Do You Think WWE's Brand Split 2016 Is A Good Idea?

Last Wednesday, WWE announced the return of the brand split.

On July 19, Smackdown will begin airing live on Tuesdays, and the show will have a distinct roster and storylines from Raw. That means WWE will be run, at least on-air, as two separate promotions.

The company ran a brand split divided across show lines from 2002 to 2011. The rationale for the split was two-fold - first, the company wanted to create the illusion of competition after they purchased WCW and ECW, and second, it was important to find a way to focus on more members of the now-huge roster. The split changed in many ways during the nine years it was in use.

There are positives and negatives to reinstituting the split, and they're essentially all dependent on the way WWE handles it. In the best of scenarios, the split can be used to make the titles feel more important, turn up-and-coming stars into main-eventers, and offer what feels like an alternative to the regular WWE product. Fans sick of Roman Reigns will be able to escape his presence on one show, and no matter what happens, Smackdown's profile will certainly be raised.

Things could also go spectacularly wrong. Two live wrestling shows on two consecutive evenings could mean overexposure under the best of circumstances. If the brand split ends up like it was last time, especially during the later years, there'll be too many titles, too many guest appearances/broken rules, and not enough differentiation. Plus, given that the impetus for the split is going to be tension between Stephanie and Shane McMahon, we might be treated to a whole lot of TV time for the company's ruling family.