It looks like brand-exclusive PPV events could soon be a thing of the past for WWE.
Fans with tickets to the May 8th WWE Backlash show in Newark, New Jersey (the first PPV following WrestleMania) were emailed recently and told of a major change to the show’s lineup. As reported by Wrestling Inc., the email notes that the May show will “now be a combined Pay Per View with RAW and SmackDown stars.” The show had previously been scheduled to be a RAW exclusive event.
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You can see the email below for yourself.
This change has fueled reports that WWE will likely be moving all PPVs to be dual branded from that point forward. The Twitter account WrestleVotes has added fuel to the fire by claiming that is exactly the plan. They note that RAW and SmackDown television will continue to be brand-exclusive rosters, but it looks like we will now be able to count on every PPV presenting matches from both brands, as well as intra-brand matches to liven things up.
Starting with the Backlash PPV May 6th, all PPVs going forward will be dual branded. No more RAW or Smackdown exclusive shows. Source states repetitive matchups to fill the card along with so-so ticket sales lead to the decision.
The weekly TV shows will not be effected.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) February 13, 2018
It should be noted that it is far from confirmed that all shows will be moving to the co-branded model, as WrestleVotes has reported. Though their account has broken stories in the past, we are still taking this with a grain of salt. There’s always the chance that this is a one-off until WWE confirms the change.
We will post an update when WWE provides official comment on the matter.
