What's the story?
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon recently held a conference call to discuss WWE's earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016. According to Wrestlinginc, during the call, the Chairman spoke about the brand split among other things and claimed that it is going extremely well.
In case you didn't know...
WWE reintroduced Brand Extension on their programming back in July last year. It made both SmackDown and Raw independent shows again, with each having its own exclusive roster. You can watch some major highlights of WWE Brand Extension drafts from last year below:
Since its reintroduction, the decision of separating the Brands have been highly praised by WWE Fans. It has also opened possibilities for the company to increase their revenue by holding separate Live Events and PPVs for each Brand.
The heart of the matter
During the interview, Mr McMahon spoke of many things including the recent WWE UK Tournament, the future of the Cruiserweight Division and more. When asked about the brand split, the Boss said that it's working exactly as they thought it would:
"It's working extremely well, it's working exactly like we thought it would, There is some crossover, which is what we wanted. But at the same time, we're introducing new viewers."
Vince McMahon also gave an example about Roman Reigns possibly switching brands from RAW to SmackDown Live:
"You have fresh talent coming from one brand to the next. So in essence, if you haven't seen a Roman Reigns on SmackDown, then when he does - if and when he does - then that's really a big thing. It freshens up talent, and it gives us a much longer range in terms of the use of those talents and the IP that goes with them.”
He went on to elaborate about the opportunities the brand split gives to talents:
"If you have only one show or two shows with the same talent, it's difficult to create new stars because the tendency is to keep the larger talent on top all the time. So it allows other stars to climb the ladder of success."
What's next?
There is no doubt that the brand split has helped in making WWE Programming much more interesting and has allowed stars such as AJ Styles and Kevin Owens to climb the ladder and become Main Event talents in the company.
It has undoubtedly worked as a breath of fresh air for the WWE In 2016. It allowed the company to make their programming entertaining again and fans hope that they would only take it to the next level in 2017.
Sportskeeda's take
While the brand split does have its disadvantages, the advantages surely outweigh and it has helped WWE to freshen up their content.
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