10. Completely Different Commentary Teams For Each Show
This one might be a bit of a no-brainer, but it bears mentioning. During the last brand split, not only did each show have its own wrestlers, but they had their own staff, as well. Raw and Smackdown! had specially-assigned referees, ring announcers, and of course, commentators. The announce teams - Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler for most of the time Raw was a separate show, and Michael Cole and Tazz for much of Smackdown!'s tenure - were especially effective in making each brand seem like a separate promotion. While Raw can keep the three-man crew of Michael Cole, JBL, and Byron Saxton, Smackdown! can be differentiated by using only two men in the booth - current lead announcer Mauro Ranallo and NXT's Corey Graves. As Ranallo's only been with WWE since the beginning of the year and Graves has yet to call a major TV show, they'd been seen as fresh to longtime WWE viewers. Just like that, the shows would feel different.