WWE Rumors: All Pay-Per-Views Reportedly Going Back To Being Dual-Branded, According To ‘Wrestling Inc’
Even though there a handful of pay-per-view events each year where all the superstars of WWE come together in one place, it looks like it will be happening a lot more often. Rumors are circulating that all PPVs will soon be dual-branded and bring together the superstars of both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live each month. They may not be involved in inter-brand matches, but they will all be on the same card.
Ever since the WWE Superstar Draft in the summer of 2016, most PPVs have been split between the two brands. Some shows will be exclusive to Raw while others will be exclusive to SmackDown, and there will be a few events that bring together everyone.
Those dual-branded events are usually the big four, which are WrestleMania and SummerSlam, having separated matches from both brands. The Royal Rumble and Survivor Series bring both brands together and usually have matches between opposing shows.
However, it appears as if all of that is about to change later this year. According to Wrestling Inc., a reader pointed out an email from Ticketmaster regarding the Backlash pay-per-view in May. The email states that “this will be a combined Pay Per View with RAW and SMACKDOWN Superstars.”
Backlash was set to be a Monday Night Raw-exclusive event, but it is now going to combine both brands on one. Many have started discussing this rumor, and it appears as if there is more validity to it than just an email from Ticketmaster.
Starting with the Backlash PPV May 6th, all PPVs going forward will be dual branded. No more RAW or Smackdown exclusive shows. Source states repetitive matchups to fill the card along with so-so ticket sales lead to the decision.
The weekly TV shows will not be effected.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) February 13, 2018
Of course, this started even more rumors, which the WrestleVotes Twitter account wanted to clarify.
To clarify last tweet: the brand split is not ending. RAW & Smackdown will continue to have different rosters. Two separate brands will remain on TV. House shows will remain the same. The only change is for PPVs. Both brands will have matches on each PPV show.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) February 13, 2018
Not every single pay-per-view is going to have matches pitting Raw superstars against those on SmackDown Live. The matches will still be built up on the separate weekly shows and take place on the PPVs, but the Red vs. Blue events will still be head for special times of the year.
According to Ringside News, all pay-per-views will not only be dual-branded, but they will also be four hours each. An announcement is expected to be “coming soon” from WWE, but there has been no official word as of yet, and that keeps it in the rumor category.
WWE has had issues with the brand split in the past, and it eventually resulted in the company becoming one single brand. Back in the summer of 2016, they felt it was time to shake things up again and separated the roster to Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live. While this split hasn’t necessarily ended, all pay-per-views being dual-branded simply means that something just wasn’t working out as they had planned.
