WWE: 3 possible ways to improve the new Wild Card Rule
By Bryan Heaton
If You Want It, Prove It
The way things are right now, jumping from one brand to another seems to be based on “firsties,” which is inherently unfair. Should Kevin Owens be allowed to appear on Raw just because his rental car had a bigger gas tank than Andrade’s and El Idolo had to make one extra stop on the road? Please.
Instead of letting a Wild West mentality take over the Wild Card Rule, WWE should institute a policy that superstars need to earn the chance to jump from brand to brand. The whole thing started because Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston, and Daniel Bryan decided to bail on their live events to go to Raw, but not a single one did anything outside of their normal duties to warrant the trip.
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There’s a limited number of spots available for the Wild Card Rule, right? Make them almost as valuable as a championship, and let the interested parties fight it out. Maybe there’s someone unhappy with their lot on Raw, and they want to make a splash on SmackDown Live ahead of a possible Superstar Shake-up. Okay, you can go — if you win your next match.
Knowing ahead of time who is jumping sides for a night may rob WWE of their “surprises” they are so fond of, but being able to promote a superstar appearance would do more for boosting ratings than hoping people tune in to see who shows up — at least, I think so. If I’m a big fan of, say, AJ Styles, and I know for a fact he’ll be on SmackDown Live, I’d be more likely to tune in on Tuesday than if I was just hoping he did.
This works a heck of a lot better if there’s a finite number of Wild Card Weeks, and it isn’t an every week thing. It’s also a great way to get those superstars not scheduled for the upcoming pay per view to be booked in a meaningful match. Sure, it would require planning ahead and forward thinking — two things not usually associated with WWE’s creative department — but it could work.
Ideally, you’d also need some kind of authority figure for both Raw and SmackDown to both manage the crossovers and set up the opportunity to earn the chance to do so. Outside of NXT, WWE hasn’t done a great job with authority figures. But even absent a benevolent, neutral head honcho like William Regal, requiring superstars to earn the ability to go to another show could add some legitimacy to the Wild Card concept.