Smackdown is going live

[Stopspot]

USA is about to flip WWE fans’ expectations for one of the wrestling programs it airs every week.

“Smackdown,” which moved to the NBCUniversal-owned outlet from sister Syfy in January, will be broadcast live for two hours every week starting Tuesday, July 19, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., resulting in five hours of live WWE programming on the network each week.

“There is a huge appetite among our viewers for live programming and the ability to move ‘Smackdown’ to a live format brings a new level of excitement and helps truly eventize this every week,” said Chris McCumber, president of entertainment networks at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, in a prepared statement.

The move reflects a growing desire by TV networks to find more ways to air content that needs to be seen as it airs, rather than days or weeks later via a DVR or video on demand. Networks like NBC and Fox have turned live broadcasts of favorite Broadway plays into high-rated events, and many broadcast and cable outlets have placed more emphasis on securing rights to top sports events like the Olympics or the NCAA men’s basketball championships.

- Variety

Also worth noting is that there will be a split of the roster, a draft will be held before the first live smackdown and there will also be separate writing teams and storylines according to Variety.

 

[Jacob Fox]

- Variety

Also worth noting is that there will be a split of the roster, a draft will be held before the first live smackdown and there will also be separate writing teams and storylines according to Variety.

And according the the WWE now too. Just got a announcement from the app too so yup, Raw and Smackdown will both be live and have their own rosters.

SmackDown shakeup: New night and new rosters for New Era

 

[Rogue]

Meaning Steph & Shane split, or Trips gets the keys to a second brand?

 

[Stopspot]

1 hour of Smackdown is going to go head to head with TNA as well

 

[Rosie]

So this new era is going back to the brand split...

I honestly think it can be entreating if done right. But the only issue is that the roster has been thinned over the past little bit and there aren't as many main event talents as there should be.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Poor Smackdown... TNA is going to kill it in the ratings :smirk2:

 

[Stopspot]

So this new era is going back to the brand split...

I honestly think it can be entreating if done right. But the only issue is that the roster has been thinned over the past little bit and there aren't as many main event talents as there should be.

Perfect time then. I predict that a lot of NXT talent will go to Smackdown. The important thing is making Smackdown and RAW feel different. Different announcing, angles on the camera, set etc. Being just a blue RAW won't cut it

 

[Jacob Fox]

So this new era is going back to the brand split...

I honestly think it can be entreating if done right. But the only issue is that the roster has been thinned over the past little bit and there aren't as many main event talents as there should be.

Yeah but it will give more opportunity for people to build themselves into main event talent

 

[Rosie]

Yeah but it will give more opportunity for people to build themselves into main event talent

Yeah, true. But it will take a bit for people who are lower level talent be built up into someone the audience believes is a threat.

 

[Stopspot]

That being said, I do not thinkg it will be as strict a split as it used to be. I can definitely see there being crossover talent. Particularly around the tag teams

 

[Jacob Fox]

Yeah, true. But it will take a bit for people who are lower level talent be built up into someone the audience believes is a threat.

Maybe. But then you split your main event guys up equally and put them into feuds for the major titles while building up the lower card people as those people are feuding. WWE has a lot of underutilized talent, plus a lot of guys on NXT ready to be on a bigger stage.

 

[Emo]

I am actually really excited about the brand split as now we don't have RAW and RAW Replay. Having them as separate brands was the best decision before and with all of the talent that they have now, it is still the best decision. Having 3 shows a week (RAW, SmackDown, NXT) each with a different roster and different stories gives the feeling of more variety and thus gets each show more viewers. The only problem that I have with the split of RAW and SmackDown now is that I'm afraid they are going to bring in another world title, and I really don't know if that would be a good idea or not at this point...

P.S. It's about god damn time they made SmackDown live!

 

[DK JAMES]

Holy FUCK this is the greatest news i've heard all year for real. i fucking love WWE when theres a brand split, i been wairin for this for years now. I'm the happiest dude alive right now honestly just cause of this.

 

[Emo]

Also, this all leaves me with one question. Which brand is Stephanie running and which brand is Shane running?

 

[SWL]

​

SO, many people have been wanting this for years now. I doubt they're gonna keep it together for a long time tho. It's just another part of the "New Era" gimmick.
I think it's exciting and everything but I just don't see how they're going to make Smackdown a legit wrestling show again. The biggest question on my mind is still if they're going to have a secondary world title agian or not. And if so, it will probably be John Cena being the main guy on Smackdown and Reigns keeping it up on Raw.