Jack-Hammer
05-08-2019, 05:48 AM
As has been the usual case, WWE can't seem to make the simplest format changes without needlessly complicating them. The Wild Card Rule was ultimately about having three stars from Raw and three from SmackDown coming to each other's show, then it became four, yet there are like five or six showing up. Has counting become too difficult for Vince or is he literally just making changes to the show minutes before certain segments are supposed to air?
The Wild Card Rule is said to be Vince's latest attempt in fixing WWE's falling ratings for the short term rather than doing an overhaul of things, including the sometimes chaotic and nonsensical booking decisions he makes, due to pressure received from executives at NBCUniversal and Fox, which is surprising considering that WWE's deal with Fox doesn't even kick in until roughly mid October. It's surprising, but interesting as it suggests that Fox is going to be much more hands on with how things are run in WWE than NBCUniversal ever has. Vince is said to not want to give up on the brand split idea and this is ultimately something they're trying in order to see how it goes.
Anyhow, my point is that the Wild Card Rule is ultimately little more than the needlessly drawn out end of the brand extension, which suits me fine as I never really saw a point in bringing it back in the first place. The brand extension is something that exists in name only when you get right down to it because at the end of the day, Raw and SmackDown generally have the same style of management in charge, which means most changes or differences you see are just skin deep. Besides, WWE started undermining the integrity of the brand split as far back as when they once more integrated their PPVs to include both brands, the writing started to appear on the wall and the imaginary barriers separating the two brands has been weakened recently as having a women's tag title be defended across "all brands" and Becky Lynch carrying both women's singles championships on the main roster.
The brand split, or lack thereof, isn't the real issue and never has been. The real issue, or rather issues, seem to branch off quite a bit from Vince McMahon himself whether it be his often tyrannical treatment of some of the wrestlers, his juvenile response to wrestlers actually sticking up for themselves & showing a bit of pride, outdated views, his almost Emperor Palpatine-like manner of wanting to control every single atom of his own little universe, a lack of long term planning and booking decisions that have become so chaotic and, at times, stupid that watching Raw or SmackDown, but most often Raw by far, is a complete crapshoot.
The Wild Card Rule is said to be Vince's latest attempt in fixing WWE's falling ratings for the short term rather than doing an overhaul of things, including the sometimes chaotic and nonsensical booking decisions he makes, due to pressure received from executives at NBCUniversal and Fox, which is surprising considering that WWE's deal with Fox doesn't even kick in until roughly mid October. It's surprising, but interesting as it suggests that Fox is going to be much more hands on with how things are run in WWE than NBCUniversal ever has. Vince is said to not want to give up on the brand split idea and this is ultimately something they're trying in order to see how it goes.
Anyhow, my point is that the Wild Card Rule is ultimately little more than the needlessly drawn out end of the brand extension, which suits me fine as I never really saw a point in bringing it back in the first place. The brand extension is something that exists in name only when you get right down to it because at the end of the day, Raw and SmackDown generally have the same style of management in charge, which means most changes or differences you see are just skin deep. Besides, WWE started undermining the integrity of the brand split as far back as when they once more integrated their PPVs to include both brands, the writing started to appear on the wall and the imaginary barriers separating the two brands has been weakened recently as having a women's tag title be defended across "all brands" and Becky Lynch carrying both women's singles championships on the main roster.
The brand split, or lack thereof, isn't the real issue and never has been. The real issue, or rather issues, seem to branch off quite a bit from Vince McMahon himself whether it be his often tyrannical treatment of some of the wrestlers, his juvenile response to wrestlers actually sticking up for themselves & showing a bit of pride, outdated views, his almost Emperor Palpatine-like manner of wanting to control every single atom of his own little universe, a lack of long term planning and booking decisions that have become so chaotic and, at times, stupid that watching Raw or SmackDown, but most often Raw by far, is a complete crapshoot.