WWE FINALLY Rebooting Raw/SmackDown Roster Split?

Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff likely to remain separate brand bosses.

Paul Heyman Eric Bischoff WWE
WWE.com

WWE will attempt to earnestly separate Raw and SmackDown Live yet again this October, according to Dave Meltzer's most recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Many have speculated on the ramifications of recent arrivals Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as Executive Directors of the red and blue brands respectively, with Meltzer suggesting that their roles will be to help re-separate the increasingly blurred lines between the two shows.

He said; "The plan right now is to go back to split rosters in October. There may be some minor crossover, but at least the idea is that it won’t be like it is now. Part of it is that Raw under Heyman and Smackdown under Bischoff will be made legit separate brands with completely different storylines as opposed to storylines played out over both shows like it is now."

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The implementation of the Wild Card Rule this year had done much to dilute the split, but the constant speculation around the added importance of SmackDown Live when it moves to Fox later this year has given rise to the belief that it will become as big a priority as the Vince McMahon-favoured A-Show, even if the wrestlers themselves won't experience much change early on.

Meltzer continued, noting that; "Nothing is decided but the belief is that the current rosters will largely stay in place. There may be a few minor changes right before the move of guys switching brands, but there is thought there will only be a few and the current rosters will be largely what Raw and Smackdown will each have".

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More on this, most likely, as SmackDown's October 4th launch date approaches.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett