5 reasons why the wild card rule is not a genius move

Monday Night RAW hit a record low last week when it averaged 2.3 million viewers over the course of its 3 hours. WWE was pressurized by the TV networks to improve the product, which led to the introduction of the "wild card rule".

Vince McMahon considered this a genius move and allowed three superstars to swap brands each week.

WWE's booking post WrestleMania has been questionable and has led to several fans voicing their annoyance with the product. WWE is set to move SmackDown Live to FOX, starting October. If the ratings continue to decline, their stay on FOX would be short-lived.

WWE's decision to introduce the wild card rule is unsatisfying, to say the least. We list five reasons why!

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#5: Repetition

Miz and Shane are fighting on RAW and SDL!

Before the brand split took place in 2016, SmackDown was simply a filler show with recaps and rematches from RAW taking place on the blue brand. This led to disastrous ratings and disinterest from the WWE Universe.

WWE's decision to introduce the wild card rule ensures that the same superstars show up on both shows. This makes the content presented by WWE on their weekly programming a bit repetitive.

Shane McMahon and Roman Reigns are battling it out on SmackDown Live as well as on Monday Night RAW. Earlier, both shows felt fresh due to different storylines being played out on each brand. However, the wild card rule makes sure the same set of superstars fight on RAW, as well as on SmackDown Live.

The product has been termed stale by a vast majority of critics and fans alike, and if WWE continues with this absurd rule, the product will become even more uninteresting.

Lars Sullivan was simply destroying members of the SmackDown Live roster before. With the introduction of the wild card rule, he will do the same shtick on Monday nights as well.

#4: Messed up storylines

Choose one feud, Shane!

Last week on RAW, Roman Reigns reignited his rivalry with Drew McIntyre. He faced the Scottish superstar in a rematch from WrestleMania. Roman Reigns is currently feuding with Elias and Shane McMahon, while McMahon is currently feuding with the Miz.

The interweaving of storylines makes it difficult for the fans to follow the stories. WWE complicates the storylines unnecessarily, which does not bode well with casual as well as hardcore audiences worldwide.

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#3: Do the championships mean anything?

AJ two belts?

AJ Styles is scheduled to face the current Universal Champion, Seth Rollins, at Money in the Bank. He competed for the WWE Championship on SmackDown Live in a triple threat against Kofi Kingston and Sami Zayn.

The Usos are members of the RAW roster, and they competed for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships last week! The RAW Superstars should be competing for the RAW-exclusive championships, and the blue brand superstars should be contesting for their brand titles.

#2: Less utilization of mid-card talent

Cesaro def. Cedric Alexander two weeks ago, and has been M.I.A since then!

The wild card rule means the main-eventers of RAW visit SmackDown, while the top guys from SmackDown Live show up on RAW every week. This result in the mid-card talent of both shows not getting proper storylines. Superstars like Cesaro didn't even get an opportunity to show up on a three-hour show!

No one will complain if AJ Styles, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins appear on both shows. However, it will go stale pretty quick and WWE will not be able to create new superstars.

Former Cruiserweight Champion, Buddy Murphy, appeared on SmackDown Live last week. However, his appearance was not televised and took place during the ad-break, which is slightly disappointing for the fans sitting at home.

The wild card rule will prevent the mid-card talent from getting proper screen-time every week.

#1: Slow and painful death of the brand split

The RAW Supershow was the official end of the Brand Split in its first iteration

The initial brand split ended in 2011, and the lead-up to the demise of the brand split was similar to the current scenario. Superstars starting to appear on both brands due to low ratings, lack of main-event level superstars, etc.

The wild-card rule could be the beginning of the end for the brand split, and if RAW and SDL go back to being what they were in 2015, the ratings will plummet even further.

RAW and SDL are presented as two different shows produced by the same company. For example, X-Men and Avengers are part of MCU but they don't crossover unnecessarily. WWE must ensure this is the case of RAW and SDL.

Do you like the wild card rule? Sound off your thoughts in the comments below!