Remember when Brock Lesnar was the undisputed champion exclusive to Smackdown?
Remember how the whole Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon feud was promoted on the blue brand?
How about when The Undertaker was such a frequent on Friday nights he was labelled ‘The conscience of Smackdown’?
The likes of Kurt Angle and Edge won World titles on episodes of Smackdown while it once boasted the likes of Benoit, Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Edge on the same roster.
While Smackdown can still at times be considered to be a better wrestling show then Raw it has now become a forgettable programme, as long as you watch Raw you are pretty much up to date with what is going on in the WWE Universe. It’s got to the point where Smackdown shows full highlights of Raw segments with Smackdown now acting as a promotional tool to enhance/ promote events from Monday nights.
The Rocks/ Brock Lesnar’s return, CM Punk’s famous promo, The Shield’s debut, Undertaker appearances etc. all dominated Raw with Smackdown getting the scraps. Don’t get me wrong even at Smackdown’s height it was never designed to be the flagship show but there was certainly a balance.
For examples years ago WWE would of had The Shield terrorising Raw while the Wyatt Family wreaked havoc on Smackdown. This would have kept the two stables separate for months and made it highly anticipated when the two crossed paths at a joint promotional pay per view.
Of course with Raw going three hours long WWE didn’t feel it had the star power to keep up two separate talent pools. However while Smackdown regulars Randy Orton and Sheamus consistently show up on both shows the likes of CM Punk John Cena only appear on Friday nights as special acts, like they are doing fans a favour.
While not many would argue about the lack of main event players available if WWE are going to favour one show over the other so much what would be the harm of bringing the brand extension back. Look at the two Money in the Bank Ladder Matches, Raw’s was built as the ‘All Stars’, Smackdows and the ‘Future of the WWE’. While it is smart of WWE to try and portray Smackdown as a deliberate attempt to push it’s less experienced/ over talent it is worth noting that of the 7 men selected for the World title MITB only Dean Ambrose went into the pay per view as someone who has been treated as an important person this year.
It’s real simple; if WWE doesn’t care they can’t expect the fans too. At the moment they don’t seem to care about Smackdown, which has been harmful to the talent and most importantly the World title.
