...that is all.

We brand split now.

Nnnnooooooooooooooooo~!!!

Thank God.

Now if we can just get RAW to go back to 2 hours instead of the 3.

I don't know. Is a roster split gonna fix things, or just cause more problems?

Hell yeah.

Ordinarily I'd expect a honeymoon period for the concept alone, but even that feels in doubt. Look at how they're still limping into this thing. The groundwork for the brand split could've been very organically laid since Wrestlemania (or before) and built up with a lot of significant story telling. As of right now there's nothing going on. This should've been depth to the Shane and Stephanie rivalry - a consequence of it, instead of a macguffin to drag it out.

Drafts in and of themselves are always fun, so that'll be great. Maybe this is the vehicle for bringing up NXT guys like Samoa Joe, but what's the real benefit of that? It's still half a world champion and half a roster. If you think you're bored with booking now - wait until the rosters are cut in half. There's no sign of RAW getting shorter. Three hours, less guys. OR a brand split that has no split.

If I'm gonna put my hopes in a pipedream it isn't gonna be a half-roster elevation of talent.
I want all this quality in one stream. I want better booking, better writing. More urgency, a stronger sense of competition. I want a stacked supercard of top names every month on "PPV". I want more diversity on television. I want everybody chasing the big goal and climbing all over each other to get it.

The ultimate brand split is likely coming to an end as a consequence of the new order and that's the current incarnation of NXT. An organically built separate touring brand with its own representative faces, its own style, and the quality people are dreaming a RAW/Smackdown divide under the Powers That Be will bring.

By rights, the energy of change should create a honeymoon period through the draft and initial split. The question is when the bloom will be off the rose - not if.

Brock Lesnar's UFC days aren't quite over yet. In a surprising move, the WWE is allowing Brock to fight at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt. WWE still insists he's under contract with them and work Summerslam.

Did not see this coming.

That's craaaaaazy! Good promotion for Summerslam if he doesn't get hurt!

Wonder if there's a trade-off. UFC gets Lesnar for UFC 200, WWE gets... Rousey for Wrestlemania? Access to footage for DVDs and Network footage? Interesting development!

Apparently there is, but not for Rousey. Page Van Zant is the one they're trying to get in for summerslam. I suppose it makes sense. Rousey has fallen off the face of the earth since her loss to Holm and Van Zant just had a stint on dancing with the stars. Maybe an inter gender title match vs fellow DWTS alumni, Chris Jericho is in order.

Brock Lesnar will get knocked out at UFC 200

There is a good chance...


Mark Hunt is a scary dude.

Damn. Great ending to a pay-per-view.

Dean Ambrose has no legitimacy as a top guy, but I like what his win potentially sets up.

Gets them out of having to commit to any brand split MITB rules, creates a bit of a history with only the second same-night cash-in, and sets up a hot three-way for Battleground. Which will be even more interesting if the trio get split-up by the brand split and the match decides which show gets the belt.

Not looking forward to the brand split - but it's making the best of the situation. If it goes that way.

- Roman Reigns Suspended for Wellness Policy Violation

The WWE announced on Tuesday afternoon that Roman Reigns (Joe Anoai) has been suspended for 30-days following his first suspension for a Wellness Policy violation.

The news was made just one day after he was announced for the main event of the WWE Battleground event on July 24th with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins for the WWE title and two-days after dropping the title at the Money in the Bank show.

The substance that Reigns tested positive for was not revealed, with Reigns posting the following statement after news of the suspension broke:

I apologize to my family, friends and fans for my mistake in violating WWE’s wellness policy. No excuses. I own it.

The suspension will also prevent Reigns from appearing on the live Smackdown draft special on Tuesday July 19th as his 30-day suspension will expire two days later. Technically, Reigns would be eligible to work the Battleground show but wouldn’t be available for any of the television before the show.

Holy crap! Did they have an inkling? Does it explain the otherwise slightly surprising MITB title change? Is the golden boy and rumored face of RAW no longer the rock solid company rep they thought they could rely on?

When you think about the issues Reigns has had in terms of connecting with the audience, it's hard to turn off the immediate thought that its a work to make him more relatable to the average fanboy. The suspension is long enough to keep him away from the audience without missing the big PPV main event. Would they really compromise something as serious as the wellness policy [to get him over], and/or leave their star out during The Draft? [Absence] worked for The Rock, but...

It's probably a silly thought, but that's pro wrestling. [They've ignored top stars violations plenty of times in the past. Acknowledging this one could be seen to serve a purpose.]

There's no way they're going to compromise the "integrity" of the wellness policy just to save their golden boy a few boos. Either way, you think the smarks gave him a hard time before? He will be eaten alive when he comes back.

If there's a time to turn Reigns, it's now.

I for one am not looking forward to another brand-split and/or draft after what happened last time. plus they went to all the trouble to unify the belts only to have them potentially split again?? why the hell not just have one Champ for both shows like they're rumored to be doing with both the Women's and Tag Titles?

I mean i get that the Champ could potentially be "over exposed" being on both shows but maybe it could work.

is the idea of this up-coming draft supossed to be similar to what it was in the past or a completely different and unique than the past?

I don't think the problem lies with overexposure, but rather focus. When you have one "undisputed" champion, he can really only be in one feud at a time. So one month, he may be in a feud with a Smackdown superstar while Raw just kind of struggles with no real anchor storyline until the champ focuses on someone on raw.

You may be asking, "why couldn't the show without the world title feud use that time to showcase the mid card title or even use the time to build a challenger for the WWE title?". I would say, " Great question!", but who knows? They couldn't answer that question the first time around, hence, the introduction of the World title.

And yeah, looks like this draft will be pretty much the same as last time. If you noticed on Raw, Steph subtly dropped the "world heavyweight" when mentioning the WWE championship. So expect two world champs. Also, apparently their will be more network specials(ppv's) added to the scheadule for the individual brands.

This unified champion actually lasted a lot longer than the last time they did that, with the Undisputed Championship.

I liked that they at least acknowledged Roman Reigns' suspension on this week's RAW.

The Seth Rollins promo got it out in the open and made use of it. That was nice. I'm not ready to put my chips on a heel turn for Reigns, though. I still think this is going to be used as a way to humanize him and appeal to the crowd, because drugz r kewl d00d. Pfrrrrt.

I'm still dreading the brand split. Echo grim sentiments about splitting the championship.

well thank you both for your replies folks!

so it's just a wait and see what happens. still not overlly looking forward to it but alas, it's inevitable

Eh, Reigns gonna Reigns at this point. I doubt they put the belt back on him when he gets back, but I'm sure he's gonna remain a tweener for a good long while. "I appreciate the support bruh, but it ain't like I need it. I'm just a young guy getting rich"...and such.

i just hope that Ambrose gets a decent reign as Champion, he deserves it after busting his a$$ for so long. don't give it back to Seth or Roman for at least a little while