Brand Extension

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

It seemed like a cool concept at first.... but it's extremely stale now and we are quickly running out of interesting matchups. Everyone else agree that it needs to be done away with? And if you like it, what are your reasons?

[ChrisMWaters 0]

I agree that the Brand Extension has gone on long enough.

 

Though, if they're going to end it...do it at WrestleMania 20. That just seems the most fitting place to me.

 

Tag Titles unified again, going back to the old belts. World title and WWE Title becoming WWE World Title...US and IC keep, brings back an old feel. You could even have said champs arguing which one was the better title.

 

But yeah...end it already. And if at all possible...end it by having Lesnar F-5 HHH for a 3 count.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Don't end it, because frankly both shows would end up being like RAW probably.

 

Just fix it some how. Make some major trades between shows to even it out.

[Guest HartFan86]

This topic has been done to death....but I'll answer it anyways.

 

I actually think now that they are doing the split PPVs, things are just starting to get interesting.

 

It would be nice if a few trades took place, so we can have fresher matches.

[Guest Dangerous A]

I'll wait and see if the brand only ppv's can keep. So far, no.

 

I would like the brand extention to end if it doesn't work out.

 

LPYC, you say you don't want both shows to end up like Raw. Both shows suck balls right now. The only reason SD gets a pass here on the board is because more smark favs are on it. The storylines still suck and the both shows are built around non in ring perfomers. (Austin, Bischoff, Vince, Steph, Sable) Might as well end the madness because the split was supposed to create new stars and they've only created Brock as a legit main eventer and that was with a God push. They might as well combine again and get some of the upper midcarders as well as some of the main eventers back in the middle so maybe they can give the fans some hope of a new star getting elevated.

 

WTF am I thinking? It's WWE. They'll fuck up ending the brand split as well.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

If they end it now it'll be the complete end of the cruiserweight division...and Tommy Dreamer.

 

keep it around or split the company legit.

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

If they end it now it'll be the complete end of the cruiserweight division...and Tommy Dreamer.

They could merge the Cruiserweight with the Women's Division. Wouldn't that be great?

[chaosrage 0]

No, because then we wouldn't only have to watch the same kind of show twice a week, but we'd also have to watch the same guys doing the same things twice a week. Could you imagine Vince and Zach getting air time on both shows? Bad idea. I hope it never ends.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

If they end it now it'll be the complete end of the cruiserweight division...and Tommy Dreamer.

They could merge the Cruiserweight with the Women's Division. Wouldn't that be great?

Then we'd get Torrie going over Matt Hardy every week

[Guest Youth N Asia]

And you know HHH would be on Raw AND Smackdown very single week.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

I'll wait and see if the brand only ppv's can keep. So far, no.

 

I would like the brand extention to end if it doesn't work out.

 

LPYC, you say you don't want both shows to end up like Raw. Both shows suck balls right now. The only reason SD gets a pass here on the board is because more smark favs are on it. The storylines still suck and the both shows are built around non in ring perfomers. (Austin, Bischoff, Vince, Steph, Sable) Might as well end the madness because the split was supposed to create new stars and they've only created Brock as a legit main eventer and that was with a God push. They might as well combine again and get some of the upper midcarders as well as some of the main eventers back in the middle so maybe they can give the fans some hope of a new star getting elevated.

 

WTF am I thinking? It's WWE. They'll fuck up ending the brand split as well.

I don't know how to describe it, but when I watch RAW it feels boring and a chore, but when I watch Smackdown, even though it sucks it still seems easier to watch. Maybe it's because of the announcing team or I like the talent more. I don't know, but it still feels better than RAW.

 

Because they actually tried to make a difference between the shows. They may both suck, but they feel different and ending the brand extension might end that.

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

Then we'd get Torrie going over Matt Hardy every week

Matt Hardy is not a cruiserweight. Gail Kim going over Rey Mysterio to unify both belts, now that would be neat.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I was just saying how Torrie never jobs

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

I don't know how to describe it, but when I watch RAW it feels boring and a chore, but when I watch Smackdown, even though it sucks it still seems easier to watch. Maybe it's because of the announcing team or I like the talent more. I don't know, but it still feels better than RAW.

 

Because they actually tried to make a difference between the shows. They may both suck, but they feel different and ending the brand extension might end that.

Same here. I usually just skip the McMahon stuff, and the rest of the show is usually decent to good. On RAW i have to skip a LOT of different stuff and mute the TV to get some enjoyment out of it.

 

Stuff I love about Smackdown right now:

 

Cole and Tazz

John Cena getting more over every week

Mattitude~!

Eddie Guerrero

Chris Benoit

Ultimo

Rey

Lesnar being a freak

Angle, even though i hate his character right now.

 

Seeing (and hearing) those guys every week is good enough. Not great, but good.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I'm starting to hate Cole and Tazz as much as King and JR. Cole tries way too hard to copy JR. And Tazz just tends to ramble on (forever) about things that don't have anything to do with wrestling or anything relivent

[Guest Dangerous A]

Because they actually tried to make a difference between the shows. They may both suck, but they feel different and ending the brand extension might end that.

I don't feel this way at all.

 

Both shows are built around non wrestling personalities who push the action. (I mentioned who earlier)

 

Both shows have dueling authority figure storylines (Austin vs Bischoff, Steph vs Vince)

 

Both shows HAD 2 talk show segments (Jericho's Highlite Reel, Piper's Pit before his release)

 

Both shows have the same writing teams. Yeah Gewirtz supervises Raw, but did you know he writes segments for SD as well? He wrote Angles second segment from coming back. You know, the one that sucked really bad. How can both shows have a different flavor when the exact same writing teams are writing both shows. I've just given you 3 examples of high profile storylines or segments both shows had/have.

 

I don't see where the shows are different.

[Guest Retro Rob]

I'm a big fan of the brand extensison. Instead of all the wrestlers being oversaturated, we only see all of them once a week. Angles progress more naturally and although both Raw and SD! are under the WWE banner, it's like you are watching two different promotions.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

I didn't say they were written different. I said they FEEL different.

 

There's a different atmosphere. Maybe it's the brighter colors. Not as gloomy looking as RAW. I know that sounds weird, but it can make a difference.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Both shows just seem to piss me off.

 

What I like on RAW: Austin, Jericho, Booker, Christian, Dreamer, Storm, Hurricane, and so on. Yet the main storys revolve around Bischoff/Austin, Steiner/Test, and HHH.

 

What I like on Smackdown...most everything really. But they put way too much time into Vince/Steph, and The Big Show.

 

Seems like they're always doing just the opposite of what I want to see. I've very sick of Big Show being in the main event despite the fact that he's a slob and isn't over. And I'm even more tired of HHH holding that belt forever when he's not 1/3 as over as he was in 99/00.

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

I don't see where the shows are different.

I pretty much agree with everything you said, but the shows are still different because there are totally different wrestlers on it. Look at the Tag divisions, for example. On Smackdown you get good Tag Team action almost every week, the division on RAW is a joke. That's a pretty big difference right there.

 

You also get fresh matchups and feuds over the US title instead of watching Booker vs Christian over and over again.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Think of it this way.

 

On RAW we have HHH, Bischoff & Austin taking up most of the time.

 

On Smackdown we have Vince, Steph, Sable & Zach taking up most of the time.

 

If we end the split we have Vince, Steph, Sable, Zach, HHH, Austin & Bischoff taking up ALL the time on both RAW & Smackdown.

[Guest Dangerous A]

Yeah, there's little things like the background or intro music that are different, but the main storylines and hard pushed shit is damn near the same. It's the main storylines that are the draw, not midlevel shit. For us smarks, yeah there's a bit of a difference, but the ratings show that both shows are watched by the same people because they failed to create an illusion that there is a difference in the brands. Hell, they advertise the "others" ppv on the opposite show. How is that supposed to help with the illusion? It doesn't because they didn't create a new brand. They made WWE1 and WWE2. They did not create a new audience. They made it so the current audience has to watch both shows to get all the stars. What's the point of splitting if you aren't creating new fans?

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

My favorite things on both shows are the undercard/midcard. If they end the Brand Extension then most of them will never get off of Velocity/Heat....some of them already don't.

[Guest Dangerous A]

Think of it this way.

 

On RAW we have HHH, Bischoff & Austin taking up most of the time.

 

On Smackdown we have Vince, Steph, Sable & Zach taking up most of the time.

 

If we end the split we have Vince, Steph, Sable, Zach, HHH, Austin & Bischoff taking up ALL the time on both RAW & Smackdown.

Well then, I say let them die a slow death if that is what they think will sell.

 

If this is what the "genius" of Vince McMahon is, I want to see it burn right to the ground so he can be exposed for the overrated promoter he is.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

What I want to see is NWA:TNA rise to greatness so we can get some freakin competition.

 

Maybe WWE should help them out somehow? I know that won't happen, but giving them something to help them get on their feet will help WWE get competition.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

What I want to see is NWA:TNA rise to greatness so we can get some freakin competition.

 

Maybe WWE should help them out somehow? I know that won't happen, but giving them something to help them get on their feet will help WWE get competition.

But with TNA you have the Harris Brothers and some other shits that can't work but on the show cause they're Jeff's friends. Plus you got Russo, and he's the biggest piece of shit out of all of em.

[Guest Retro Rob]

If this is what the "genius" of Vince McMahon is, I want to see it burn right to the ground so he can be exposed for the overrated promoter he is.

I wouldn't say Vince McMahon is overrated as a promoter. If it weren't for McMahon we wouldn't be talking on this message board right now. He is the sole reason wrestling has became such a popular form of entertainment in America. However, he has never been the best guy as relates to creativity. Then again, wrestling is a cyclic industry, so you can't blame all of WWE's problems on McMahon.

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

Maybe WWE should help them out somehow?  I know that won't happen, but giving them something to help them get on their feet will help WWE get competition.

They already gave them D'Lo and Raven. And AJ, by not offering him enough money.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

What I want to see is NWA:TNA rise to greatness so we can get some freakin competition.

 

Maybe WWE should help them out somehow?  I know that won't happen, but giving them something to help them get on their feet will help WWE get competition.

But with TNA you have the Harris Brothers and some other shits that can't work but on the show cause they're Jeff's friends. Plus you got Russo, and he's the biggest piece of shit out of all of em.

Well it doesn't have to be perfect, but the wrestling style is different and that might appeal to some fans who are fed up with WWE.

 

I wouldn't say Vince McMahon is overrated as a promoter. If it weren't for McMahon we wouldn't be talking on this message board right now. He is the sole reason wrestling has became such a popular form of entertainment in America. However, he has never been the best guy as relates to creativity. Then again, wrestling is a cyclic industry, so you can't blame all of WWE's problems on McMahon.

 

Wrestling may be cyclical, but something has to be done to start the new cycle each time around. It can't start on it's own. There was a reason for change before. Now that WWE is the only game in town, what reason to change is there?

[Guest Retro Rob]

Wrestling may be cyclical, but something has to be done to start the new cycle each time around. It can't start on it's own. There was a reason for change before. Now that WWE is the only game in town, what reason to change is there?

The desire to remain in business?