Did you ever have Brand Loyalty?

[TGM]

For example, during the original Brand Split, I was obsessed with Smackdown being the 'true' WWE brand (I didn't have Sky Sports and could only watch Smackdown on Sky One) and would use any small details I could to try and convince myself of this. They had the Undisputed title signed exclusively, The Undertaker wrestled for them, Vince McMahon himself was its first owner, Stephanie McMahon was the GM, even WWE Magazine renamed itself 'Smackdown Magazine', they got the better half of The Dudleyz, E&C and the APA (not completely true).

I got really annoyed that Smackdown's Chris Benoit lost the Intercontinental title to RAW's Rob Van Dam, so I used to pretend that the current U.S. title had the history of the WCW belt.

Was anyone else here as idiotic as me during this era of wrestling?

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

I felt Smackdown was the better show at the time, but I had no brand loyalty. I knew that they were trying to convince the fans that they were re-creating WCW vs WWF in the 90s with their brands.

[SHAKEMASTER TV9 is Don Knotts]

I thought the same with Smackdown being better. Every time I tried Raw, I had to change the channel. But no Brand loyalty.

[Jimmy]

I was loyal to the ECW brand from late 2008 until the bitter end.

[Lick Ness Monster]

In late 2002, Smackdown was SO much better than Raw that it was borderline comical. Both of my wrestling friends at the time were Raw guys and I constantly tried to convince them otherwise, so their initial brand split strategy worked with me.

[Deleted]

I never had brand loyalty but I did appreciate when there was a clear difference between the shows, where RAW was the soap opera calamity district and Smackdown was where great wrestling was happening always.

[Pgarodactyl]

The only brand loyalty I ever had was to Coca Cola.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Up until 2006, Smackdown was my show. Then, in the summer of 2009, it became my show again. That all stopped when Undertaker came back though.

[Deleted]

Jan 2, 2013 21:21:39 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

I was loyal to the ECW brand from late 2008 until the bitter end.

This...The Flair/Big Show match left me speechless

[Slanted and Enchanted]

It's still bizarre to think that the WWE were pushing Smackdown as their A-Show for those few years after the brand split. What wasn't mentioned in the OP was that Hulk Hogan was wrestling for the brand as well.

[kamero00]

Jan 2, 2013 21:29:59 GMT -5 Pgarodactyl said:

The only brand loyalty I ever had was to Coca Cola.

Are you "Evil CM Punk"?

[kamero00]

Jan 2, 2013 21:52:44 GMT -5 Slanted and Enchanted said:

It's still bizarre to think that the WWE were pushing Smackdown as their A-Show for those few years after the brand split. What wasn't mentioned in the OP was that Hulk Hogan was wrestling for the brand as well.

Smackdown had a primetime 2 hour time slot on network TV.

When they were on "My Network TV" they really pushed the brand again. Batista, Punk, Hardy, Undertaker, Triple H, Edge, and the Big Show.

Smackdown for quite a while had more star power than RAW. They would let Cena or Orton carry that brand, and quietly have a lot of stars on Smackdown.

Man, Smackdown was good, when they used to care about it.

[DZ: WF Legacy]

Smackdown has usually been an on-and-off show for me.

After the attitude era ended, I didn't care about SD at all. The botched Invasion killed my interest in seeing all the "new young faces" (among my interest in wrestling for awhile), so I didn't even bother watching SD. I missed a looooooot of good stuff in that 2002-2003 period. I remember having no clue who "John Cena" or "Randy Orton" were for quite awhile. I saw their action figure prototypes before I even saw them perform! I began watching regularly again around the time Cena was rising up to take down JBL. Then, I stopped watching again for a few years after having to work every Friday and not having a DVR yet. Then, after Raw sucked in 2009, I became glued to SD and ECW every week. And now, I'm back to being apathetic about SD. It's not a bad show - I just watch it when I feel like it and don't make time for it like I do for Raw.

[Deleted]

No brand loyalty, but I thought SD! was so much more interesting from Fall 02 through about Spring 04 (when I think I stopped watching).

[slappy]

Jan 2, 2013 21:21:39 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

I was loyal to the ECW brand from late 2008 until the bitter end.

Yeah. ECW was much better than what they were putting on elsewhere.

[Deleted]

I was a Raw loyalist from 2002 until the middle of 2007. When ECW formed, it became my favorite brand, save for mid-2008, when they had Matt Hardy and Mark Henry as the focus of the show. That was pretty brutal. But I came back after the 2009 draft and stayed until the final episode.

[The Lach is very tired]

I was a Smackdown fan during the "Smackdown Six" era as I knew you were going to get at least 1 very good match each week.

[suave]

I don't have cable, so from 2008 to late 2010 I was a Smackdown fan. I am not exaggerating, excluding bits and pieces and internet clips, the first RAW episode I watched start to finish was RAW 1000. I was probably the only person who got hyped over the draft. Being about 10 or 11 when I started watching, I had huge brand loyalty. I remember being outraged when the WHC went to RAW. "What the hell, man!? That's OUR title!" Those were some good times.

[zeez]

Smackdown has held a special place in my heart as it was the show that got me into WWE to begin with back in 1999. That said, I'm not really loyal to it as I've always watched Raw too.

[Deleted]

I was loyal to WWF over WCW, but I've never been "loyal" to one of the WWE shows, as they're both the same company.

For what it's worth, I haven't watched Smackdown since, oh, probably the first year or so it was on, since I'm usually out while it's on. I generally read the spoilers, though.