By Greg Parks, Torch specialist

Like Communism, the WWE brand split is a great idea, in theory. But when WWE doesn't adhere to the rules of The Split, it gives events like Bragging Rights a less important feel. WWE's latest breaking of their own rules is on ECW, which is and island unto itself in the company.

Due to falling ratings, WWE has begun to bring former ECW (that is WWECW) stars over to the brand for a tournament. Hey, at least it gives ECW some direction right? Yeah, but it also dilutes the brand split idea even further.

The brand split will work if you treat every brand as equal. That way, there's no need to transfer wrestlers from one brand to another to pop a rating, and the brand would be deep enough to sustain a three-hour show (which is the most frequent time that brand split rules are broken).

ECW has never been treated as equal to Smackdown, let alone Raw, and there are rumors of turning the Tuesday night show into a Superstars-like program, with Syfy being unhappy with the recent ratings. I could see this happening after WrestleMania with the ECW belt being defended for the final time at the PPV, then retired. I like ECW as the proving ground for new talent and a mix of older stars to help them, but WWE and Syfy also need to be realistic about the ratings if taking that approach.

When we are constantly bombarded with Raw Rebounds and rarely see one of Smackdown or ECW. It's pretty clear by that example alone what the number one brand in WWE is. If WWE had treated ECW as similar to even Smackdown, then the ratings likely wouldn't be in the toilet and the company wouldn't be forced to break the brand split rules for the umpteenth time.

PWTorch VIP members have first-look access to all of Torch Smackdown specialist Greg Parks's latest blogs in the newly upgraded VIP Forum. His blogs are published first in the PWTorch VIP Forum, and Parks interacts with other VIP members and Torch staff and contributors in the blog comments area afterward. Some of Parks's blog entries will be exclusive to the VIP Forum.

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