Source: WrestlingINC

We noted yesterday via a Prowrestling.net reader that WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler told fans at a weekend convention that the company is planning on holding monthly pay-per-view events for RAW and SmackDown when the Brand Extension kicks off next month, with the exception of WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. In an update, PWInsider says that when the original Brand Extension announcement was made, there were people under the impression that the company would be doing more WWE Network specials and/or pay-per-view events to accommodate the roster changes.

Source: WrestlingINC

A ProWrestling.net reader who attended the 38th annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois this weekend reports that Jerry Lawler said there will be two monthly pay-per-views for the Brand Extension – one for RAW and one for SmackDown, except for the top four events – the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and the Survivor Series.

The same reader was told by Lawler at the 2015 Superman event about SmackDown going live on Tuesday nights for the USA Network and that is obviously happening now.

Source: WrestlingINC

In case you missed it, before kicking Teddy Long out of the building in a backstage segment on last night’s RAW, Stephanie McMahon claimed that she would be in charge of SmackDown, which would presumably leave Shane McMahon in charge of RAW. It’s not clear if that was the official announcement, or the start of an angle between Stephanie and Shane on who would run the show.

“My father wants someone in charge [of SmackDown] who is intelligent, who is young, who is vivacious, who is smart, who has business acumen, someone who is going to bring in the New Era right!” Stephanie said. “That’s not my brother Shane McMahon, I’m going to let you in on a little secret Teddy… it’s going to be me!”

Joseph Bonaccorso has an article at Seeking Alpha looking at how the brand split can boost WWE’s bottom line. It noted that it can attract older fans who no longer follow the product, as well as lead to excitement with the current fan base. It also noted that the shows can deliver better content with the separate rosters, and can lead to an increase in WWE Network subscriptions.

Source: WrestlingINC

Regarding the WWE brand split and SmackDown going live beginning Tuesday, July 19th, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the belief is that one show will feature Shane McMahon in charge and one show will have Stephanie McMahon in charge, perhaps RAW. It’s also believed that while Vince McMahon and Triple H will continue running creative, current RAW and SmackDown head writers Ed Koskey and Ryan Ward will end up with more power since the creative writing teams will have more control and won’t have to constantly work together on ideas.

We noted yesterday that it was already being rumored that the WWE Women’s Title would be exclusive to one show. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the tentative plan is for the women’s division to be on both brands but the exclusive talk is there. The Women’s Champion would be the only person to appear on both brands, with the exception of whoever the singles champion is. It was also noted that they are still looking at doing two world titles again but that is not a lock and they could end up with just one top champion. The WWE Tag Team Titles are also still up in the air but everyone is still saying that the United States Title will be on one show while the Intercontinental Title will be on the other. There’s been talk of having two sets of tag champions or one set that would work both shows.

The WWE Draft is still rumored for July 11th in Detroit but not a lock. There are people in WWE campaigning for a hard split of the rosters while others want a soft spit with top stars making guest appearances on the other shows, allowing for more unique top matches on TV or pay-per-view events.

The Observer also reported internal belief is that John Cena will be the main star on SmackDown while Roman Reigns will be the top star for RAW. There’s still no word on what will happen with several top stars, including Brock Lesnar. It’s believed Lesnar will end up on RAW when he returns for SummerSlam hype but word is that even his brand is not a lock at this point.

As noted, everything is still up in the air and one guarantee is that many plans will change over the next month or so. WWE is officially saying that all the big questions will be answered in the next few weeks.