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

3. John Cena Is A 'Free Agent'

john cena
WWE.com

The case of John Cena is another glaring example of favouritism from those in charge. Cena's big return to SmackDown in July was ruined by the announcement beforehand that he'd become a 'free agent' in WWE and would thus be able to freely move between Raw and SmackDown as he liked. No explanation was given as to how Cena negotiated this.

If Cena can appear on Raw and SmackDown programming each week, then why is he exclusively showing up on Mondays? This kind of logic must be discussed before these creative decisions are made, because it's pretty insulting to simply expect fans will play along with the idea that Raw and SmackDown are separate business models only to pull this kind of thing.

Remember Cena's 'free agent' role come Survivor Series when WWE try to promote brand loyalty as a selling point for the pay-per-view. That's if they even get that far before scrapping the brand split, because all these decisions suggest WWE themselves feel it has already become tiresome.

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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.