The WWE has turned to some past wrestling legends to serve as on-screen decision-makers, but as for its booking behind the scenes, the company should once again utilize some more creative minds of the past.
On "SmackDown Live" this week, the WWE will bring back the brand extension in which its roster will be divided into "RAW" and "SmackDown" brands. Stephanie McMahon will be the commissioner of "Monday Night RAW," while her brother Shane McMahon will be in charge of "SmackDown" on Tuesday nights.
Stephanie has tabbed Mick Foley to serve as her on-screen general manager for the flagship show, while Shane has appointed Daniel Bryan as the on-screen authority figure for the Blue Brand.
While the WWE made the right decision when it comes to general managers, perhaps they should use the same line of thinking for the creative team going forward.
It's no secret that the writing and storylines in the WWE have at times made no sense and at others have just been genuinely bad and short-sighted. The company could turn to three great minds to revamp the writing and generate more consistency from a booking standpoint.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is often very critical of the creative direction in the company on his podcast. He also uses that platform to give his own insight into what the WWE should do. Austin is one of the best creative minds and simply gets how to tell a story in pro wrestling.
Similarly, his longtime friend Jim Ross is one of the best minds the WWE has ever had and was the instrument behind some of their biggest singings, including the likes of current face of the franchise John Cena, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar.
Though Ross has other endeavors going on elsewhere, if the WWE were able to pry him away, pairing him with Austin and giving them creative control over "RAW" could be a tremendous proposition.
It would all depend on their willingness to do so, but since Austin won't return to being active in the ring and Ross was unceremoniously removed from his WWE job, they could forge a comeback via the creative process.
Austin always has good insight on his podcast, and has been spot on with his evaluation of the questionable overbooking of Roman Reigns and underbooking of Sasha Banks in the past.
As for "SmackDown," the Blue Brand was never better than when it was under the control of Paul Heyman. Lesnar's mouthpiece utilized his "SmackDown Six" to put on a fantastic show during the original brand split. Heyman put the Blue Brand on the map and was a creative genius.
Though he's busy serving as Lesnar's manager, "The Beast" is a part-time WWE employee and Heyman could be by his side on rare occasions, while serving in a creative role when he's not around. Heyman's tenure as "SmackDown" booker was the closest the show ever got to surpassing "RAW" as the most must-see show.
Though all three likely shouldn't have complete control, they should have a big say in what goes on during each show.
While Foley and Stephanie will have an on-screen competition with Bryan and Shane in kayfabe, having some real competition between Heyman and the duo of Ross and Austin could also lead to a better product with each show genuinely trying to one-up the other.
If the WWE wants the brand extension to be a success, having creative minds with real wrestling background knowledge would make for two actual competitive shows.
