7 Signs WWE’s Brand Split Is Coming To An End

7. Both Brands Are Talking About One Another More Often

Booker T Michael Cole Corey Graves
WWE

Right back at the start of the latest brand split, commentary teams on both Raw and SmackDown didn't discuss what was happening on the other show. In fact, this extended to announcers glossing over pay-per-view hype during those WWE Network shill segments if it wasn't relative to the brand they were on. That has changed.

During those same hype segments now, announcers can be found plugging rival pay-per-views in an attempt to drive viewers towards the Network. This may seem like a small thing at first, but consider this: why would rivals competing against one another (which was what WWE wanted to portray initially) put over what was happening elsewhere?

SmackDown's team have even been talking about major Raw matches like they're more exciting than anything on the show they're presenting, which feels risky. WWE can't have it both ways here. Either there's a real split and the shows are competing, or they're feeding the same machine.

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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.