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#4 The brand split is essentially dead
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Merging the Raw and SmackDown Live titles in 2016 or 2017 would have been a bad move. Both brands had their own rosters and own pay-per-view events, while the Superstars from opposing shows only went head-to-head at the Royal Rumble and Survivor Series.
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Nowadays, however, the brand split is essentially dead, especially after Vince McMahon introduced a ‘Wild Card Rule’ which will enable a limited number of Superstars to show up on the other brand whenever they are invited.
If Kevin Owens showed up on SmackDown Live during his 2016-17 run as Universal champion on Raw, it would have made no sense. Now, with new rules in place and a Shake-Up still ongoing four weeks after it was supposed to have ended, it is quite conceivable that current Universal champion Seth Rollins could appear on next week’s SmackDown and defend his title against a member of the blue brand.
Even if WWE decides to keep the brand split and only have merger champions show up on both Raw and SmackDown Live, much like they do with the Women's Tag Team titles, wouldn’t that be better than the chaotic situation that both rosters find themselves in now?
