19th Jul2018

Opinionated: WWE… Conflict of Interest?

by Nathan Favel

Vince-www-opinion

The following is an open letter to the WWE and it’s owner, Vince McMahon:

Dear Vince McMahon,

A thought occurred to me while reading some-thing Eric Bischoff said about the brand split. In the wake of the Fox/WWE deal, which sees Smackdown coming to the FOX Network, Bischoff claimed that there might be a feud that could brew between NBC and Fox, especially if the Disney/Fox deal were to happen. Eric’s thought was that Fox might not allow the WWE to share or move Smackdown stars to RAW, with the concern on Murdoch’s part being that “his” wrestlers should not appear on a rival network. Eric makes a good point and it’s one you should heed.

I get why you did the second brand split, as Bonnie Hammer and every-one at the USA Network wanted to give both of its wrestling shows some-thing special, so they made the wrestlers brand-exclusive again. The idea was good, in principle, but the execution has been mediocre at best. With only a few big stars per show, you are in the same position that Bellator is with its roster right now. Scott Coker only has about ten big names, including Benson Henderson and Chael Sonnen, to name but a few, drawing interest to the fight cards. One day, Bellator will be able to run more shows due to the investment they have made with their new fighters, but since you don’t do that too often with your wrestlers, then it’s harder to justify having two separate brands with their own rosters.

You’ve got a certain amount of time to unite your roster once more, before you have to take such a decision to not one but two television networks, both of whom may not be willing to cooperate with one another during a negotiation process. Besides, the truth is that Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman, as good as they can be, are no substitution for people like AJ Styles or Daniel Bryan, who are names that people pay to see. With both brands merged, you’ll have more access to big angles with the best stars of your wrestling league and while that hasn’t always worked out before, having the option of putting your biggest and best together at any time is the only way to guarantee that you’ll have some success on any night.

Do the right thing and end the brand split, before it’s too late.

Sincerely, Nathan Favel

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