Can anyone remember when Smackdown was the number 1 brand?

[rge2010]

I love WWE. However, I am clearly a Raw fan. At the moment their programming is delivering some of the best it has in a number of years. As for Smackdown - it is just terrible. I'm not sure if it is the creative team, the set, the commentators, lack of star power or because it is taped...the whole show is just boring!

I hear rumblins Vince said he wants Smackdown to be the WWE's number 1 show. Well he's got alot of work on his hands! In order to make Smackdown good again he needs to boost up this roster because moving talent across from the red brand will have a detrimental effect on that show.

Anyway, to my initial question. Cast your mind back 7/8 years ago. Smackdown was clearly the number 1 brand. I gotta feeling Triple H probably had something to do with this. Yes, he was on Raw, but he was leading the show and didnt really have to share the spotlight did he. Batista and Orton were up and coming, Scott Steiner was flopping badly, Austin had just retired and there was only really Goldberg worth a mention....RVD, Booker T Masked Kane were about as good as it got.

At the same time all this was happening Smackdown was awesome! The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Big Show, Chris Benoit, Eddie G...

What went wrong?!

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I love WWE. However, I am clearly a Raw fan. At the moment their programming is delivering some of the best it has in a number of years. As for Smackdown - it is just terrible. I'm not sure if it is the creative team, the set, the commentators, lack of star power or because it is taped...the whole show is just boring!

Saying the whole show sucks is a bold statement. Many people here prefer Smackdown over Raw including me. We get more wrestling on the B Show that's facts.

What went wrong?!

Nothing went wrong. Smackdown just happened to produce the biggest name in modern wrestling-John Cena. He went over to Raw and I guess this is when you started getting bored with Smackdown's product. Truth is though, Smackdown has always kept things fresh even in the days of Stephanie running things. Want to know one reason? Because even the General Managers were being cycled; Eric Bischoff was growing stale since the beginning. We got to see Steph, Angle, Heyman, Long, etc take charge of "the little product that could" and they did really well for themselves.

In fact, if Vince wants Smackdown to be the cornerstone of the WWE he could do it in a few weeks, give or take. This is the man that wanted Raw to be bigger when the brands split.

That, and Raw has been around much longer. Ratings may be higher for the Red Show because of this and all of the celebrities that have been featured there. Smackdown is the show we watch when we want more wrestling, and that doesn't make it terrible.

 

[mk_philly74]

Smackdown has won the Bragging Rights match 2 times in a row now and I have a feeling the King of the Ring winner will be coming from the Smackdown brand as well. I think the only thing that hinders Smackdown is that it's not live. To call it the B show is not insulting but arrogant maybe. I dunno, people have a preference to what show they like more but if you look at the WWE product, its consistent. Aside from Bragging Rights, Smackdown and Raw are not competing to be the #1 brand, it's still WWE and each show gives the WWE fans something different to watch.

 

[xxxdaniel_ariesxxx]

Smackdown has always been the wrestling show... And the reason that Smackdown was the show that it was in 02-03 was because of one person; Paul Heyman. As the head writer of smackdown during that era he was expected to fail. I believe he was put there by the McMahons, Stephanie in particular, so that after the brand extension, when they were pushing Raw as the top show, they could say that the reason Smackdown was failing was because of Heyman, but that's not what happened. While on raw you had Triple H having sex with dead bodies, on smackdown they were rebuilding the tag team scene with some classic WRESTLING matches between Angle and Benoit, Edge and Mysterio and Los Guerreros. While Raw was having Hair vs Hair matches where the loser got a stylish haircut in the back by a stylist instead of having his head shaved bald in the ring, Smackdown was having a hour long Iron Man Match between Lesnar and Angle.

Raw sucked during that period (I literally was unable to stay away to watch an entire episode of Raw at that time) while Smackdown was on fire... Shit, they even had Matt Hardy over as a singles star when he jumped to Smackdown... That's saying a lot

 

[Undertaker the 5th]

I remember that Raw used to be really good when you had guys like Eddie, Cena, and I don't remember, but Randy was there for a little while. I think one of the things that hurt Smackdown in the ratings is that it's on a Frday night. When everyone goes out to party or theatre or other things. I think if they gave it a better time slot it could be more watched and if more people watch than the stars there will get more recognition and to an overall point make the show the number 1. I doubt it will happen though.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I remember the time when Smackdown was the A show. It was in 2008, right around the time when Smackdown went to My Network TV. Then it was the A show until around Wrestlemania 26. Smackdown is back to being the obvious B show. The problem though is that when Smackdown was the A show, Raw suffered from being the B show when it is the more prestigious brand. Raw is the flagship show, it needs to be the A show. I remember a thread coming up around that time called "Monday Night Medium Rare" where there were rants about Raw not being as good anymore. What happened you ask? WWE realized their mistake and that Raw needs to be the better brand because it's the flagship show. Smackdown has been the B show for most of its existence and it needs to stay that way. However from June 2008 until February of 2010 it was far superior to Raw.

 

[MizFit]

You don't have to look back very far to remember when Smackdown was superior to Raw. That was probably around a year or so ago to me. From about 2008 up until 2010.

Smackdown was great with HHH, Edge, Hardy, Kendrick, MVP and company. The show was far more entertaining than Raw at that point. However, as Dagger pointed out, WWE realized this and once again brought Smackdown's product to a lower standard than Raw's. Not there there is anything wrong with that, as Raw is currently and for the most of the time WWE's flagship program. Smackdown is fine at where it is being the B show, elevating new talent and focusing more on wrestling than Raw's "entertainment" aspect of the product. This is the way it should be, and will probably always be.

 

[LSN80]

I love WWE. However, I am clearly a Raw fan. At the moment their programming is delivering some of the best it has in a number of years. As for Smackdown - it is just terrible. I'm not sure if it is the creative team, the set, the commentators, lack of star power or because it is taped...the whole show is just boring!

Ill agree that the storylines havent been quite as good, but the wrestling on Smackdown is clearly superior. While Raw has been the show for advancing hot storylines, Smackdown was and is about wrestling. Its produced the best IC Champion in recent memory in Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Kane, Kofi, Swagger, Del Rio, Rhodes, Kaval, McIntyre, and Undertaker when healthy. They also ran possibly the angle of the year with Kane finding Undertaker in a "vegetative" state, only to be revealed that he was the one responsible. Smackdown also saw the return of Paul Bearer.

I hear rumblins Vince said he wants Smackdown to be the WWE's number 1 show. Well he's got alot of work on his hands! In order to make Smackdown good again he needs to boost up this roster because moving talent across from the red brand will have a detrimental effect on that show.

Smackdown is doing fine on its own. It may not have the "star power" that Raw has, but it does have plenty of good wrestlers. Ratings have been down since the move to SyFy, but I know personally that alot of people dont even get SyFy, at least in my area. Thats surely had an effect on the ratings.

The fact is, if you want more promos and hot angles, watch Raw. Smackdown is the wrestling show.

Anyway, to my initial question. Cast your mind back 7/8 years ago. Smackdown was clearly the number 1 brand. I gotta feeling Triple H probably had something to do with this. Yes, he was on Raw, but he was leading the show and didnt really have to share the spotlight did he. Batista and Orton were up and coming, Scott Steiner was flopping badly, Austin had just retired and there was only really Goldberg worth a mention....RVD, Booker T Masked Kane were about as good as it got.

Smackdown had the younger up and comers, and as it is now, was more about the wrestling. You had your great tag team wrestling, such as Edge & Mysterio vs Angle and Benoit. Lesnar was the champion, and Eddie Guerrero was another hot wrestler on the brand. But again, the focus was on wrestling on Smackdown, then and now.

Athe same time all this was happening Smackdown was awesome! The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Big Show, Chris Benoit, Eddie G...What went wrong?

Well, Taker and Show are still on Smackdown. Lesnar went to UFC, Rock went to Hollywood, Angle and Hogan to TNA(and I dont remember Hogan EVER be a big part of SD!) and we all know what happened with Benoit and Guerrero.

Nothing went wrong. Smackdown is still, as Ive said, the wrestling show. It has its moments and big angles, but the wrestling is the focus of the show. It all depends on what you prefer, honestly. And just last year, Smackdown was superior to Raw in every way, honestly. Its only been since the draft that more "star power" and hotter angles have been on Raw, and Smackdown has gone back to being the B show. And its doing fine as it is, in my opinion.