WWE's Brand Split Isn't Ending, BUT...
The latest on the future of WWE's brand split following rumours of its demise.
Rumours of the WWE brand split's demise have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.
Following on from this week's speculation that the market-leading wrestling promotion was scrapping its split rosters (which stemmed from Figure Four Online's Bryan Alvarez stating it was "essentially done"), Mat Men's Andrew Zarian has confirmed that while the split isn't ending outright, it will not be strictly enforced.
Zarian reported the following:-
Spoke with WWE regarding the brand split this morning
WWE source stated that the brand split will not be ending. However, the current plan is to have more individuals jump from brand to brand depending on storylines. #WWE #WWERAW #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/8SLJcDDPH8
Advertisement— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) May 25, 2022
Wrestlers crossing over between Raw and SmackDown has been the norm for a while now, but particularly since WrestleMania 38. The Usos and Sami Zayn showed up on this week's episode of Raw in the latest example, while Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens, all Raw-assigned, are expected to be on tonight's episode of SmackDown.
WWE brought its brand split back following the 2016 draft. Designed to organise the company's gargantuan talent roster into two groups and theoretically allow for greater screentime as a result, WWE has often played loose with the split's regulations. Caveats like the maligned Wildcard Rule of 2019 have allowed for Raw/SmackDown crossovers throughout the years, with the latest example being 2020's Brand-to-Brand Invitation Rule.
Now, it seems like those caveats have been deemed unnecessary by WWE.