In my opinion, Smackdown and Raw should be the WWE "brand". They are just two different shows that would focus on the same roster.
ECW should be treated as a developmental promotion, with mostly younger stars and a few veterans mixed in to help teach the new guys. They should just tape ECW every few weeks instead of pairing it with Raw or Smackdown tapings and give it a smaller, distinct look in smaller venues to allow a more intimate, indy feel. ECW, being on Sci-fi, could also be pushed as a more teen or adult friendly program by featuring more hardcore style matches.
I never understood how having Smackdown and Raw separate would help differentiate house shows. For years, WWE always had 2 or 3 different touring teams for house shows since the roster was generally big enough to support it. They didn't need brands to do this.
Yeah, there were always an A show and B show on the road back as far as I can remember..
Yup... the WWF Champion would usually headline one and the IC Champion would usually headline the other.