WWE Superstars Should Try Pro Wrestling as a Team Sport

WWE Superstars is the company's fourth TV show each week, It features the stars of all three brands: Raw, Smackdown, and ECW.

This is a great opportunity for a wrestling concept that has almost never been tried: pro wrestling as a team sport.

Right now, Superstars features Raw guys fighting Raw guys, Smackdown divas fighting Smackdown divas, etc. It gives wrestlers a chance to get on TV if they didn't appear on their brand's main show that week.

WWE could do so much more with Superstars. The three brands should compete against each other for points, bragging rights, a trophy (the Superstars Cup), and something we can all relate to: money.

The concept would be similar to NASCAR. The season would have a start and an end, with the highest point earner walking off with the cup.

To make it fair, the brands would have to compete for the same amount of points.

So on a typical Superstars show, you would see three matches: Raw vs. Smackdown, Smackdown vs. ECW, and Raw vs. ECW.

With only three matches per show, the bouts would be longer and more dramatic.

Best of all, they would mean something! Most of the matches on WWE Superstars have little consequences. Somebody wins, somebody loses, life goes on.

The Superstars Cup would reward each brand for its talent depth. The three General Managers would act like the GMs in real sports.

They would try to put on a great show each week and still have a few good wrestlers left over to win points on Superstars.

They could reward wrestlers for performing well by giving them a title shot, or they could trade them if they fail to perform well.

The team concept would also encourage the fans to choose their favorite brand. Maybe the brands could actually put on slightly different products (Smackdown could feature cruiserweights, ECW could be, you know, more HARDCORE, I know, I'm dreaming here).

That way, WWE could actually sell merchandise of the brands. Raw fans could wear their red shirts, Smackdown fans could wear blue jackets, and ECW fans could chant "ECW" like the good old days.

Getting the fans to care about their brands and root for them would also put a lot of juice behind the WWE draft. For example, Smackdown fans would rejoice when Evan Bourne or Christian joins the blue team.

To make this work, you have to give the wrestlers a reason to care as well. In the storyline world of wrestling, that should mean a cash bonus.

Otherwise, there would be no incentive to perform well for their brand. So the winners of the Superstars Cup would get a bonus of $500,000. Split among all of the wrestlers, that is a chunk of change worth winning.

WWE produces a video game each year called "Smackdown vs. Raw." Let's see it in the ring!