8 Times WWE Ignored The Second Brand Extension

7. Daniel Bryan Journeys To Raw (Raw, 8 Aug. 2016)

Kane Roman Reigns
WWE.com

Okay, so Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar invade Raw and SmackDown Live respectively to build toward their SummerSlam match. So what? Well, it was made especially evident that WWE didn't intend to take this thing seriously as soon as SmackDown Live general manager Daniel Bryan was advertised as coming to Raw the very next week.

Seven days removed from a SmackDown Superstar appearing on Raw, the blue brand's GM traveled to the flagship show as well. It might have been acceptable if WWE had something meaningful in mind for Bryan's Raw return, but fans have forgotten this ever happened because it served zero purpose.

Rumors ran rampant that perhaps Bryan was on Raw to propose a talent trade, but instead, he bickered back and forth with then-Raw GM Mick Foley about why SmackDown was superior to Raw before disappearing. In that moment, Foley scheduled an impromptu United States Championship match between Rusev and Cesaro while WWE's resident "Yes!" man left without a proper payoff.

More of Daniel Bryan on WWE programming is never a bad thing, but this was pretty pointless.

Contributor
Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.