Although it kicked off the official brand split last October, WWE still has plenty of great matches left before it brings the Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown rosters together. This past month saw the start of a “Brand-to-Brand Invitational” in which superstars from either roster could challenge one another. This could potentially soon mean that the brand split will be a thing of the past, but there are quite a few big matches still left on the table that should happen before WWE decides to muddy the waters even more.
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The impact of the coronavirus has forced WWE to think creatively in a few ways, and it’s almost as if the company is starting to fear they are reaching the ceiling for their limited roster. But as we’ve seen from a few notable stand outs over the last few weeks, there’s no reason to start dipping into another pool of talent when there’s still plenty to mine as is.
Here are seven great matches WWE can have and yet keep the brand split in tact. Read on to see our suggestions, and let us know your thoughts in the comments! Which matches would you still want to see before the brand split collapses?
Braun Strowman vs. The Fiend
It’s no secret that Bray Wyatt and “The Fiend” will continue to be one of the secret weapons at WWE’s disposal during these special quarantine weeks, and one match we’re certain to get is a runback between Braun Strowman and Wyatt’s Fiend persona. After rejecting the Wyatt Family and embarrassing Wyatt during Money in the Bank, a short teaser revealed that The Fiend was on the way. With more opportunities for cinematic matches, now is the time to exploit that once more and give us a match where Strowman could quite literally tear his way through the Firefly Fun House.
Otis vs. Bray Wyatt
Speaking of the Firefly Fun House, John Cena’s still stuck in there somewhere. If anyone is fit enough to save Cena, it’s Otis. He might have the briefcase now, but if the title were to fall back into Bray Wyatt’s hands than a fun version of the Firefly Fun House match could kick in. Otis is an optimist who rarely ever feels the kind of negativity The Fiend fed off of, so seeing that match could have Otis just taking all of the puppets and kookiness at face value and thus laughing it off. There are already plenty of opponents that could bounce off of Wyatt in SmackDown without needing to bring in the other brand.
Bray Wyatt vs. The Fiend
One big match you can have before these cinematic matches go away completely, and before the brand split gives away to all kinds of match ups, is Bray Wyatt vs. The Fiend. Pre-recordings and all kinds of fun after-effects can make this happen in a strange 15 minute segment where Wyatt continues to fall down his own rabbit hole. It’s something you would never be able to do with a crowd, and it’s something you could never do once Monday Night Raw‘s roster starts messing with him. Let’s have Wyatt vs. Wyatt as a big send off to these special matches.
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
It does say something that fans are desperately asking for Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. Once the brand split gives out and the other half of the women’s roster can interfere, this feud could most likely lose steam. It’s been building for quite some time, and it’s a match that would most likely be great. But it’s also a match with a time limit. WWE needs to make this match happen before they continue these invitationals between brands as more women will put themselves in between the two of them, and might just continue to dilute this feud.
Seth Rollins vs. Murphy
This is another big, and potentially super fun series of back and forths that has been brewing for quite some time. Murphy joined along with Seth Rollins when the Messiah was on top, but over the last few weeks we’ve seen them take some major losses. Rollins has been treating Murphy even worse each week, and this past week saw Murphy get a little jealous when Rollins recruited Austin Theory. Murphy is clearly a star in the making, and Monday Night Raw would do well to focus on this star and shoot up him up straight to the top. A feud with Rollins accomplishes just that.
Asuka vs. Zelina Vega
As has been pointed out by WWE themselves, Asuka is now a Grand Slam Champion. It was the result of many factors (with the most prominent being Becky Lynch’s departure), but it also felt like an appropriate culmination of her work over the last few weeks. Asuka has been a lynchpin of the women’s division for Monday Night Raw, during this quarantine period but she’s not the only one. Zelina Vega has been building a stable with a strong roster, and it’s time for them to make their move. The biggest of which would be having Vega finally win the Women’s Championship on either of these brands, and keeping the SmackDown women out of the picture for now leaves a clear road for that to happen.
Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade
Speaking of Vega, Andrade has also been on fire lately. His brief wellness policy violation didn’t strip him of the United States Championship, and if that doesn’t tell you how strong he has been leading the midcard nothing will. Keeping the SmackDown roster from distracting Drew McIntyre would lead to Andrade finally making an attempt at the main championship, and couple it with Zelina Vega and Angel Garza winning their own titles at the same time and we’ll get something pretty big based on just the strength of Monday Night Raw‘s current roster.
