John Cena And Stephanie McMahon On What To Expect With Brand Extension, Slowing Down Storylines
As noted, Stephanie McMahon and John Cena were at Cannes last week to talk about the WWE brand. During a Q&A with the press, McMahon and Cena were asked about the brand extension and how RAW and SmackDown would be different.
Stephanie noted that both shows would have their own talent rosters. Cena brought up that NXT and RAW have similar environments, but what sets them apart is the talent. He says that the talent will make each show unique.
Cena brought up being a part of the first brand extension in 2002, and said that there would be no John Cena if there wasn't a brand extension. Cena said none of the storylines would carry over between the two shows.
Stephanie said that they lost the ability to tell stories over a longer time because they had three hours of RAW and then needed to continue the storylines on SmackDown. She said that with the separate rosters, they can slow down their storytelling and elaborate more and connect with their audience in bigger ways.