Ratings for RAW and SmackDown have been falling for a while, so the USA Network and FOX have seemingly agreed to share WWE Superstars despite what was supposed to be a hard split of the brands. During last night's episode of RAW, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre mentioned a "brand-to-brand" invitation which has been offered to the blue brand.
As a result, McIntyre will face King Corbin during next week's RAW. This is expected to be a simplified version of the "Wild Card Rule," a concept widely criticised for fans. Now, though, crossovers will be kept to a minimum.
It certainly makes sense for WWE to try and bring eyes to RAW by featuring SmackDown talent, while it will also help the latter to include big names from Monday nights. This certainly goes against the idea of a permanent split, though, and it's since been reported that the networks specifically requested this due to constant record lows for both shows.
That's understandable given some of the numbers we've seen as of late, and a good way to try and counter that. Whether it will work is hard to say, especially as it's hard to imagine King Corbin making a real difference to RAW.