When the first brand split took place in 2002, WWE turned its already star-studded roster into two separate entities that not only showcased WWE's homegrown stars, but a combination of WCW's and ECW's as well. A promotion that had mega stars such as The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H and Hulk Hogan became a superpower that solidified itself as the dominate force in professional wrestling once names like Goldberg, Booker T, Ric Flair, the nWo, Tazz and RVD joined Vince's team. The first brand split is looked at with fond memories by most WWE fans considering it accomplished its goal of creating 2 distinct brands that were equally as entertaining and star-studded for fans and WWE itself.

Modern fans wanted the brand extension back to relive the magic of previous eras, so WWE gave in and resurrected the brand extension on July 19, 2016. Since then, to many it seems we've stepped back in time, mimicking a better time in wrestling, which creates the expectation that we'll get the same result we got from the original split in 2002. As I observe the WWE landscape in 2018 almost 2 years in, I notice some successes that are best for business, but at the same time I can point out the overwhelming failures that are too big to ignore as a frequent viewer. Even a good idea can be poorly executed, which I'll thoroughly explain with this list of 15 warning signs the brand split is flopping and 5 that it's succeeding.

20 Flopping: The Universal Championship Debut

One of the first orders of business once the draft ended was Raw reintroducing a world title. Some may have assumed this was the perfect time to bring back the old World Heavyweight Championship, but WWE had other plans. General Manager Mick Foley and Commissioner Stephanie McMahon announced that a new title would be created and that it would debut and be decided at SummerSlam 2016. Plenty speculated what the belt would look like, thus creating a wave of fan art circulating online of predictions while rumors spread that the design had already been leaked, causing high expectations.

Come SummerSlam night, right before the match between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, the long awaited Universal Championship was unveiled.

Almost immediately fans began insulting the belt with chants of how ugly it was.

The belt that would be won by Balor underwhelmed many fans and gave the immediate impression that the lackluster design proved just how little they cared about starting this brand extension off right. You'd think they'd want a championship to look as prestigious as we're lead to believe it is.

19 Flopping: Borrowing Wrestlers

Back in October WWE had a series of sicknesses that caused a number of Raw superstars to miss the TLC PPV. One of those guys was Bray Wyatt who was scheduled to face Finn Balor. Balor was left with no opponent until WWE announced that AJ Styles from Smackdown would be filling in for Wyatt, which grabbed the attention of fans who were treated to a fresh match that looked better on paper. Balor would go on to win the match against his former Bullet Club teammate, but as nice as it was for the IWC...the match shouldn't have happened. Why? Well, simple... AJ Styles is a Smackdown guy and Balor is a Raw guy, this wasn't a cross brand feud like Orton vs Lesnar, but a random match that had no storyline reason to occur and destroyed the whole purpose of a brand split. Under normal circumstances in the past someone from Raw would be the one to face Balor who was also on Raw. Take Chris Benoit vs Punk that was scheduled at Vengeance 2007 that never happened for example, the match was an ECW branded match and when Benoit didn't show he was replaced by ECW's Johnny Nitro...not a Smackdown guy. If WWE is going to have a brand split they need to honor it and have talent from the same show compete rather than borrowing talent randomly.

18 Flopping: The Same Feuds Over... And Over... And Over

A good rivalry can be a treat. When we generally like what we're seeing, it's hard to get tired of it, but one habit of WWE's that's very common today is putting on boring feuds and finding ways to drag them out longer than they need to be. A great example of a feud that seemed to drag on and exist just to fill time was Ambrose vs The Miz, which started on Smackdown right before Miz's feud with Cena and started right back up again on Raw after Ambrose was drafted along with Miz in the 2017 shakeup. WWE had a chance to give Ambrose a fresh feud, but instead they just continued his feud with Miz on Raw, which was still fresh in our minds. It's one of the many flaws of a poorly planned brand split...feuds that run on because the talent is limited. It reminded me of Raw during the early days of the draft when Reigns and Seth teamed and battled best friends KO and Jericho for like 5 straight weeks on Raw in the same manner each time. Hopefully this trend doesn't continue as the split enters its 2nd year.

17 Succeeding: AJ Styles' Push

For those familiar with TNA or New Japan Pro Wrestling, you're well aware of who AJ Styles is. If you aren't, then it's hard to not know him as one of the most featured and popular guys on Smackdown next to Randy Orton. As talented as AJ is, he's not a WWE homegrown talent like Orton, Cena and Reigns, so he'd always be in a position behind them or at best neck and neck with them. A brand split for someone like Styles gives him the chance to be featured as a new face of a new era, although he's no rookie to wrestling...but is in WWE. Styles received a big push before the brand split beating Cena multiple times, one of which in clean fashion. After the split he was the first in line to be given made man status on Smackdown, similar to Edge in 2007 and Batista in 2005 in terms of prominence. Styles has remained on Smackdown after the 2018 draft and is the current WWE champion, which is something WWE feels comfortable with since he's a guy who can do a bit of everything and gets a legit babyface reaction. It's an opportunity he likely would not have gotten so soon, if at all if there was no brand split.

16 Flopping: Commissioners

Commissioners in WWE are nothing new. During the WWF days commissioners like Shawn Michaels in the 90s and Mick Foley in the early 2000s were on-screen authority figures just below Vince. In 2016 the role made its return with those titles given to Shane on Smackdown and Stephanie on Raw, giving them power to overlook the GMs on their respective brands. When most heard of Stephanie and Shane being given those titles the question of why likely came up. With general managers in charge, having commissioners to watch over them like children on a playground seems childish and unnecessary outside of giving the general managers a power struggle with their superiors for storyline sake. There doesn't need to be 2 authority figures in charge on either brand considering Bryan and Foley are already under Vince in the WWE chain of command. Shane and Stephanie or anybody for that matter didn't have to be commissioners given not only the points I made previous, but due to the simple fact that Foley and Bryan are popular enough behind the scenes and strong enough on-screen to hold down their respective forts.

15 Flopping: Too Many Championships

For starters, I know that each show needs its own identity. Championships are a part of that, but there's a saying that less is more. In the case of WWE championship belts, the less wrestlers claiming to be a champion of sorts, the better. Before the introduction of The Smackdown Women's Championship and The Smackdown Tag-Team Championships there were The U.S, WWE Tag, I.C, Women's and WWE Championships on the main roster...5 titles, good number. Here comes 2 new championships as featured above for the women's and tag divisions on Smackdown in September 2016, which were already small divisions to begin with and a 3rd main roster title counting then Cruiserweight Champion TJP's gold. The issue here, especially on the blue side is a little too much opportunity for belts to be meaningless. Having 2 sets of tag titles makes sense, it was done in the first split, but 2 Women's Championships is a bit much given the size of the division and how 1 belt worked just fine. The 2008 inaugural Divas title was a mistake if you ask me, but going with the option of having 1 whole women's division on 1 brand and the cruiserweight division on another would keep things less cluttered. Another reason for this entry revolves around the idea of Triple H wanting to add even more titles like a secondary championship for either the women's or cruiserweight divisions...or both!

14 Flopping: Low Attendance

It's photos like these that make you wonder why Smackdown is even called the B show. Looks like a house show or more fitting...a no show. This photo of a half empty section of an arena hosting the February 20, 2018 episode of Smackdown has been surfacing on various wrestling news sites, causing fans to shake their heads at Smackdown's continuously low attendance. The same show that featured highly regarded indie stars like Nakamura, Bobby Roode, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan at the time. Daily Wrestling News who was the source who posted the picture tweeted the following, "I honestly feel bad for the talent on #SDLive because this isn't their fault. Something needs to change ASAP. #WWE." These are words I wholeheartedly agree with because WWE decided to split their already subpar roster in 2 and this is what happens. The ratings the week before this photo had a 56,000 drop from the week prior, which generated 2,449,000 viewers. The ratings for this episode were 2,613,000 viewers, which is a rise, but a trend unlikely to remain. Perhaps if there was pride taken in their booking, fans would see a need to actually want to attend a show in person.

13 Succeeding: New Champions

Typically throughout wrestling history a select group of main eventers are allowed to fight for the championship and become the champion. In days past it was guys like Hogan and Rock and in the New era as this period is called guys like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns and current Universal Champion Brock Lesnar are the types of guys fans and WWE believe and accept as world champion. With a brand split, more guys have the opportunity to be the man, something that helped the likes of Eddie Guerrero and JBL when they both won their first world titles in 2004, which was something fresh considering they weren't familiar faces to see that high up on the card then. No wrestler today has been considered a bigger benefactor than Jinder Mahal who won The WWE Championship at Backlash 2017 to the shock of everyone, including himself. If you were told at the beginning of 2017 that Jinder Mahal would go from jobber to champion...you'd likely bet against that person's ignorance of WWE booking while laughing them off. Guys like Mahal as champion, no matter how believable or unbelievable, are made possible by this brand split, something that helps make stars and keeps things fresh.

12 Flopping: 3-Hour Raw

If WWE planned to bring back the brand split, then equally as groundbreaking would be eliminating that 3rd hour of Raw nobody wants. The minute the draft hit it was explained that Raw would get more picks based on their 3rd hour calling for more wrestlers, which caused many of us to shake our heads in disgust. If this was 2008 and not 2018, I'm sure fans would be ecstatic for a 3rd hour, but wrestling has changed tremendously since then and getting through a whole episode comes off as more of a chore. With Raw needing more talent than Smackdown, it proved right away that a brand split wasn't the best idea since we know how boring Raw can be with the entire roster filling out the show. Cutting that in half and having popular guys like Cena and Orton on Smackdown, Lesnar remaining a part-timer, Triple H's pet project Balor getting hurt immediately and no Taker featured weekly left Raw to be carried by Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Jericho. We literally had those 4 facing off so many times we began to feel like we were watching episodes from the week prior.

11 Flopping: 205 Weight Limit

There are two glaring issues I see with the new 205 weight limit for cruiserweights. The first revolves around the idea of Raw being gutted due to the split, which doesn't afford WWE opportunities to create fresh matches and feuds. The cruiserweight division is on Raw and outside the Royal Rumble match they are only relegated to facing each other, which makes it even less guys to use on Raw. Being confined within purple ropes has to be disheartening for talented guys like TJP, Cedric and Mustafa Ali. It was for Neville and Aries who left partly because of feeling limited. Cruiserweights in the Ruthless Aggression era such as Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, Hurricane and Jamie Noble fought heavier opponents and made a name for themselves as credible threats. The second issue I notice with this low 205 limit is the restriction it has for guys who are slightly heavier like Kofi, Aiden English and Tyler Breeze who have character or a gimmick that could give life to the division. Having such a low weight limit kills creativity and puts more than cruiserweights in a box.

10 Flopping: Low Ratings

Both Raw and Smackdown are lagging in the ratings department. Some weeks are better than others, but not hardly as good as they could be, as we have seen from WWE in the past. Of course times change and people change with it, but it's no excuse for the largest and most popular pro wrestling company in the world to throw in the towel. Take Smackdown's low ratings issue, according to WrestlingInc, on October 31, 2017, Smackdown garnered 2,119,000 viewers, which was a 21% drop from the week previous...almost 25%. Both Raw and Smackdown had significant drops the night after the Royal Rumble this year. According to Gerweck.net, Raw pulling 3,394,000 viewers, which was a drop from the Rumble go-home show that brought in 4,530,000. Smackdown's post Rumble ratings were  2,509,000, which was a significant drop off from the Rumble go-home show's 2, 580,000 viewers. As recent as the last 2 weeks after both Raw and Smackdown's post WrestleMania shows ratings have declined 2 weeks in a row.

9 Succeeding: Stronger Women's Division

WWE invested a lot of time and money into The Women's Revolution and with 2 rosters increasing in size, I have to say on the Raw side of things women of the New era are needed more than ever with an extra hour to kill every Monday night along with the political statement WWE is making showcasing the women like never before. With a Women's Champion who actually looks like a threat to the rest of the roster and is just as hot in Nia Jax, WWE has a chance to make a star. New NXT call ups like The Riot Squad and most recent Ember Moon ensure the roster isn't only growing, but filled with stars young enough to possibly be the face of this New era. All of this is capped off with the addition of mainstream star Ronda Rousey joining the Raw roster and adding legitimacy to the brand, similar to Lesnar's 2012 resigning. This has the makings of a unique opportunity to create memorable stars, which is assisted by WWE's already consistent efforts to make history.

8 Flopping: Injuries

Injuries are something that can't be 100% preventable in a scripted sport or a non-scripted sport, brand split or no brand split, but the amount of injuries that occur in this New era are off the charts. On the road to WrestleMania 32, before the relaunched brand split, WWE saw a major hit with top guys like Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and John Cena being unable to compete. On a lower level talent like Neville, Bray Wyatt and Cesaro would join them. It was bad news and a sign of things to come as many would highlight how all the champions from WrestleMania 31 were inactive. With no brand split that was bad, but with one it's even worse considering the lack of depth on the main roster. Being limited to the talent of just 1 show makes it hard to fill in those replacements, especially since WWE seems to be going out their way to not push talent. Take the injury of Finn Balor who missed out on a push of a lifetime due to injury, which caused KO to step up rather than relying on the expected choices of Reigns or Rollins. Others prone to injury such as Bayley, Samoa Joe, Cass and The Revival remind us just how crucial it is for the rosters to be united rather than divided.

7 Flopping: Little Star Power

In case you haven't noticed, WWE is lacking star power...big time. This photo of Randy Orton locking up with John Cena on an ordinary episode of Smackdown isn't just a match...it's the last reminiscence of a dying era. An era of ruthless aggression that produced 2 larger-than-life characters who belong on the Mount Rushmore of PG era greats. These guys create a big fight feel and get us invested in them. As of April 2018 Cena was named the top merch seller in the company and is hardly there, so that says a lot. Wrestling is a revolving door, so there needs to be a constant rotation of stars who can carry the mantle going forward. WWE has not helped themselves in the star-making department considering that major PPVs like WrestleMania rely on main event stars of the past such as The Undertaker, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Cena, Orton, Jericho and The Hardys. As great as it is to still see them, WWE can't rely on them forever. Currently, the honor of top guy status belongs to modern main eventers Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles who are booked and treated better than their expendable peers, but no where as viable as they should be.

6 Flopping: Joint PPVs

I'm sure you're wondering why I deem joint PPVs a bad thing. Brand exclusive ones are generally boring, star power is limited and revenue from these events are low, however...a brand split means just that...a brand split. In the old days there were brand exclusive PPVs, which makes sense because we were told each show had their own titles, identity and divisions, the shows were different and those rules should apply today. Big 4 PPVs already afforded WWE a chance to utilize all their talent at one time, which increases profit since there are more stars to see, so now that every event will feature both brands it begs the question why not end the brand split since it clearly undermines most of what it stands for? The fact that WWE had to resort to this change barely 2 years in shows us that sooner more so than later they'll find themselves unable to maintain this split, thus ending it outright or bending the rules to fit their plans.

5 Succeeding: PPV Cuts

Brand splits always had brand exclusive PPVs, even ECW had its own event in 2006 called December to Dismember when it was a brand. Due to its poor reception it was dismembered and better left forgotten. Today, WWE seems to love making PPVs, cutting old favorites like Judgement Day and creating new ones like Great Balls of Fire. In 2017 there were a total of 16 PPVs, long and underwhelming ones for the most part. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, so it's logical to say too much of a bad thing is worse. WWE's 2018 PPV schedule cuts 2 PPVs, which is a sigh of relief to us. The 2 events cut are No Mercy and Great Balls of Fire after only 1 event aired. Perhaps WWE had other "great" events to host, but in any event they decided to lower the number of events this year, which I hope influences them to produce a higher quality of PPVs for their own good and ours, because quality is what fans remember after an event is said and done...not the number of events in a PPVs chronology.

4 Flopping: Brand Hopping

Last summer Jason Jordan left his nice comfy spot on Smackdown as 1/2 of the tag-team American Alpha to join his father on Raw. It was an odd story when we first heard it and nearly a year later we can say not only is the storyline stupid, but a waste considering Jordan's career-threatening injury. To point out an issue with Jordan on Raw I'd like to say there was no official explanation for why he could jump brands just because his father is the GM. I mean, Angle may have requested Jordan to join the red team, but from the looks of it, he showed up out the blue and seemingly with no storyline reason other than being Kurt's son, which is favoritism to say the least. I guess in WWE's world when they need something to happen and creative can't think of a reason...they'll just find a way to make it work. This does raise the question if any wrestler could just appear on a different show on their own free will. Could Cass show up to hang out with Bryan back when he was GM? It be nice if there was some order to this brand extension.

3 Flopping: Survivor Series Becomes Bragging Rights

Survivor Series is one of my favorite PPVs, so it saddens me that as of November 2017 the event as we know it is gone, seemingly forever. If you remember the build for the event as promoted by Kurt Angle and others put emphasis on Survivor Series being the 1 time of the year where Raw and Smackdown go head to head. Simply put the PPV becomes Bragging Rights, which ruins the event because every November the premise of the event revolves around Smackdown vs Raw. Oh, and not just the main event, but the majority of the card. The last 2 Survivor Series events featured an entire card of brand warfare, which is lazy considering WWE had a PPV specifically designed for brand warfare—Bragging Rights. Don't get me wrong, I love Smackdown vs Raw matches, the storylines can be highly entertaining, but after a while it gets old and it just seems lazy for this to be the primary story of the event, it's a cop out for creative. Variety is good, take Survivor Series 2005 which featured the first brand vs brand 10-man tag for supremacy, it was the main attraction, but not the only attraction...matches like Cena vs Angle, Booker T vs Benoit and Triple H vs Flair that weren't brand vs brand matches and worked. Survivor Series always was and should remain a non-pigeonholed PPV outside its elimination style match premise.

2 Flopping: Cena As A Free Agent

When the brand split returned, Big Match John was sent to Smackdown for the first time since 2005 to the shock of many. It was a good move since Smackdown needed the boost. However, the good move was undermined due to one of the biggest, if not the biggest issues of this brand split...the lack of star power. In 2017 Cena was declared a free agent, which on the surface sounds like a smart move on behalf of WWE who knows deep down this brand split is hurting them, but it's a clear example that with a lack of overall talent the last thing they should be doing is limiting themselves. A star like Cena who in April was deemed the top merch seller joins Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Triple H and Randy Orton in top guys carrying the company on their backs, which is the real reason Cena is given free agent status, but for the sake of TV creative could at least give us a reason as to why John can go back and forth when he pleases. It's moves like this that prove WWE has really given up on this brand extension, which in turn gives us no reason to have faith in it when they can't seem to honor the premise of a brand split, which is wrestlers on designated brands that are separate.

1 Succeeding: Paige As GM

Smackdown needs more than a Superstar Shake up... it needs a creative one as well. Ever since Paige's tape leaked fans not only took pleasure in making Paige the brunt of jokes verbally and via memes, but by fantasy booking interactions between Paige and The New Day or just Xavier by himself. I felt WWE had the perfect opportunity to take the 2018 draft to send Paige to Smackdown long before her injury and what do you know...they did. If there was ever a benefit to having a Superstar Shakeup it was for situations like this...creating ample supplies of humorous segments to last creative till at least a PPV. Even though Paige isn't the most charismatic star on the brand, in a program with Xavier or New Day as a whole would not only carry her, but give her the rub by association. Even if the angle is given a more serious approach to give Paige and Xavier their "absolution," it would be interesting to see how Paige is used being Xavier and New Day as a stable's boss should WWE pull the trigger on a unique and Total Divas-like storyline.