Divided but not conquering, it's time for WWE to reunite - Mat Matters

Wrestling Digest, Feb, 2003 by Alex Gordon

CAN YOU TELL ME WHICH SHOW Rikishi wrestles on: "Raw" or "Smackdown"? How about Jeff Hardy? Or Trish Stratus? Or the Hurricane? Or Chris Jericho? Chances are, even if you are a die-hard fan, you have trouble remembering from week to week which of WWE's two signature TV shows features which which wrestlers.

When WW initially announced it was splitting the federation in half and creating two separate brands, I was in favor of the move. I felt the strategy was a good way to deal with the influx of new faces coming over from WCW and ECW.

Here it is eight months later, and I don't think I am alone in stating that the split has been a complete failure. While the sagging TV ratings cannot be attributed solely to the split, the fact is that the division hasn t spurred an uptick in viewership, either.

The main problem with the split is that WWE has failed to establish two unique brands of wrestling. The promotion has made attempts at branding "Raw" as the raunchier program and "Smackdown" as the purer wrestling show, but I don't think anyone really thinks of them in this way. The shows ultimately are defined by whom is on them, and as I stated above, that is impossible for almost anyone to remember.

WWE should admit its mistake--or better yet, exploit it. Have someone, say Goldberg or Steve Austin or even the Rock, perform a hostile takeover of the federation, kicking out the current management and reuniting the troops.

Such a move would not be a cure-all The promotion still needs to create more main-event worthy stars and compelling story lines, but at least after a reunification, the writers and wrestlers would be working with a full deck.