Changes to Smackdown

[Troy]

If you didn't like the Raw-esque feel to Smackdown last night, well, you might have to get used to it, as they plan on amping up the "entertainment" aspects of the show now that it's back on the "same level" as Raw.

I don't get this at all. What is the harm in having two shows on a similar level with different directions. RAW is a bit more focused on "entertainment" whereas Smackdown is more wrestling based. I think that then you are getting the best out of two different shows. Otherwise you are just having the same show with a different roster.

 

[Keith]

To be honest with you I thought they should have dropped Smackdown a long time ago. With Raw being clearly the flag ship broadcast the one with the greater history. Fact is with WWE's unbelieveably over long list of PPV's, house shows and everything else it really has become a pain to produce two prime time flagship shows a week. Simler things happened in WCW with Thunder.

When the brand extersion first happened eight years ago, it was quite fresh and exciting. Back then it felt that WWF/WWE were making a big effort to promote the two brands very differently, from everything to the GM's to the kind of Wrestling and characters you could see. I even liked the idea of the Worlds Men and Women's champions being able to defend on either brand. But like a lot of things in WWE over the last decade they blew it big time. Today Smackdown doesn't really stand out as a alteritive to Raw, but just another sub brand, which must be costing them too much each week.

 

[Troy]

I wouldn't go as far as dropping Smackdown since it is still a big draw and would be bringing in lots of money for WWE. I could go with merging the rosters and having it as two seperate shows with the same roster but I wouldn't get rid of it all together. The brand extension doesn't really work anymore mainly because there is no real brand seperation and because WWE don't have enough maineventers to carry two brands.

 

[Big Red Jericho Punk]

This kills me inside as a Smackdown lover. No more ten minute mid card matches, clean endings will be rarely seen, and more comedy crap. This isn't good what so ever. This isn't needed at all, creative must be growing a tumor or something.l

 

[Troy]

Smackdown creative need to stay strong and fight to keep the format they have now. They can't just lay down and let these changes happen, at least put forward their opinions and try to make it slightly different to RAW. It will ruin everything that is great about Smackdown which was that it was nothing like RAW. It had more wrestling, a minimum of skits and it actually used the midcard.

 

[Keith]

I don't think that different from Raw really, sure you get more wrestling, and less silly comedy skits, but there is a lack of star power, and it still employs a lot of the same tricks as Raw, the recent Undertaker storyline proved that in many ways SD is like a sub RAW Show. It is my favorite of the two shows mainly because of CM Punk being on it.