10 Mistakes WWE Is Repeating With The Current Brand Split
2. Few Unique Brand Exclusives
Looking at both RAW and SmackDown, both shows have a women's division, both have a tag team division, and both have a world championship. WWE has taken many steps to ensure that both shows are perceived as being evenly balanced.
There's little that's unique or exclusive to each show, with the exception of RAW's underwhelming Cruiserweight division; the two shows are simply copying each other.
WWE should've given each program its own identity with exclusive attractions. You want to see the women? Tune into RAW. You want to see tags? Tune into Smackdown. How about a women's tag team division exclusive to Smackdown? Or a hardcore division that can only be seen on RAW?
Instead of these offerings, WWE feared that the one of their shows would be seen as "missing something" rather than having a steady reason to tune in each week.
The same strategy was employed in the last decade when RAW and SmackDown had little differences other than the specific talent and the colours of red vs. blue. WWE has been one-dimensional in giving their fans little to connect with on either show outside of the talent.
To WWE, there's no reason not to watch both shows, but in many viewers' minds, there's no reason they need to watch either show.