10 Reasons WWE's Brand Split Doesn’t Need Saving
9. Yet To See Our First Brand-Exclusive PPV
Sticking with the idea that it’s just too soon to be drawing
any meaningful conclusions, a massive point worth mentioning is that we haven’t
even had our first brand-exclusive pay-per-view yet.
As important as the quality of the weekly TV shows will be, these single-show PPVs offer another dimension upon which the brands can differentiate themselves and make the Brand Split a success (or failure).
The first brand-exclusive PPV will be the Backlash show which SmackDown are hosting on Sept. 11, 2016. And with Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles for the WWE World Championship headlining that one, plus support from Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton and the final of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship tournament, that’s already looking like a promising card.
Still, even after the first brand-exclusive PPV, any assessments - both positive and negative - will still be a little too premature. Late December may be a better point in time to look back and reflect on the Brand Split, as both brands will have staged three brand-exclusive PPVs by then.