5 Reasons the WWE Brand Split Has Succeeded
By Dean Siemon
Credit: WWE.com
3. SmackDown Has Become Relevant Again
When there is just one WWE roster, the previously taped SmackDown suffered to be relevant. Because it wasn’t aired live on television, many fans didn’t spend the time watching the actual show. Admit it, you usually looked up the taping results ahead of time and then skipped watching. Maybe unless you had nothing better to do on a Thursday or Friday night.
WWE’s brand split made changes to give fans a reason to watch the blue brand once again. Unlike the original brand split, SmackDown became a live broadcast on Tuesday nights. There were no more looking up spoilers if you had other plans that night. With the roster split, SmackDown once again feels like a unique show that isn’t the B-option of programming.
After the WWE Draft, SmackDown is now the exclusive home of main event superstars like AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose. It also features established veterans like The Miz and Dolph Ziggler and up-and-comers like American Alpha and Bray Wyatt. Many of these wrestlers might not have gotten the same opportunities on Raw.
No longer does SmackDown have rematches from Raw that don’t really further storylines towards the upcoming events like the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.