WWE Makes Change To Rules Of Its Brand Extension (RAW SPOILERS)
Trying to make things interesting...
Over the weekend, Roman Reigns announced via Twitter that he would he appearing on Monday night's episode of Raw, despite having been pulled over to SmackDown as a result of this year's Superstar Shake-Up. Speculation had been that this angle was being done in response to last week's Raw doing unseasonably-low ratings.
On Raw Monday night, Reigns did appear in the opening segment, along with fellow SmackDown stars Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston. Vince McMahon was present inside the ring with the three blue-branders, giving him an opportunity to announce a change to how the brand split works.
Per McMahon, a "wild card" rule is being instituted, in which three SmackDown stars can appear on Raw, and vice versa. As of this time, it is not clear how often this rule will be invoked, if it'll be weekly, monthly, etc.
In theory, the idea does keep things on either show from becoming too stale, as the notion of random appearances from off-brand performers could add a touch of unpredictability to the shows. With SmackDown moving to FOX in October, WWE would likely want to be able to rotate different stars into that all-important telecast as they see fit.
On Raw Monday night, Reigns did appear in the opening segment, along with fellow SmackDown stars Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston. Vince McMahon was present inside the ring with the three blue-branders, giving him an opportunity to announce a change to how the brand split works.
Per McMahon, a "wild card" rule is being instituted, in which three SmackDown stars can appear on Raw, and vice versa. As of this time, it is not clear how often this rule will be invoked, if it'll be weekly, monthly, etc.
In theory, the idea does keep things on either show from becoming too stale, as the notion of random appearances from off-brand performers could add a touch of unpredictability to the shows. With SmackDown moving to FOX in October, WWE would likely want to be able to rotate different stars into that all-important telecast as they see fit.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.