8 things WWE could do to ensure the "New Era" is a success

#6 Do trades throughout the year - with a trade deadline

Once a year isn't enough.

The WWE roster certainly needs a brand split at the moment, but one of the biggest problems is that there's only one refresh of the roster a year, in the post-WrestleMania Superstar Shakeup. This often leads to an imbalance favoring one brand over the other. Raw won out in 2017 and SmackDown won in 2018. Furthermore, with weekly content, the rosters get stale.

WWE should instead tweak the system as it goes along, with trades made every now and then to balance the shows and make both as good as possible. For example, SmackDown could use some elite male babyfaces right now, and Raw has a shortage of respectable tag teams. Unfortunately, since there's only one shakeup a year, these problems can't be addressed.

Fortunately, with Raw and SmackDown soon to be on different networks, there's no better time to simulate competition. Trades can be made to address shortages throughout the year, but with a trade deadline as in other sports - to take place in December.

The December trade deadline serves a number of purposes. It makes a usually lacklustre month far more exciting, and with it coming off Survivor Series and prior to the Royal Rumble, it could serve to make the former event more meaningful, with certain trading advantages being given to the winner of the Thanksgiving classic, while the new trades could throw a monkey wrench into the respective brands' WrestleMania plans.