seems as though they're trying to make some new stars. Hopefully we can see someone like Kofi feud with Orton or something.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I definitely agree that some of the bigger stars need to step away from their feuds and do other things. It seems like Hell in a Cell will be the end of the feud between Orton and Cena. "No rematches," and all that bullshit Cena was talking about. Good. It means that Orton will have to do something else. Hell in a Cell should also mark the end of DX/Legacy.

It's not them feuding with "mid-carders," but one of the more compelling main event feuds the WWE could run is DX vs. JeriShow. Two super teams colliding. Whenever Jericho and Shawn Michaels work together, magic errupts. Triple H is Triple H, and Big Show adds an interesting dimension to things. I'm sure they have worked together in the past, but Big Show tossing around Shawn Michaels is not something that has been completely exhausted yet.

Orton and MVP feuding is something that I think could be really cool. Maybe one member of Legacy can then go after the US Title, or something? The other member of Legacy can get into a program with...fuck, I dunno, Chavo Guerrero? Chavo's a third generation star, and perhaps they could just get on Chavo's case about being an embarrassment to legacy wrestlers. You could then do some stuff with Chavo & Primo teaming up to face Legacy a few times on RAW. Fresh matches that feed other programs.

SmackDown! seems to do a lot better with their evolution of programs and such. Matches are kept relatively fresh there, despite the same match-up often occuring because the show is actually not that crowded. Plus, they are really good with using fresh stars as main eventers. Talent rises on SmackDown!, and it's not unusual to see a guy like Dolph Ziggler work a main event, and actually look like he belongs.

[LuigiD]

I think there is plenty of great talent in both brands, I just don't think they are always used appropriately. Like others have said..it's the same feuds over and over again..the main events usually include Cena, Orton, Triple H, etc. Same old crap. same old matches.

[Emperor Smeat]

They have the depth, just not using it on RAW for the main event feuds which hurts the show overall. Its been a problem since they felt the need to focus RAW as the flagship of WWE while ignoring Smackdown for years. Midcard and lower is good on both shows and ECW is working as a training show so not all hope is lost.

Biggest key is for Vince and others is to let Smackdown and ECW be the way they are right now and not purge the good wrestlers to boost RAW ratings for maybe a few weeks then go back to same old problems.