My Idea to Save the Roster Split

[Guest TheBostonStrangler]

I've been against the roster split from day 1. I've thought that it truly limits the WWE in what they can do, and the amount of quality main-event programming that they can put out. However, I can't argue that the roster split has been a godsend for people like Booker T and Goldust, Tommy Dreamer, the cruisers on Smackdown, etc. I thought about it for a while, and I figured out a good solution for the roster split.

 

A while ago, I came up with an idea where I said the WWE should try to emulate actual sports more closely. Get into statistics, go into the history, that type of thing. Sell it as a real sport, not sports entertainment. Well, in sports, people and teams are ranked. My proposal is to take the top 8 rated superstars (the rating system can be complete BS), and allow them to appear on both shows. Then, have the rest of the roster remain divided up as they are now. Right now, I'd say their top 8 would be:

 

HHH

Undertaker

Angle

Benoit

Edge

RVD

Lesnar

Jericho

 

Have those 8 move back and forth. Create angles out of it. Have people like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Booker T, Kane, Ric Flair, Tommy Dreamer, John Cena, Rikishi, etc. work to get into that top 8. Do a "art imitating life" thing, where Taker and HHH do whatever it takes to protect their spots. And try and bill each show as a seperate entity. Until a few weeks ago, I would have thought that keeping Smackdown! as the cruiser show, and RAW as a hardcore show would have made the most sense. Since the Hardcore title was dissolved, they'd have to do some creative writing, but it could be done.

 

As for a reason to put this idea into place, it's not all that hard. Have Vince McMahon show up at RAW, Smackdown, or even a PPV. Have him say that he's getting tired of all the defections, and that the RAW and Smackdown fans deserve better than having to constantly keep track of the changing stars. Also, have Vince say that he wants to see how good his GM's are at developing the next wave of WWE talent without banking on exclusive, big-name current stars. And finally, bring up the split in the undisputed title. Have Vince get indignant, and say that he won't stand for it, thereby reunifying the title. There's all teh reasoning behind it that you need.

 

By doing this, you avoid writing yourself into holes like RAW has done. One over heel...wow, that worked out well for them. This essentially means that RVD has NO ONE left to feud with, unless he wants to feud with Jericho again. After that? The Big Show? Regal? There's not much on RAW, and by changing things around, RVD can have extended feuds with Benoit (I want to see a real feud there), Angle, etc. When you run out of opponents, just pop someone new into the top 8, and you're set.

 

So, what do people think of this idea?

[Guest BigPoppaKev]

No offense but I think that isn't that good of an idea. That would defeat the purpose of a brand extension. Having guys switch shows back and forth doesn't really make sense. It would just make things more confusing. I don't think the Brand Extension is working all that well either but I don't think that is a plausable way to fix it.

[LaParkaYourCar]

They could have some sort of ranking system like NWA:TNA does for the X-Division. But then instead of mulitple roster jumps the fans would have to put up with inconsistent showings of certain stars on both shows. One day they're on both shows, but the next they are not. So you still have that problem.

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

I think the idea now is that it's show vs. show and not wrestler vs. wrestler. Which is actually closer to how real sports work. Despite personal rivalries, it's more about the Rams vs. the Patriots than Brady vs. Warner. The top 8 quarterbacks or top 8 outfielders in baseball don't wander from team to team. What would Eric and Stephanie really have to stride toward if they both get the top 8 names anyway. And knowing the WWE, those top 8 guys would just fill the second hour of every show and the split would be rendered even more moot.

 

An idea I had awhile back was to bring back the old style Survivor Series with the ultimate survivors from each match put into a supplemental draft type pool and that way you could mix guys up at least once a year.

[Guest TheBostonStrangler]

I'm not really proposing this as a brand extension. Everyone knows it's one company, and it's not a real competition. But if Vince says he wants to see the people compete to develop new superstars, then it has the makings of a good angle. It gives both shows the talent to draw fans, and everyone gets to see their favorite stars. Also, it gives up a lot of room on shows to try out newer guys, and give people pushes. As a brand extension idea, it's a bad idea. But this isn't a brand extension. The idea was a bad idea, and the ratings back my opinion up.

[Guest Mik at Cornell]

I think any idea that puts HHH and UT on both of the shows in a week is a horrible horrible idea and should never be thought. Sorry dude.