Tag: Wild Card Rule

WWE Wild Card Rule To Be Used On Non-Televised WWE Live Events

The WWE Wild Card Rule will be used on non-televised WWE live events moving forward.

RAW Superstar Dew McIntyre has been advertised for several upcoming SmackDown live events. He is currently scheduled to miss the June 3 RAW in Corpus Christie, Texas and the June 10 RAW in Reno, Nevada.

McIntyre has been added to the following blue brand events:

* Saturday, June 1 in Waco, TX
* Sunday, June 2 in College Station, TX
* Monday, June 3 in Corpus Christie, TX
* Sunday, June 9 in Stockton, CA
* Monday, June 10 in Reno, NV

The June 3 RAW is the final episode before WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. McIntyre has not been announced for a match on that show as of this writing, but he could work the 50-Man Battle Royal or get involved with the Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Update On Vince McMahon’s New WWE Wild Card Rule And A Potential Issue For The Company

Vince McMahon’s new WWE Wild Card Rule could end up leading to issues for the company, as described on Wrestling Observer Radio today.

As noted, the rule will see four RAW Superstars appear on SmackDown each week while four SmackDown Superstars appear on RAW each week. The gimmick was created as a response to ratings pressure from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox. Vince did not want to give up the idea of separate brands, but the networks want star power on both shows and there has been a feeling that the brands don’t have enough star power individually. Furthermore, it was also reported that Fox wants RAW and SmackDown storylines on the blue brand show when it goes to their network on Friday nights in October. There has been pressure from both networks to have the top WWE Superstars work both shows.

The Wild Card Rule will potentially cause issues for WWE live events, such as false advertising. Due to the way WWE creative operates these days, WWE likely won’t plan out these weekly Wild Card Rule appearances in advance, which could lead to incidents where Superstars have been advertised for live events, for weeks or even months, but they’re pulled from those live events to appear on TV at the last minute.

While WWE likely won’t plan out the Wild Card Rule appearances in advance, it was noted that Roman Reigns is expected to appear on both RAW and SmackDown often. We noted before how NBCU recently asked questions about why WWE gave up a star like Reigns to SmackDown in the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up.

We’ve reported on how WWE has made recent hires to help bring live event business back up, and they noted during the Q1 2019 earnings call that they are focused on bringing that part of the business back to where it should be. The WWE Wild Card Rule could create more of a decline in live event business, at a time where they’re focused on getting it back up. There’s no word yet on if the Wild Card Rule really will help with the TV ratings, but we should know within the next few weeks. It’s believed that the gimmick could bring a small increase in the numbers, but likely not a huge turn around.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Introduced Wild Card Rule On RAW And SmackDown To Help With Star Power Concerns From Fox And USA

Vince McMahon’s new Wild Card Rule on WWE TV is a response to ratings pressure from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Vince McMahon reportedly did not want to give up the idea of separate brands. As noted, the Wild Card Rule will see 4 RAW Superstars be eligible to appear on SmackDown each week while 4 SmackDown Superstars are able to appear on RAW each week.

WWE has been facing outside pressure from NBCU and Fox to bring the ratings up. The networks will not be happy with how bad the ratings are this coming fall because of how much money they are paying WWE. Fox and NBCU want star power on the shows and there has been a feeling that the brands don’t have enough star power individually.

It was also noted that Fox wants RAW and SmackDown storylines on the blue brand show when it goes to their network on Friday nights in October. NBCU was reportedly upset about the recent drop in ratings, especially for the third hour, and they were asking questions about the decline, specifically why they would give away a top star like Roman Reigns to SmackDown. There has been pressure from NBCU and Fox to have the top WWE Superstars work both shows.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Vince McMahon Announces New “Wild Card Rule” For RAW And SmackDown

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon opened last night’s  RAW from Cincinnati. He was interrupted by SmackDown’s Roman Reigns who vowed he would be on RAW. Then Daniel Bryan and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston also came out. Vince was mad that they was out on RAW since they are assigned to SmackDown. Vince then said he had an epiphany. Vince announced a new Wild Card Rule that will see RAW Superstars appear on SmackDown each week, and SmackDown Superstars appear on RAW.

The idea is that 3 SmackDown Superstars “could be invited” to appear on RAW each Monday night while 3 RAW Superstars “could be invited” to appear on SmackDown every Tuesday night.

Vince made a two WrestleMania 35 rematches – Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre and Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship.

Reigns won by DQ when Shane McMahon and Elias (SmackDown) attacked Reigns. The Miz came out and chased Shane out to the limo. Miz got a couple of shots in on Shane with a chair before Shane escaped in the limo.

Lars Sullivan from SmackDown attacked and destroyed No Way Jose and his conga line.

Vince McMahon was in in office on the phone talking about the new Wild Card Rule and Lars walked in glaring at Vince and Vince decided to allow 4 instead of 3 for the wild Card Rule.

Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his WWE Championship in the main event of RAW.

There’s no word yet on which RAW Superstars may appear on SmackDown tomorrow night in the Wild Card Rule. AJ Styles teased that he may go to SmackDown and bring back of couple of his friends to RAW, but Vince cut him off and said the invites are not decided on ahead of time.

 

WWE explained the Wild Card Rule on wwe.com:

The latest wrinkle in the ongoing Superstar Shake-up emerged this Monday on Raw when Mr. McMahon announced a new “Wild Card Rule” in which a limited number of Superstars from Raw or SmackDown would be invited to cross brand lines for one-night-only appearances, with unauthorized jumps to be penalized by fines or even potential firing. The number of crossover Superstars was initially capped at three — WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns started things off by appearing on Raw this Monday — though Lars Sullivan evidently persuaded The Chairman to expand the limit to four.

Superstars crossing between Raw and SmackDown LIVE has, of course, occurred on rare occasion since the 2016 Brand Extension, but the “Wild Card Rule” is the first officially-sanctioned blurring of the lines between Team Red and Team Blue Superstars. (The exceptions before tonight had been Becky Lynch, who holds both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Titles, and The IIconics, who are eligible to appear on all brands as the free-floating WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions). And although this isn’t to say we’re about to go back to the days of Raw SuperShows or do away with the Brand Extension, there are some staggering implications to the rule depending on who decides to take advantage of it: The main event of the Wild Card’s maiden voyage was Raw’s first true WWE Championship Match since 2016, and AJ Styles has already openly speculated about getting some friends from SmackDown LIVE to back him up against Universal Champion Seth Rollins.

As always, it will take a while before the true impact of the “Wild Card Rule” is realized, but it’s sure to make things very, very interesting going forward. See which new matchups will be made possible by the “Wild Card Rule” by tuning in to Raw and SmackDown LIVE, Monday and Tuesday nights at 8/7 C on USA Network.