10 Questions About WWE Brand Split
1. Will It Work This Time?
When all the noise of all the questions, rumors, criticism, excitement, and the guesses dies down, the main question that everyone will want to know the answer to is: "Will the brand split work?"
It can be argued that the last brand split failed, and that's why WWE eventually went back to unifying the roster. In the wake of declining television ratings and PPV buyrates, and a general decrease in popularity, the first time WWE split the roster was not what they were hoping for.
At the same time, thanks to having two distinct brands, several superstars were given a platform they might not have previously had. The brand split allowed more opportunities for more talents which should have made for a better overall product. It's also important to note that the first time this was attempted, WCW and ECW were fresh in the minds of WWE's fans. In 2016, the WWE Universe is unlikely to expect the brand split to be the second coming of WCW like many fans had hoped for in 2002.
With this latest venture, WWE has the benefit of hindsight, something they didn't have before. The company can look to see where they may have failed previously to avoid making the same mistakes. It's far from guaranteed that the latest brand split will be a rousing success, but they've got a better chance in 2016 than they did fourteen years ago.