WWE must scrap SmackDown vs. Raw theme for Survivor Series 2019

With the reemergence of the WWE Brand Split coming up quickly, recycling the Raw vs. SmackDown theme at Survivor Series this year would be pretty poor timing.

It’s been years since Survivor Series was last seen on the same level of WWE’s other “Big Four” pay-per-views WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam. In fact, there were rumblings 10 years ago that Vince McMahon seriously contemplated removing it from the event schedule.

Obviously, Survivor Series stayed put, but there hasn’t been much effort put into making it feel more special over the past decade.

To the company’s credit, starting in 2016, they promoted Survivor Series as the one night of the year fans could watch stars from SmackDown Live and Raw go head-to-head. In other words, it was essentially Bragging Rights (from 2009 and 2010) reincarnated but at the Thanksgiving week classic instead.

In theory, it was a fine idea, especially since the Brand Extension had been brought back that same year. Raw and SmackDown battling for brand supremacy was a simple enough storyline and it made for some intriguing matchups at that year’s Survivor Series event.

Of course, it didn’t take WWE long at all to blur the Brand Split lines and tarnish any identity Raw and SmackDown had on their own. By 2017, there wasn’t much buzz surrounding the Superstar “invasions” since fans were already accustomed to seeing them switch shows so often.

Despite featuring two tremendous matches between Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan as well as Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair, the 2018 installment was practically pointless. The Brand Split was withering away by that point, and within a matter of months, it was quietly done away with all together (albeit unofficially) via the Wild Card Rule.

That should have been enough of a reason to not do Raw vs. SmackDown at Survivor Series this year, especially since we’ve been seeing stars from both brands wage war weekly for months. However, advertising for the event indicates otherwise.

As of now, it looks like WWE will be going ahead with the usual theme of the show come November, which is a massive mistake.

The WWE Draft returns next month to separate the SmackDown and Raw rosters once and for all. Having the two shows go head-to-head at Survivor Series somewhat defeats the purpose of having a Brand Split in the first place, not to mention how nothing is actually at stake.

If something was gained from winning the battle of the brands at Survivor Series, then maybe it’d be a smart idea to keep around. This could include the final spot in the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches, the main event at WrestleMania or a draft pick.

Rather, it’s a pointless gimmick used to sell tickets, even though the excitement over seeing the shows interact with each other is long gone.

Needless to say, WWE must do everything in its power to ensure that this Brand Split goes smoothly, at least for SmackDown’s sake on Fox. The last thing they need is for it to fail (again), and doing Raw vs. SmackDown at Survivor Series will do more harm than good.

Raw and SmackDown have arguably been on the upswing for the past month or so. By booking the brand supremacy storyline at Survivor Series, WWE would essentially be putting that momentum on hold for something so inconsequential.

It feels like whatever steam the shows have following the fall season is interrupted by the “invasions” that occur every year before Survivor Series. It’s been done to death by this point, and with the 2019 installment emanating from Chicago, WWE would be better off giving that crowd a card they can care about.

The WWE Champion and Universal Champion (assuming it’s Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt in November) going at it for the forth consecutive year surely wouldn’t end well given how incredibly protected both performers are. Additionally, none of the other titles mean enough for Champion vs. Champion matches to matter.

What started out as a promising pay-per-view concept quickly lost its luster and the timing couldn’t be worse with the reintroduction of the Brand Split soon. There’s still time for WWE to revert Survivor Series back to what it was before and definitively ditch the Raw vs. SmackDown silliness.