Smackdown: Raw's Sycophant

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

With all traces of the brand split erased with the unification of the World titles, it has become more conspicuous than ever that Smackdown has lost all of its prior credibility. In fact, the primary focus of Smackdown is currently to recap events that already occurred on Raw that past week and to produce random throwaway matches that do not hold any significance a week down the line, which is one of the central reasons that Smackdown does not see as much television activity as it did prior to the Brand Split ending. In effect, Smackdown has become a two-hour Superstars.

Whilst I believe Superstars and Main-Event are fine in order to produce simple, entertaining matches between lower-card faces and heels in order to hone their craft, I don't believe WWE should be using their second tier show as a means to kill time. It is evident that WWE has difficulty fitting mid-card storylines onto Raw sufficiently with the number of simple throw-away matches on Raw (for example, why are Santino and Fandango feuding? I don't believe this has been explained. Some exegesis would be superb.), and whilst WWE using Raw to build the primary feuds is more than fine, it leaves no room for the mid-card feuds to be put under the spotlight other than a random match. Smackdown should be reinforcing Raw in that regard, not reinforcing Raw as a recap show.

Why not use Smackdown to develop mid-card storylines and characters? People simply don't want to see recaps of television they have already watched, and if they haven't watched it, the option is readily available for them to watch it (and that is in fact what they do). Why not continue to give viewers compelling television but with mid-card stars who are just as capable of providing the viewer with entertainment, even if their storylines aren't as important as the ones on Raw. I for one would tune into Smackdown if it was used to promote guys unable to get substantial television time on the previous Raw, and if the show is used to help drive storylines forward enough that it makes the viewer care about their blow-off match.

Should Smackdown stay as it is? Should Smackdown be the mid-card show as I have suggested? Or do you have a completely different opinion? Share your thoughts.

 

[TheICChampion]

I hope this thread doesn't get deleted. I for one agree with you. Half the time I have the TV on Smackdown but I'm barely paying attention (if at all). Maybe make the mid-card titles the focus of Smackdown. They have an IC title tournament on Raw, why not a US title tournament on Smackdown? I know Ambrose has a match at ER, but start building it anyway. Or at least book a 4 way, or 6 pack challenge and every week they have a qualifier. Something like that. Why not have the champion fight a series of matches every week before the PPV and every superstar he loses to he has to face at the PPV for the title? I know they should have feuds too but if they don't then this is what should be happening.

 

[ADLegend21]

you're completely right. I thought for a while that Smackdown should've been moved to live programming since the WWE does live events on fridays anyway so it's not like the do Monday and tuesday with weekend stuff, there's live events almost every day of the week. Especially during the brand split because they did the whole bragging rights thing to make Smackdown look like a better show than Raw and that didn't even work.

Though to it's credit some things of significance do happen on Smackdown. They held matches for Randy Orton's EC opponent gauntlet on Smackdown, including Cesaro's upset. Also the Shield hit happened on there and it's a big part of their current story. There are way to many raw recaps on Smackdown however when there could be more time devoted to more matches and superstar segments. But when you've got people who just read smackdown spoilers instead of watching what can ya do?

 

[wrestler36]

Hmmm. Maybe it's just the Wrestlemania hangover that's taking place. I remember before mania, Smackdown featured matches like Bryan vs Batista and Shield vs Wyatt's. Big E and Del Rio just had a pretty long match this past Smackdown.

 

[Punk_Aries_Daniels_Bryan]

I wish the brand rivalry happened again. I always rooted for Smack down. True enough, the title unification sealed the deal with the new era. I agree with the OP

 

[GameOver]

With all traces of the brand split erased with the unification of the World titles, it has become more conspicuous than ever that Smackdown has lost all of its prior credibility. In fact, the primary focus of Smackdown is currently to recap events that already occurred on Raw that past week and to produce random throwaway matches that do not hold any significance a week down the line, which is one of the central reasons that Smackdown does not see as much television activity as it did prior to the Brand Split ending. In effect, Smackdown has become a two-hour Superstars.

Whilst I believe Superstars and Main-Event are fine in order to produce simple, entertaining matches between lower-card faces and heels in order to hone their craft, I don't believe WWE should be using their second tier show as a means to kill time. It is evident that WWE has difficulty fitting mid-card storylines onto Raw sufficiently with the number of simple throw-away matches on Raw (for example, why are Santino and Fandango feuding? I don't believe this has been explained. Some exegesis would be superb.), and whilst WWE using Raw to build the primary feuds is more than fine, it leaves no room for the mid-card feuds to be put under the spotlight other than a random match. Smackdown should be reinforcing Raw in that regard, not reinforcing Raw as a recap show.

Why not use Smackdown to develop mid-card storylines and characters? People simply don't want to see recaps of television they have already watched, and if they haven't watched it, the option is readily available for them to watch it (and that is in fact what they do). Why not continue to give viewers compelling television but with mid-card stars who are just as capable of providing the viewer with entertainment, even if their storylines aren't as important as the ones on Raw. I for one would tune into Smackdown if it was used to promote guys unable to get substantial television time on the previous Raw, and if the show is used to help drive storylines forward enough that it makes the viewer care about their blow-off match.

Should Smackdown stay as it is? Should Smackdown be the mid-card show as I have suggested? Or do you have a completely different opinion? Share your thoughts.

Not everyone watches both shows, some people might not get RAW or don't watch it for whatever reason and since thats the primary show where the biggest things happen it needs to be recapped, I agree with the idea of Smackdown being the show that features more or the mid card talent tho, give them a chance to shine on there own without being drowned out by endless segments featuring, Cena and Co..

 

[Naniwa91]

What I would do is bring back WWE Heat, and air it for an hour, immediately before SmackDown, and use it as a recap show for RAW. I'd make SmackDown live more often and re-establish it as its own show, save for impromptu WWE title defenses.

Velocity would be brought back to serve the same purpose as heat but for SmackDown, but air at 12AM Eastern Time.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

With all traces of the brand split erased with the unification of the World titles, it has become more conspicuous than ever that Smackdown has lost all of its prior credibility. In fact, the primary focus of Smackdown is currently to recap events that already occurred on Raw that past week and to produce random throwaway matches that do not hold any significance a week down the line, which is one of the central reasons that Smackdown does not see as much television activity as it did prior to the Brand Split ending. In effect, Smackdown has become a two-hour Superstars.

Whilst I believe Superstars and Main-Event are fine in order to produce simple, entertaining matches between lower-card faces and heels in order to hone their craft, I don't believe WWE should be using their second tier show as a means to kill time. It is evident that WWE has difficulty fitting mid-card storylines onto Raw sufficiently with the number of simple throw-away matches on Raw (for example, why are Santino and Fandango feuding? I don't believe this has been explained. Some exegesis would be superb.), and whilst WWE using Raw to build the primary feuds is more than fine, it leaves no room for the mid-card feuds to be put under the spotlight other than a random match. Smackdown should be reinforcing Raw in that regard, not reinforcing Raw as a recap show.

Why not use Smackdown to develop mid-card storylines and characters? People simply don't want to see recaps of television they have already watched, and if they haven't watched it, the option is readily available for them to watch it (and that is in fact what they do). Why not continue to give viewers compelling television but with mid-card stars who are just as capable of providing the viewer with entertainment, even if their storylines aren't as important as the ones on Raw. I for one would tune into Smackdown if it was used to promote guys unable to get substantial television time on the previous Raw, and if the show is used to help drive storylines forward enough that it makes the viewer care about their blow-off match.

Should Smackdown stay as it is? Should Smackdown be the mid-card show as I have suggested? Or do you have a completely different opinion? Share your thoughts.

I was thinking about this yesterday as well while I watched Smackdown. I immediately thought, what if The Miz came out and cut a promo and had a personal feud with Dolph. What if Cody and Goldust actually got time to develop as characters like they did in the fall? How about if Sami Zayn gets called up and starts working exclusively on Smackdown before starting on Raw?

There's no point in retreading the same points over and over again on Raw. If NXT is allowed to flesh out different characters that aren't the focus of Raws and PPVs, Smackdown should be allowed too. In fact, the NXT guys have it BETTER than most of the main roster. I'd rather be Mojo Rawley right now than, say, Kofi Kingston. Mojo gets promo time and gets to have a storyline. What does Kofi get? I can't remember his last actual *storyline*. Probably the Randy feud in 2009, almost five years ago.

I would have Christian be named GM of Smackdown. He can cut a somewhat shoot promo about how Smackdown has been seen as the B show, but that he is going to fix that. He'll announce that he will showcase real talent. He announces that the US and IC Champions will face off in the main event, and the winner will be the Premiere Champion of the Smackdown brand. You can have a cool feud going there, and when say, Ambrose wins the match, Smackdown will be catered around the US title going forward.

You can even have have Smackdown-exclusive Specials on the WWE Network, the same way they do things like NXT Arrival. I don't think the rosters should be divided. Guys can appear on both shows. But while Xavier goes ahead and jobs to Rusev on Raw with little fanfare, he will actually have a complex character on Smackdown that reacts to those losses. And hell, maybe something will get over and then transition to the main show.

In fact, now with the WWE Network is the perfect time to try something like this and divide the rosters. Brand-exclusive PPVs failed because no one wanted to pay for so many a year. But now that they're all included in one package, they can put on as many as they want.

 

[gasM]

Spot on OP. I remember in 2012 they debuted guys like Ryback, Sandow, Cesaro on SmackDown before they exposed them on live Raw. The likes of Bo Dallas, Adam Rose, Sami Zayn could benefit from a similar easing into the main roster, especially Rose who could get piped in reactions to his shtick and build some momentum.

The OP's idea for midcard focus is really good. Imagine what the Young-O'Neil feud could have been like if it dominated SmackDown? Or if Tensai and Brodus Clay got to work a few lengthy matches on there - could have given Brodus some direction going forward. Big E could have proper feuds for the IC title on Friday nights, or god forbid the Divas could have a secondary feud outside of the title picture.

Whoever mentioned bringing back Heat as a recap show could make a massive difference especially with the Network growing and growing. Fingers crossed for the future.

 

[pipebomber]

Not everyone watches both shows, some people might not get RAW or don't watch it for whatever reason and since thats the primary show where the biggest things happen it needs to be recapped, I agree with the idea of Smackdown being the show that features more or the mid card talent tho, give them a chance to shine on there own without being drowned out by endless segments featuring, Cena and Co..

I disagree. In today's world, if you care enough to catch RAW you can catch it with DVR and the like. You state some people might not get RAW, but I don't know of any television provider that provides Syfy but not USA.

They spend the whole time recapping on smackdown because they are catering to casual fans who just tune in while flipping channels they can see the recaps of the big storylines from RAW.

 

[laodaron]

Honestly, at this point, there are too many rehash shows that the WWE airs. Main Event, Smackdown, Superstars, etc. Honestly, I feel as though Smackdown could just go away.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I have no problem with Smackdown being the obvious "B Show" in comparison to Raw.... but they really are overkilling those Raw segment replays. I would like to see a lot of focus be placed on the Intercontinental Championship on Smackdown. With the World Heavyweight Championship no longer being with us as a seperate belt, that makes the Intercontinental Championship by default the #2 belt. Smackdown was focused around the former #2 belt previously, so I am all for making it be re-branded as the midcard show. Anybody who they did not have time for on Raw this week can be used on Smackdown. The Intercontinental Champion should be the show's focal figure and they can also feature tag teams or divas if they did not make it onto Raw, while the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the US Championship can remain focal points of Raw. The Tag Team Champions and Divas Champions can fluctuate between shows as to which one they appear on that week. Smackdown needs to be kept, that much is obvious, but goodness they need to do less Raw replays. That's my only real complaint about the blue brand at the moment.

 

[kadroan]

With all traces of the brand split erased with the unification of the World titles, it has become more conspicuous than ever that Smackdown has lost all of its prior credibility. In fact, the primary focus of Smackdown is currently to recap events that already occurred on Raw that past week and to produce random throwaway matches that do not hold any significance a week down the line, which is one of the central reasons that Smackdown does not see as much television activity as it did prior to the Brand Split ending. In effect, Smackdown has become a two-hour Superstars.

Whilst I believe Superstars and Main-Event are fine in order to produce simple, entertaining matches between lower-card faces and heels in order to hone their craft, I don't believe WWE should be using their second tier show as a means to kill time. It is evident that WWE has difficulty fitting mid-card storylines onto Raw sufficiently with the number of simple throw-away matches on Raw (for example, why are Santino and Fandango feuding? I don't believe this has been explained. Some exegesis would be superb.), and whilst WWE using Raw to build the primary feuds is more than fine, it leaves no room for the mid-card feuds to be put under the spotlight other than a random match. Smackdown should be reinforcing Raw in that regard, not reinforcing Raw as a recap show.

Why not use Smackdown to develop mid-card storylines and characters? People simply don't want to see recaps of television they have already watched, and if they haven't watched it, the option is readily available for them to watch it (and that is in fact what they do). Why not continue to give viewers compelling television but with mid-card stars who are just as capable of providing the viewer with entertainment, even if their storylines aren't as important as the ones on Raw. I for one would tune into Smackdown if it was used to promote guys unable to get substantial television time on the previous Raw, and if the show is used to help drive storylines forward enough that it makes the viewer care about their blow-off match.

Should Smackdown stay as it is? Should Smackdown be the mid-card show as I have suggested? Or do you have a completely different opinion? Share your thoughts.

That would be good if WWE took advantage of that. Main Event at this rate has been more of a show like where they take advantage of mid card storylines etc.

It's not like we get Cena on Smackdown consistently. When Punk was still in the WWE, I don't think he was on Smackdown as much either

 

[lil steroid meat]

It's like you read my mind.

I'd even go as far as to say make the IC Title the top belt of the show. Redesign it and make it as important as the WHC was before the unification.

Smackdown should definitely be the midcarder show. In another thread on here, people were saying Big E needs a manager and doesn't have charisma and that could not be further from the truth. The problem is that we've never really heard Big E talk. Not a 30 second interview, not a commentary spot, but a chance to actually come out and cut a promo at the top of the hour.

Same with The Usos. Same with Kofi. Same with Ryback. Same with Curtis Axel. Same with a lot of guys on the roster who haven't really had a chance to carry an important program. It seems like if you aren't placed into a big program, you don't get promo time, which is a shame.

Personally I think Smackdown should be the show where midcarders perfect their promo and storytelling skills. Maybe even have an NXT Talent Exchange where talent comes up every once in a while.

I really don't like how Smackdown has just become Diet Raw. Make it an alternative. Hell, maybe even give Heyman back the script writing duties. Give guys like Ziggler, Barrett, Cesaro, Miz, Kofi, Ryback, Big E, Curtis Axel, etc. a place where they can go out there and carry the show. Make the IC Title the top belt for the show. Let the midcarders go out there and shine.

I also think it should be live. They are doing live events every day of the week so it being taped on Tuesday nights serves no practical purpose. They should either:

A. Air it live on Tuesday nights (Although that might be too much programming in too little time to be honest. Especially on days coming off of a PPV).

B. Air it live on Thursdays. This is my favorite option. People might be doing something on Fridays/Saturdays.

C. Air it live on Fridays. Again, people might be doing something but it might not affect ratings, I don't know. Too lazy to look up the ratings records.

D. Air it live on Saturday evenings/nights. Air it 7-9/8-10 on Saturday nights for a kind of old school time slot. But this is probably the most social night of the week so people would definitely be doing something. But like I said, it might not affect ratings that much.

I'd personally move it back to Thursdays and make it live.

 

[futurecruiserw8ch4mp]

SMACKDOWN SHOULD DEFINATLY BE USED TO HELP BUILD UP MID CARD GUYS I ALSO THINK THE CRUISERWEIGHT DIVISION SHOULD BE BROUGHT BACK TO SMACKDOWN, GUYS LIKE KOFI ZIGGLER MIZ AXEL, SIN CARA GABRIEL RYDER LOS MATADORES COULD BENIFIT GREATLY IF THE SHOW WAS NOT JUST A RAW REPLY WITH 1 RELIVENT MAIN EVENT MATCH EVERY WEEK.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Smackdown isn't on as strong of a network. No business savvy TV entertainment company would put any big story changes on Smackdown. Smackdown is a longer, somewhat more prestigious Main Event. Sucks if you pine for the days of old, but it's economics.

I think they allow guys to experiment more on SD because if something fails, it's no big deal.

Speaking of economics, that also means no to any thought of it being live. Live TV is more expensive, especially if it's later in the week.