WWE's New Era: How New is it, Really?

I'm going to forego analyzing how WWE likes to pretend that this "brand extension" is the first of its kind.  I'm also going to forget the fact that we've all fallen for this before and it bore out less than stellar results.

I'm going to pretend that the concept of WWE breaking up its rosters into two unique "brands" is completely new, and we'll go from there.

It may sound like I'm not excited for this "new era", but I actually am.

Or at least, I was.

Am I thrilled about breaking an already thin roster in half?  Not really.  Am I happy about splitting WWE's World Championship in two after we just reunited it less than three years ago?  Not at all.  But the potential was there to finally wipe WWE's slate clean and help it find its identity, which is something that's been sorely lacking for the company for many years, now.

Perhaps most importantly, there was the chance to make Smackdown relevant again.  With Shane McMahon at the helm, Smackdown could be a chance to bring some of the pure wrestling aspect back to WWE's main stage and away from the convoluted drama of Monday Night Raw.

It seemed likely that Raw would retain much of the star power while Smackdown found its niche in taking the unsung heroes of the "modern era" and making them top stars in their own right.  Men and women who had long been overlooked (Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Zack Ryder, Becky Lynch, etc.) could finally climb out from under the shadows of their peers and find themselves on the precipice of any kind of success.

Then the draft happened.

Very little of what transpired made actual sense.  How do you bring up Finn Balor from NXT without first taking Roman Reigns, John Cena, or Brock Lesnar off the board?  How do you bring Mojo Rawley, Alexa Bliss, and Carmela up from NXT without first taking Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, or Shinsuke Nakamaura over any or all of them?  And or all the touting Shane McMahon did about giving underdogs their chance to break through the proverbial glass ceilings we so often hear about, Smackdown ended up drafting many of the veterans we thought they'd avoid in lieu of younger talent.

How do John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, The Usos, or Kane help promote a sense of youth and freshness in your brand that already struggles for ratings?  With that sentiment, Raw actually looks like the fresher brand with a healthy mix of established names and talent that we've long wanted to see rise to prominence.

But the real crime of the WWE Draft is that there was potential here to do something truly special, and it failed to capitalize.  At a time where they will probably never have more eyes on the product at any one time (save for Wrestlemania), WWE failed to give fans that "Wow!" moment that would make them stand up and take notice that something new was happening.  Sure, we got see some great talent come up from NXT (emphasis on "some"), but when I see polls on social media asking what the most shocking pick of the draft was, nothing comes to mind.  It all played out well enough, but it feels like the roles have been switched: Raw feels like more of a wrestling show than Smackdown at this point.

To make matters worse, WWE did nothing to address the real elephant in the room: the fact that the WWE Champion was drafted to Smackdown, leaving Raw without a World Champion to carry their brand.  On the flip side, Smackdown may have The Miz's Intercontinental Championship to counter Rusev's United States title on Raw, but the red brand also now has apparent exclusivity when it comes to the Women's Championship (Charlotte), and the WWE Tag Team Championship (The New Day).

It's fairly obvious that WWE intends to spin a new World Championship out of the controversy surrounding Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose's endless feud, but what about the others?  What's the point of having American Alpha, The Usos, Breezango, and the Ascension on your brand if there's no title for them to fight for?  What's the point of having Natalya, Carmela, Alexa Bliss, and Becky Lynch on your brand if there's no Women's Championship to show who the queen of the mountain is?

Logic says these divisions will get championship counterparts of their own, but none of it was explained during the draft.  And with Raw also having exclusive rights to the revamped Cruiserweight division, it's hard not to keep looking at Smackdown as the "B" show.

And that's a shame, because Smackdown was the one show with some real potential here.  Raw is a flagship juggernaut with a long-standing formula that's probably not changing anytime soon.  Given the lengthy three-hour investment, fans can expect plenty of solid matches and even more backstage shenanigans.  You may get tired of those twelve-minute opening promos, but they're not going away anytime soon.

Smackdown's lackluster ratings mean that any change is going to cause a spike in interest.  Of the two brands, the blue brand was the one I was most excited for going into the draft because it had a chance to remodel itself around its roster of presumably younger, hungrier talent.  That is something it has utterly failed to do.

WWE had a chance to really show us something new and change the flavor of each brand, but it's clear now that these are two identical shows with different characters.  Unfortunately, WWE seems to confuse "identical" with "equal."