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What’s the story?
On a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was noted that the WWE could have all of its titles defended on a monthly basis in dual-branded PPV events.
Apparently, the aforementioned decision that WWE management is rumored to be implementing very soon could affect the WWE in a few significant ways—something that has been discussed in detail.
In case you didn’t know…
Several professional wrestling pundits believe that the WWE is set to end its PPV brand-split; starting from the May 6th Backlash PPV that’s set to be promoted by both the RAW and SmackDown brands.
Should the WWE go forward the aforementioned change, every monthly PPV shall feature Superstars from both the RAW and SmackDown brands.
The heart of the matter
Apparently, The Observer noted that the aforementioned idea may not be beneficial to the WWE, as it makes having two separate ‘top’ champions for the RAW and SmackDown brands respectively somewhat pointless, as both brands’ top titles will be defended on the same PPV event.
Additionally, it was noted that every WWE PPV will then feature two top title matches (WWE Championship match & Universal title match), both the RAW and SmackDown Women’s titles defended in separate matches, an Intercontinental title match, a United States Championship match, separate matches for both the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team titles, and the Cruiserweight title match. It was noted that a few title matches could be relegated to the Pre-Show which in turn could hurt their significance.
Furthermore, too many matches on the show could lead to time constraints and resultantly rushed matches, so there are pros & cons to the WWE brand-split ending. Also it could lead to non-title matches losing significance, as well as more top Superstars competing in Multi-Person matches just to ensure that they, at the very least, appear on the show.
Besides, a major complaint from the fans as of late has been of WWE PPVs being too lengthy—a complaint that may become more prominent now since the PPV shows (four hours) and Pre-Show (one hour) could lead to a five-hour event overall.
Another intriguing point is that the Cruiserweight title may likely never be defended on the main part of the show, and will almost always be relegated to the Pre-Show owing to the PPV brand-split coming to an end.
What’s next?
The WWE’s next PPV is the Elimination Chamber which is a RAW-branded event and takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on February 25th.
Author’s take
A key factor at play here is the fact that not “all” WWE titles shall necessarily be defended at every month’s PPV event. For instance, the Universal title held by Brock Lesnar is defended only at a few WWE events, whereas the UK Championship isn’t really featured on the PPV shows.
The next few months could prove to be truly pivotal as to how WWE chooses to go about with the changes as regards to PPVs.
