Vince McMahon’s introduction of the Wild Card Rule during this week’s Monday Night Raw dealt a huge blow to the dividing lines of the ongoing brand split as now four superstars from each brand are (supposedly) able to jump back and forth between shows each week. McMahon initially stated it was three wrestlers, then changed it four when approached by Lars Sullivan, then stated that Elias didn’t count as a fifth without giving a reason.
After Kofi Kingston retained his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan (two SmackDown stars) to close out the show, the Raw commentary team teased which Raw wrestlers might appear on SmackDown Live tonight. But it turns out the company’s options might be limited, as WWE’s next European tour kicks off on Wednesday with the Raw touring brand appearing in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
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According to Wrestling Inc., Roman Reigns (who was the first SmackDown star to appear on Raw) will be on the Raw side of the tour, while AJ Styles, United States Champion Samoa Joe, The Usos and Naomi are all booked for the SmackDown tour, which starts on Thursday. That four could potentially show up on the Blue Brand this week, while “The Big Dog” could possibly miss the show he technically calls home.
While the new rule was widely panned by wrestling fans on social media, Dave Meltzer explained on Wrestling Observer Radio on Monday night that the company was pushed by both NBC and FOX to bring its biggest stars to both show to boost ratings.
“Fox wanted more storylines that are going to be on both RAW and SmackDown,” Meltzer said. “You know, NBC Universal was real upset about the ratings especially in the third hour and was asking questions about: ‘Our ratings are this, this, and this why’d we give away Roman Reigns?’”
As of Tuesday, nine matches have been booked for WWE’s next pay-per-view, Money in the Bank. Along with two ladder matches for this year’s set of Money in the Bank briefcases, the show will also feature Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. Styles, WWE Champion Kingston vs. Kevin Owens and Becky Lynch defending both of her championships in two separate matches.
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