8 Reasons WWE Is Wrong To Ditch Single-Brand PPVs

For years, WWE has marketed Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series as its 'Big Four' PPV events. Since the brand split was brought into force, these four shows have been the only occasions where superstars can mix, with the exception of AJ Styles at last year's TLC. This lends a gravitas and importance to these shows - particularly true of Survivor Series, which had lost its shine before the split.

These shows will inevitably be less special once every PPV event is dual-branded. The crucial hook that made these events spectacular has been taken away and it's now likely the only factor separating SummerSlam and Survivor Series from every other event on the calendar will be an extra hour of bloat on the running time.

WWE has scored a major own goal with this, undoing the increased buzz around its big events that itself created when it split the roster in half. Ironically, by decreasing the number of PPVs it airs every year, WWE has managed to make the ones it does have less special. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.