25 Ways WWE Has Ruined Raw
4. The Brand Split
The brand split has succeeded on several levels. The original gave us Paul Heyman's wonderful run as SmackDown booker (a creative period that may never be bettered by the company), and handed the blue brand its own wrestling-centric identity away from Raw's melodrama. Its 2016 revival, meanwhile, pushed SD's lowly ratings back towards respectability, though it's still very much the B-show.
These points could be used to support the idea that the split has been a net positive, but we can't ignore its problems, with the most pertinent being the way it has stretched both brands woefully thin.
As big as WWE's roster looks, the company have forced themselves into relying upon the same core group of performers over and over again. Overexposure is a given, as WWE have no choice but to throw almost everyone on Raw at once, so fans sour on performers much quicker than if they weren't onscreen for 20-30 minutes every week. Unsurprisingly, the only red brand wrestler who hasn't had his aura completely destroyed is the one guy who's barely around: Brock Lesnar.
In 2002, the split reduced Raw to schlocky, unwatchable, sports entertainment dreck. Things aren't as bad in 2018, but the show's glaring issues can't be ignored.