Why Raw over Smackdown?

[Jackal960]

It has been more than 10 years that we started watching a show called "Smackdown!". Basically Smackdown was created because there were simply too many wrestlers to put on Raw every week and it made a necessity to create a new show. Smackdown was doing ok for a while but starting from mid-05 it hardly drew over 3 as a rating. It's usual number is 2 nowadays. Although Raw ratings have declined as well today it still draws around 3.


My question is if you compare Raw to Smackdown, what is your motives to watch either show? Comparing the ratings why do you think Raw has been watched more than Smackdown?

Here are some thoughts:

Is it because Raw being a better show? Honestly, even this day i know people who think SD is actually better than Raw as a show, or it had been at times. Is that the main reason for Raw to have better ratings?

Is it the star power? Do you think if we had got a roster swap, (don't only think of this years roster having fan favorites like Cena Orton etc, think about the last 10 years) leaving everything the same, would Smackdown will draw better than Raw?

Is it Raw being live on Mondays? Monday has always been "wrestling night". It was called "Monday Night Wars" for God's sake, and i think being live vs being taped and being on Monday night or not affects the ratings heavily. That's only my opinion though. If Smackdown was on Mondays, leaving everything the same, would it draw 3.0?

Is it Raw simply being the "A Show"? Now if you want to promote one of the shows more than the other i.e. bringing Celebrity Hosts, being aired for 20 years etc it will change the way you see the show as a whole. Is that the reason Raw being watched more than SD?

It can be one of these or something else that you may think of. Why do you think Raw is being watched more than Smackdown?

 

[jokeryona12]

Well, typically no one wants to watch tv from 8 to 10 on a friday. Most people go out or something.
As far as show quality, it depends on what you look for. They tend to put a little more effort into the story and less on the wrestling aspect on Monday and vice versa on Friday. It amuses me when a person comes from Smackdown to RAW and doesn't do as well. Swagger did it and failed. MVP did it and failed. Some people who have been around do well enough, but it depends really. There was a time when I found the shows pretty equal, back when JBL was champ and faced booker, taker,and others. Cena was awesome on smackdown and then moved to raw to become Super Cena.
I prefer RAW because most of my favs are there. However when Jericho moved to smackdown on the my network I switched satellite providers just to get the MyNetwork to watch it. (Which is good cause Dish is cheper for me.)
Both shows have potential, its all a matter of how it is used.

 

[TheFuture]

I think the reason that Raw is considered the "A" Show is a mixture of a couple different aspects.

Aspect A) The fact that the Smackdown is taped on Tuesdays has been a downfall for the show since day one. The biggest problems with this are ones that are probably going to be brought up quite a bit, first off people like live, they like the feelings that go with it happening as they're watching it, the other part to go with that is the internet and the spoilers which goes hand in hand with aspect B.

Aspect B) The show comes on Friday night now, this is the day where you've got to believe the majority of the population is going to be out doing whatever. The spoilers that are posted online have made that much easier, along with DVR's and other things that just make the casual fan just kinda go eh about it.

Those two aspects combined pretty much sum up the reason for Smackdown always being looked at as second best, it has nothing to do with the wrestlers or the storylines or anything along those lines.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

It is partly the timing, I mean who the hell goes out on a Monday anyway? If Raw is on, your almost certainly not double booking yourself with something else. But most dedicated wrestling fans will find time to watch Smackdown anyway so it's not the biggest factor by me.

It's times like this I always remind myself that's it is sports ENTERTAINMENT and the answer is pretty obvious. The majority of what happens on Raw is entertainment based, they get the guest hosts, the Vince McMahon's, anonymous GM's and all those things designed to pull viewers. Smackdown is more of a reliable show, it's got a high percentage of match time and your used to seeing good matches bumped out of it, and you know if there is two good wrestlers going for it, it's more than likely to be a good match. In that respect it hardly ever dissapoints, but it even more rarely surprises people.

Raw has got highs and lows. Things can turn out dud just like this whole anonymous GM thing but there are exceptional highs like for example whoever this wrestlemania host is next week, things that Smackdown almost never delivers you get much more of on Raw and to a greater extent. In a business that I always say is more in favour of entertainment Raw is the more entertaining show with the more entertaining superstars and stories, you don't really have to delve any deeper than that.

 

[nbrew2119]

For me, if you like actual wrestling, Smackdown is better, if you like the bigger names, Raw is better.

I know that Raw is supposed to be the "A" show, but, when i watch Smackdown, i realize that, the actual wrestling aspect of it, is way better than Raw.

Something else i can wish for, but, i know will never happen, is, go back to Brand Only PPV's, with the main reason being that, the roster isn't big enough to do that anymore. When this was happening, both show's were building new stars, and it kept things fresh.

I do think that, both show's rosters need to get a little bigger, not from NXT or Tough Enough people though, I'm talkin through people that are "Free Agents".

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Combination of the following factors:


1) DAY AND TIME - Monday night is a better time slot than Friday night for television shows.

2) NETWORK - Smackdown goes back and forth between networks much more often than Raw ever has. Also, Raw is on a more stable network.

3) ROSTER - They typically like to put a large percentage of the most popular stars on the show, ala John Cena, Randy Orton.

4) PPV FALLOUT - The next 24 hours after a ppv. Raw lets you know everything you might have missed. By the time Friday comes around, you know it all already.

5) SPECIAL EPISODES - The Draft is on Raw. King of the Ring, Raw. 3-hour specials? Raw.

6) LIVE - Spoilers ruin Smackdown a lot of the time.

7) FRESH - Smackdown typically continues stuff that you might have seen on Raw. With Raw, everything can change that week.

8) CELEBRITIES - If a celebrity pops up, they tend to do it on Raw, not Smackdown.

9) SPECIAL TREATMENT - If WWE has anything special, they tend to give it to Raw. The guest host concept was for Raw, as was the debut of the HD set, the retirement of Flair and HBK, etc.

Could go on and on, but the point is that it's a combination of TONS of factors, not just one. If you saw half of those from above move over to Smackdown, you'd most likely see Raw's ratings drop and Smackdown's go up and be about equal...unless the factor of it being on Friday was too great to make up for those extra additives, which means Raw would just go down and Smackdown would stay the same. That's the big kahuna of the bunch...the time slot. If they moved to Saturday night, they'd go down even more so.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It has been more than 10 years that we started watching a show called "Smackdown!". Basically Smackdown was created because there were simply too many wrestlers to put on Raw every week and it made a necessity to create a new show. Smackdown was doing ok for a while but starting from mid-05 it hardly drew over 3 as a rating. It's usual number is 2 nowadays. Although Raw ratings have declined as well today it still draws around 3.


My question is if you compare Raw to Smackdown, what is your motives to watch either show? Comparing the ratings why do you think Raw has been watched more than Smackdown?

Here are some thoughts:

Is it because Raw being a better show? Honestly, even this day i know people who think SD is actually better than Raw as a show, or it had been at times. Is that the main reason for Raw to have better ratings?

Is it the star power? Do you think if we had got a roster swap, (don't only think of this years roster having fan favorites like Cena Orton etc, think about the last 10 years) leaving everything the same, would Smackdown will draw better than Raw?

Is it Raw being live on Mondays? Monday has always been "wrestling night". It was called "Monday Night Wars" for God's sake, and i think being live vs being taped and being on Monday night or not affects the ratings heavily. That's only my opinion though. If Smackdown was on Mondays, leaving everything the same, would it draw 3.0?

Is it Raw simply being the "A Show"? Now if you want to promote one of the shows more than the other i.e. bringing Celebrity Hosts, being aired for 20 years etc it will change the way you see the show as a whole. Is that the reason Raw being watched more than SD?

It can be one of these or something else that you may think of. Why do you think Raw is being watched more than Smackdown?

When SmackDown! first began airing, it was on the now defunct UPN network and it was during the Monday Night Wars. At that time, both SmackDown! and Raw were drawing ratings that were in the 5s on a regular basis. There really wasn't much of a difference between them in terms of numbers. When the Monday Night Wars ended however, the numbers for SmackDown! and Raw both began to decline at a similar pace. Since about 2003 really, Raw has generally drawn on average somewhere in the vicinity of the mid 3s and SmackDown! generally drew in the upper 2s to an occassional low 3 while it was on the CW. After SD! went to MyNetworkTV, the show's ratings started to drop steadily until it was drawing around 1.7 on average. MNTV is an extremely weak network that, technically speaking, isn't even a network anymore. Lots of people didn't have the channel, meaning they couldn't watch it and the WWE just basically stopped promoting the show altogether. In terms of it's network home, SmackDown! has had an overall tougher time than Raw for the past half decade or so. Another problem that I think still dogs SD! a little bit is that it airs on Friday nights.

However, a lot of people still liked and still do like SmackDown! and think it's an overall better show from top to bottom. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't in my opinion. For a long time, SmackDown! was viewed as a show where younger guys could go to in order to have a chance to shine because so many of the big names and main eventers were on Raw. To some degree, it's still sort of seen as the brand in which younger talent can be sent without the worry of being overshadowed by the likes of John Cena or Randy Orton.

Since SD! moved to Syfy, the WWE has very much renewed pushing and hyping SD! as a truly relevant portion of the WWE. A big reason for that is because Syfy is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns USA. NBC Universal knows that WWE programming delivers big numbers. Raw is often among the most watched shows on Cable television and SmackDown! is the #1 show on Syfy. I think that the WWE, and this is just pure speculation on my part, is hoping that they'll be able to get SD! on USA as well. Back just before Christmas, a live episode of SD! aired on USA and it drew 3.8 million viewers, which is the biggest audience the show's had in a few years.

Two things that I think does potentially hurt SD! in terms of numbers are the fact that it's a taped show and it airs on Friday nights. Raw is live and that just generates a type of energy I think. If people want to, they can go online right now and find out what happens on SD! this coming Friday. As for the show airing on Fridays, Friday is statistically the night of the week in which more people go out than any other. These are two factors that probably do bring down the show's overall numbers.

I think that SD! usually has the superior wrestling content to Raw. Raw is somewhat more storyline/promo driven than SD! is in general I think, though Raw overall has gotten more wrestling heavy over the course of the past year or so. On SD!, you're more likely to see 2 or 3 12+ minute matches than you are on Raw. If SD! aired on Monday nights on USA, I'd say it'd draw probably the same audience as Raw. However, it'd have to be a live show I think. While Syfy is an overall much stronger network than MNTV, it's still small potatoes compared to USA. USA is a real powerhouse among cable networks and has been the #1 cable network for like 5 years in a row, which happens to coincide with Raw returning to the network from Spike.

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

Ok folks lets remember when smackdown 1st started it wasn't brand vs brand, it was just a second show to continue what happen on Raw. I do feel bad for the people that don't have cable but moving smackdown to SYFY was a good idea cause the show has been more exciting and it will develop into a a tv-14 show and i see Raw heading the same way. All they need to do now is move it to wed. or thur. 9pm-11pm and move superstars to sat. or sun. 7pm time slot.

 

[JGlass]

RAW is more popular than Smackdown for quite a few reasons.

First of all, RAW is on a better TV watching night. Friday nights is a notoriously bad night for television viewership, but the WWE likely puts Smackdown there because they know it can't compete with most of the shows that are on the other 4 nights of the week.

RAW also has the more recognizable name. WWE RAW has been a part of television since 1993, and you know how they love to brag about it being the, "longest running weekly episodic television show." Smackdown has been around for a long time in its own right, but it was created in 1999 and has always been living in RAW's shadow.

Finally, it's a proven fact that live television attracts viewers, which is why you often see newscasts advertised as "The city's only LIVE newscast," and other scripted/reality television shows will have nights where they promote themselves as being a live broadcast. RAW benefits from being the live show, and it's obvious when you watch that you're watching something special unfold before your eyes. Smackdown is missing that magic.

With all that said, it should be obvious that RAW is my favorite show, and that's the way it's supposed to be. I'm able to watch RAW every Monday as opposed to Smackdown which I sometimes don't finish if I decide to go out because it's on a Friday. Furthermore, the WWE puts more of its resources into promoting RAW, and the program benefits from it. RAW has the better roster, the bigger feuds, and the best surprises. If I could only watch one wrestling show every week, I'd pick RAW.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

Pros of Raw

-The Miz is entertaining! He is one of the most hated heels in the WWE right now.
-CM Punk is great in the ring and has a great gimmick going for him right now.
-Daniel Bryan is there to put in some technical wrestling.

Cons of Raw
-Two hour time frame and four matches a night and one of those matches are a divas match.
-Michael Cole and his stupid love fest for heels, mostly The Miz. I realize that he is a heel comentator but it is just plain garbage to me.
-The WWE championship. How are suppose to be taken serious when your title spins?

Pros of Smackdown
-Better matches with a less mic work.
-More young superstars like Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler. All of them will be future world champions.
-Better fueds. Edge and Kane fued was ok but seemed boring. Edge and Ziggler fued is going and I can't wait to see what happens next in the fueds.
-Booker T on commentary!

Cons of Smackdown
-Vickie Gurerro. Her voice pisses me off and I just want to slap her.
-Hornswoggle. I don't want to see a midget acting like a lerprachaun!

I watch both Raw and Smackdown when I got the time. I prefer to watch Raw because it is the top show and everything happens on that show. Smackdown I watch because it has better wrestling all around. Raw for the fueds and Smackdown for the matches. That's what I think everyone else does too. Plus Raw has the top faces John Cena and Randy Orton for the kids.

 

[Dave]

I watch Raw every week and don't really miss it when it airs. The same cannot be said about Smackdown. Although I have been watching it recently, it really takes something new and refreshing to make me take up my Friday night. Right now, those reasons are Albert Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler. However, it just seems to me that Raw is the number one show in the eyes of the WWE and that is the way they operate with their programming. I mean, if the WWE don't even believe that Smackdown is on par with Raw, how is that going to translate over to the viewer? Badly, that's how.

When I watch Smackdown, I am constantly reminded that the WWE doesn't have the same faith in it's Friday night offering as it does with Raw. Whether it is because of the difference in star power, or the difference in huge angles, Smackdown just cannot compete with what Raw has. Look at Raw, they have Randy Orton and John Cena to top off their shows and Smackdown has Edge, who many claim is past it now. The talent base on the two shows is completely unbalanced and might only have some parity when The Undertaker comes back to Smackdown. Then again. Triple H is coming back to Raw and the balance is thrown off again.

Then you look at the major angles that have been done on each of the shows. Kane and The Undertaker's feud paled in comparison to the angle with the Nexus until they were moved onto Smackdown and that should not be the case. It just seems as though the WW is happy to put more time and effort into Raw and just take what they get when it comes to revealing the Smackdown ratings and that is the reason why I don't watch that regularly.

 

[Jay85]

A) The live element to Raw is huge. If a certain wrestler is going to appear, the actual name could be revealed, but their reason for being there is still a mystery.
B) It's on Friday night. When it was originally on Thursday, it was competing with a lot of popular shows, an it still did good. This could have been because kids would watch it as their parents watched their shows. I haven't been a kid in a while, but I didn't stay in and watch tv on Friday.
C) I will say the brand split hurts it. I have always hated the brand split because the whole "it's two different companies" thing that is attempted is stupid. Also, a storyline from Raw carries over to SD (along with ratings) and vice versa.
D) Putting the young guys on SD helps them get tv time, but it gives the feel of the minor league. Once a guy is on Raw it is a big deal.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Good thread.

There are a few reasons why RAW, in my opinion is better than Smackdown:

1) RAW is Live - This is the obvious one. It's a live show and therefore, more surprises can happen. I find myself, short on time, just reading the smackdown spoilers and hardly watching the show.

2) RAW is on Monday nights - RAW has a great time slot. Sure there are other shows on then but at least I can always flip to RAW or DVR it and watch it later (before I read results). With Smackdown on Friday nights, I don't have the time to watch and I have no reason to DVR because usually I've read the spoiler by Wednesday.

3) Presentation: Both shows have a completely different feel - RAW has a better presentation. To me it's more like a show with an ongoing storyline and the flow is much better each episode than Smackdown. Smackdown to me seems like it's 1 big match then a bunch of random matches then a promo and the main event.

4) Rosters: Most importantly, there is more star power on RAW. If you ask me, the Smackdown roster is pretty much garbage. There are some bright spots but I think they could future endeavor as much as half of the Smackdown roster and it wouldn't make a difference in terms of quality.

4) Gimmicks/Entertainment: RAW has more gimmicks (anonymous GM, million dollar giveaway, draft, slammys, etc). This keeps it entertaining and interesting.

 

[Nev]

I disagree, Smackdown started to decline after the Batista-Undertaker angle in 07. Smackdown was still very good in mid-05.

The problem with Smackdown for me personally is that I feel like I'm forced to watch it. And eventually, after being forced for so long you get fed up with it and just stop watching. Smackdown doesn't have that lively feeling of RAW (after all you can read the spoilers every week obviously) and doesn't have as much of talent in recent years.

 

[Jackal960]

I disagree, Smackdown started to decline after the Batista-Undertaker angle in 07. Smackdown was still very good in mid-05.

My personal opinion is it was still OK after that from time to time. I was just talking about the ratings, not the quality of the program. You can just check out the ratings from anywhere.

 

[Tech N9ne]

For me, it is simple. RAW is the Flagship show.

It turns out after all is said and done, RAW was the King Of The Monday Night Wars. That in itself is reason enough. Not to say SmackDown hasn't had great moments, it surely has.

But there were moments on RAW before SD even existed, that we will never forget. From Austin/McMahon moments to The Rock, to DX and even more surprises. RAW is the standard for wrestling shows, and any wrestling show ever created from now until the end of time, will have to live up to RAW comparisons, even if this other show isn't on Mondays.