3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 29)

4. The “Quarterly” Brand-To-Brand Invitational

AJ Styles Omos Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

Get rid of this nonsense. Seriously!

WWE's "brand-to-brand invitational" is every bit as tedious as Vinnie Mac's "Wild Card Rule" was before it. Sorry, but there's nothing exciting about a wrestler from Raw or SmackDown turning up on the opposite show and then explaining that they're allowed to because of some bullsh*t loophole.

Worse, AJ Styles told Daniel Bryan on this week's Smackers that the idea is now "quarterly". Since when? This latest wrinkle won't do anything to rescue the idea, and WWE won't stick to it anyway. Honestly, do they really expect anyone to believe that wrestlers will only invade other brands once every three months?

It's so needlessly convoluted, and it's a blight on the product whenever they try it. WWE shouldn't find it this difficult to establish concrete rosters on both major shows and keep it that way for a solid year. It's not like the roster is thin on the ground or anything.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.