SmackDown Live Is The best Wrestling Product around!

[Pay Per Ghost]

What boxes do you need to check before calling yourself that?

- Meaningful Storylines for all appearing talent.

- Progressing character arcs ( Styles unhinging, Ali rising, Rusev/Nak building a stellar feud)

- On the biggest mass stage in the world.


CHECK & CHECK.

And I catch some ROH, TNA, NJPW and still, think SD Live is probably the best it has been since its 2002-05 glory days.

 

[JoeMallard]

NXT and 205 live check all those same boxes.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've enjoyed SmackDown a lot but, for me, NXT is the most consistently good product out there, especially under the WWE banner. SmackDown had a solid year, overall, in 2018 but I wouldn't call it a great year as there were times in which it was hamstrung by questionable creative choices, such as consistently putting a ton of focus on Shane McMahon during the first half of the year, which seems to be in full swing again as we build towards the Royal Rumble and, of course, WrestleMania, but it's been far more enjoyable as a whole than Raw and far easier to watch.

With SmackDown having more of a "sports" feel to it, at least according to reports regarding Fox wanting to make some changes to it, the idea of it being more serious is something that intrigues me because being presented as though it's actual competition instead of a television show is something that WWE has never really done before on a consistent basis, at least not when it comes to the main roster. Too often, fans have been all but told that wins and losses don't matter and while that's technically true, I think that creating the perception that they do could help lend to better overall storytelling, more consistent booking and a stronger sense of continuity as these are things that the main roster at times, especially when it comes to Raw, sorely lacks.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Not sure if true but I have enjoyed it quite a bit lately. Sometimes I may go two or three whole minutes just watching it without picking up my phone or changing the channel.

I was particularly smitten with Rusev's reaction to his title win over Nakamura. He seemed genuinely happy. You don't get that from some of the best workers in WWE.

 

[teampunk]

So, watching Smackdown I've notices that Becky Lynch is about as over as a midcarder on Sunday night heat was twenty years ago. Or are fans just supposed to not cheer for the top stars anymore?