7 Ups & 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 7)

1. Wild Card Problems

Here's the thing about WWE's Wild Card Rule: it stinks.

Vince McMahon clearly threw it together on a whim with no thought for how he'd execute the bloody thing. We saw it with six, not four, wrestlers crossing over from SmackDown to Raw, and five going the opposite way last night, and we haven't even been told who's actually calling the shots on these moves. Is it up to the authority figures to decide? Can the wrestlers just show up on Raw or SD on a whim, with nobody's permission? These things are important and need to be clarified.

What's also clear is that the Wild Card Rule is only going to apply to perceived "stars." Guys like AJ Styles and Roman Reigns are going to appear on both shows most weeks, while midcarders and young hopefuls will be left in the dust. It's a ratings grab, after all.

On top of this, Wild Cards will destroy SmackDown's identity. WWE's red and blue brands felt like different shows not only because they are written by different people, but also because they starred different casts. Now, it's all the same. SD will likely tread circles in a holding pattern until the October TV deal kicks in, with Raw retreads and recaps in abundance, and it's hard not to succumb to cynicism at this point.