Opinion: Why the Wild Card rule is bad for SmackDown Live

After the brand split in 2016, SmackDown Live has had the upper hand when it comes to hardcore wrestling and in-ring talent. While the Red Brand became defined by an absentee Universal Champion, lack of meaningful storylines and an exhaustive 3-hour show, the Blue Brand is the brand to watch out for after the Yellow brand NXT.

On average, SmackDown Live has performed a lot better than its counterpart. The brand started with a fresh face, AJ Styles, who, alongside John Cena, Dean Ambrose, The Miz and Randy Orton, created a platform which came to be known as 'The Land of Opportunity', which gave more of a sports feel than an entertainment-based presentation.

It would be safe to say that the time crunch led to better content, while the 3-hour RAW was directionless most of the time. The well-paced feuds, equal exposure to the superstars and efficient storylines made the so-called 'B-Show' stand out as the better brand.

But, every good thing comes to an end, and SmackDown's downfall started with the much-criticized Wild Card rule. The “Wild Card Rule” is the first officially-sanctioned blurring of the lines between Team Red and Team Blue Superstars. It allows a limited number (which keeps varying every week) of Superstars from Raw or SmackDown to cross-brand lines for one-night-only appearances, with unauthorized jumps to be penalized with suspensions or worse.

The worst part of the Wild Card rule is that Smackdown Live is becoming a shorter version of RAW and has lost all its unique attributes which made it popular amongst the fans. Smackdown Live has become a bootleg of RAW which only telecasts recaps and rematches carried over from the night before on the Red Brand. Eric Bischoff is the new General Manager, and fixing this should top his list of priorities in his new role. After all, FOX didn't agree to broadcast a glorified highlights and rematches show.

The hopscotch of the top stars is occupying so much time that the mid-card and lower-card stars hardly get any exposure. This is reducing morale and may lead to a situation where these performers will be leaving the company once their contracts come to an end. A bunch of Superstars have disappeared from programming after the implementation of the Wild-Card Rule, and that's a shame. We might see them running behind the 24/7 champion pointlessly. Where are Liv Morgan, AOP, Chad Gable, to name a few? Will they ever get a chance to surface at least on the mid-card level?

Even huge stars like Balor or Orton are facing the crunch of this as they have no real footing on either brand of late. All in all, it is a ridiculous rule that is not benefiting anybody.

WWE needs to up its game when it comes to utilization of talents because AEW and other promotions can offer better deals with more scope for growth. But, no matter what, WWE inevitably returns to its old patterns.

If it continues this way, WWE should either dissolve the brand split or bring significant changes to their so-called Wild Card Rule.

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