WWE To Make All Pay-Per-Views Dual Branded?
Backlash 2018 is now a combined roster show.
Raw and SmackDown branded pay-per-views have been the norm for WWE since the 2016 draft, with only the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series bringing the red and blue sides together. Now, it looks like single-branded shows could soon be a thing of the past.
As originally reported by Wrestling Inc, 6 May's Backlash pay-per-view (the first after WrestleMania 34) is now a combined roster show. It was originally a Raw specific event, but buyers were sent emails from Ticketmaster informing them of the change last night, leading to speculation that WWE could scrap Raw/SmackDown branded shows outright.
When asked about the situation, the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer tweeted the following:-
Combined roster pay-per-views aren't something WWE typically do outside the big four, but Payback 2017 did feature a couple of SmackDown vs. Raw bouts in Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton, as a result of the Superstar Shake-Up sending the warring parties to separate shows.
This could mean another Shake-Up is on the way, but it's all conjecture at the moment, and should be taken with a dose of cynicism until WWE confirm either way.