Last Night's Live SD!: Why It Won't Go Live Regularly

[I Harm Walrus]

SD! cannot go live because WWE doesn't put enough time into it.

If they would have cared more about the Super SmackDown Live then it would have been good. It had potential.

I think they need to capitalize on guys like Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes, and Sheamus, but at the same time keep some focus on more established guys like Orton, Kane, and Henry. They need to find a happy medium between current stars and future stars.

[Leviticus]

I don't really see a need for it to go live. I like having the shows spread out through the week. Unless they put the amount of effort into smack down as they do raw im perfectly fine with it staying on Friday nights.

[OneTooManyPunts]

From a cost perspective alone, it's smarter to keep taping Smackdown, then it would be to air it live.

The biggest problem WWE would have now, is that Smackdown has become an established program for Friday nights. Friday night is usually known as the 'death slot' for a lot of networks to send shows they want to cancel, or try to phase out without much notice. Smackdown to the contrary, is a show WWE has been able to establish on Friday nights, and while the ratings are far from spectacular when compared to Raw, it's still far about much of what is out there on other networks during the time slot(s).

Being able to have a show that can pull in lower ratings, yet still be considered a success is a blessing, not even so much in disguise for WWE, and keeping it pre-taped only adds to the benefits.

Also, the live Smackdowns, in my opinon, have almost always seemed to fail to deliver when it comes to quality, this past Tuesday's being a prime example. Too often it's saddled by a gimmick or theme, and the entire episode simply feels disposable. Going live, on a different night, is risky enough given the major network competiton, but trying to lure in new viewers, or convince existing viewers to tune in when they may be used to watching something else, but adding in a episode that is lackluster, or not in the general canon of the brand is worse. It insults loyal fans, and keeps pedestrian fans at arms length. Fans that may not watch now, but did when they were younger probably aren't going to be too enthused. Seeing visibly aged talent from the years ago when they may have watched makes the WWE as a whole seem like a promotion that hasn't progressed at all in 10-20 years.

This weeks live Smackdown was really the worst live edition I've seen since the move to Syfy. Coming off of Wrestlemania, and an extremely hot Raw the week before, it simply felt out of place. Fans want to see where things are leading in to Extreme Rules, not Gene Okerlund in a match with Sheamus. It demeans Sheamus as a threatening or credible champion, and makes the brand as a whole seem more like a two hour comedy routine gone bad.

If WWE wants to make the investment needed to ever go full on live with Smackdown every week, they need to end the Raw Supershow concept, re-establish the concept of established brands, and give Smackdown the weight it should have. Until then, it's best left on Friday nights, where it can benefit from the marvels of the editing room, and the benefits of a night and time slot that sees little in the way of strong competition.

[Charlesworth]

Originally Posted by 2Sweet_4Life

I mean WTF was i watching? I was sitting there watching guys who retired before SD! even begun. If it was old school SD! Why was it the same stage. Last night had to be the WORST wrestling show i have EVER seen.

Think calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean.


Smackdown needs to be legit. They need to make it legit. I think it should be moved to Wednesdays, and the USA Network and made live everyweek. You would take Smackdown so much more seriously. Now with Teddy out and Johnny in they need to take advantage on the interest in Smackdown.

[Isaac Kaye]

I thought this was an average episode, but fairly entertaining all the same. I think the whole live idea could work perfectly well if they actually put a bit more effort into promoting it. I seriously didn't know it was a legends show until it started!

I like the fact the crowd reaction was genuine. All the layered heat they put over the taped episodes is horrendous - in fact it seriously insults the viewer. (same for Superstars) I thought the wrestling was average, although Henry and Orton put on another good match, but suffered from another crappy non-finish. Surely somebody got counted out first?

The use of Legends was pretty good. Rhodes and Piper did a great job of getting more heat on Cody and Bryan respectively, and they furthered their feuds to some extent. The Pipers Pit wasn't amazing but I thought they all cut good promos. AJ is really underrated and does a terrific job of selling a storyline. I could have done without the Hacksaw and Slaughter segment with Hunico and Camacho. Michael Cole tore into legends all night with cheap geriatric jokes which weren't all that funny.

I see no reason why the live show can't work. I'm not sure Tuesday is the best, the day after RAW - and a days worth of advertising is not sufficient. They should definitely insert a title match, or something similar that will attract more viewers. Something like the Pipers Pit should be plugged heavily, and at least a week in advance.

Quite frankly, it doesn't seem like E care too much about SD anyway, or they would be placing much more emphasis in relation to RAW. With this whole RAW Supershow the brand split has turned into a bit of a farce anyway.

[HWFchamp02]

It was terrible! I was actually excited though at first. I had heard that a good portion of the roster had gone to Russia for some live events and thought that we would get a few legend v legend matches. Maybe some special surprises along the way. Instead it was really bad. Maybe one of the worst I have seen in a long time. I think the draft will help SD! a lot this year, but they have to stop doing all this BS like having The 3 Stooges and Legends as special guests. It is hurting the product and turning off a lot of fans.

[brockrockomglol]

It was a terrible show like everyone said! Besides, with it out of the blue being a legends throwback night, we all kinda knew what to expect. Does anyone else get the feeling they have these shows just to feed the ego of these legends and keep them from leaving backstage? Also, it's always the same people. Mae Young, Slaughter, Hackshaw, Piper. Hell, we see piper more than we see HHH and undertaker combined it feels like. All in all, i blame this particular show as being the reason the ratings are low, and not on the time slot/day. Give us sufficient advertising for it, some build to it perhaps, and let's see if it doesn't do better. I think it would.