Figure Four Weekly: WWE announces the end of brand-exclusive PPVs

  • F4W Staff
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Less than two years into the current brand split, WWE announced last week that the era of brand-exclusive pay-per-views is coming to an end.

Sunday’s Elimination Chamber will be the last Raw-exclusive event, and Fastlane on March 11th will be the final SmackDown PPV. Starting with Backlash on May 6th, every PPV will feature wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown.

The schedule for 2018 initially listed five dual-brand shows (the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series), five Raw-only shows, and four SmackDown ones. There will now just be one dual-brand event each month, with WrestleMania, Backlash, Money in the Bank, Extreme Rules, SummerSlam, Hell in a Cell, TLC, Survivor Series, and Clash of Champions slated for the rest of the year.

How those PPVs will work out logistically hasn’t yet been made clear. Adequately fitting both rosters on one three-hour broadcast would seem to be impossible, and Dave Meltzer has reported that the belief within WWE is that the former brand-exclusive events will now have four-hour main cards with two matches on the pre-show.

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