Is Smackdown becoming relevant again?

[Green Jesus]

I mean, there are currently at least two storylines going on that are heavily dependant on smackdown episodes. The first one being Chris Jericho vs Aj, followed by The Dudleyz turning heel.

Right now that smackdown plugs are also much more noticeable during the promos, and I actually feel a little lost when I miss a smackdown now, something I haven't felt in a long time.

Am I overreacting here, or is wwe trying to tie-in smackdown into their storylines?

 

[Neptune]

Eh I never follow it or read about it to be honest. Until Raw improves, I can't see Smackdown becoming "relevant".

 

[Prince Bálor]

I don't see SD becoming relevant again unless the brands are split.

 

[Aids Johnson]

I personally see it being a possible brand again, but if not having feuds take place with big stories on SD is a huge plus. There is no reason Smackdown shouldn't be relevant for storylines.

 

[Rogue]

It's better than Raw. Most of the 'b stories' that don't get much airtime on Raw get a lot of focus on SD. The main events are usually good, and people like Owens close the show. If you miss Raw they'll catch you up. Plus, Mauro makes everything feel like it means something.

 

[Snowman1]

I'm waiting for Raw to become relevant again, all it's major angles get replayed over here on the real A show anyway. :dawg:

 

[Neptune]

Smackdown is like Raw's younger brother who is 47 and still lives at home with his parents.

 

[Mr. Roman Empire]

Lesnar is on this week so they're definitely making an effort

 

[Stopspot]

Yes.
Triple H, Ryan Ward (head writer of NXT) and Road Dogg are the people in charge of Smackdown since the start of the year. Vince is not present for Smackdown at all and neither is Kevin Dunn and Smackdown is getting a overhaul. It is going to be geared more towards the "hardcore" audience. Aiming for a mix of golden age Smackdown and current NXT. And it is already noticeable in the product

 

[Green Jesus]

Yes.
Triple H, Ryan Ward (head writer of NXT) and Road Dogg are the people in charge of Smackdown since the start of the year. Vince is not present for Smackdown at all and neither is Kevin Dunn and Smackdown is getting a overhaul. It is going to be geared more towards the "hardcore" audience. Aiming for a mix of golden age Smackdown and current NXT. And it is already noticeable in the product

I knew something was fishy! I know the overall product isn't on its best days, but smackdown no longer acting as a recap is exciting.

 

[CFCrusader]

Looks like they're trying to - having Triple H, Ryan Ward and Road Dogg is very promising indeed, so is the lack of Vince. Having Ambreigns (pls no), Owens, Social Outcasts, AJ Styles, Y2J, Miz and League of Nations prominently featuring gives the impression that they're trying to boost it to a real B show - special appearances from the likes of Lesnar are great too. I hope that going forward, they will put a massive emphasis on the IC title, do a few big surprise debuts there (or big moments, something to make it feel like if I miss Smackdown, I'm missing out BIG TIME), push the jobbers like Ryder and Sandow, so we get more variety and when NXT guys are called up, put them on Smackdown for a while before the main roster.

 

[Stopspot]

I knew something was fishy! I know the overall product isn't on its best days, but smackdown no longer acting as a recap is exciting.

RAW is still going to be the flagship brand obviously with Vince calling the shots. But Hunter has basically been given free reigns to run Smackdown and it is going to become this hardcore fan friendly show. With time and everything going well I expect it to get real good.

We might never get a full brand split again, but this will be the next best thing

 

[Snowman1]

Yeah, but "Not watching Smackdown" has become such a thing. How are they going to fight back against that? Know they've started advertising actual stuff for it, but advertising Lesnar to do something small doesn't help much in the end, does it?

 

[Green Jesus]

Yeah, but "Not watching Smackdown" has become such a thing. How are they going to fight back against that? Know they've started advertising actual stuff for it, but advertising Lesnar to do something small doesn't help much in the end, does it?

Well, if spot is right and the target audience of smackdown has become Hardcore fans, then I can see it working. I mean, this sort of things may not ever reach the casual fans, but smackdown becoming "good" would spread like wildfire on the internet, same way NXT has.

If they can get all the smarks to tune in, I can see it being worth their time.

 

[CFCrusader]

Oh, and big feud moments with storylines running across an entire episode could be fun - like the Rhodes-Sandow stuff we got near Summerslam. I tuned in just for that.