Two Raw & SmackDown Stars Decided For WWE Draft 2016?
Who will be the top heels on Raw and Smackdown?
Though the beginning of the new WWE brand split is only a month and a half away, there are still more questions than answers when it comes to the endeavor. Slowly, however, the company is making plans, and news is trickling out.
According to The Wrestling Observer, the impetus behind the split was the USA Network's dissatisfaction over SmackDown's ratings. Though the show debuted on USA in January with 2.7 million viewers, the numbers have since fallen lower than they were on SyFy. WWE higher-ups hope that making Smackdown live and giving it a unique purpose will draw more fans.
Though nothing is definite, the plan as of right now is still for Roman Reigns to be the centerpiece of Raw and John Cena to anchor Smackdown, despite local house show advertisements to the contrary. It is believed that Seth Rollins will be the top heel on Raw, while AJ Styles (and, presumably, Anderson and Gallows) will be Smackdown's main heel act. WWE is still planning on having two world championships, and no decision has been made regarding the Women's and Tag Team Titles.
The only new official announcement regarding the split is the house show schedule for each brand. While Raw will continue running shows on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays leading into each week's live Monday show, Smackdown's tour will be slightly different: the superstars of the blue brand will have Fridays off, but will work Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays (opposite Raw), and the live shows on Tuesdays.