SmackDown Solutions

What do you think of when I say “WWE?” You probably think of the biggest wrestling event on the planet in Wrestlemania. Perhaps you think of legendary wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, the Rock, or Stone Cold Steve Austin. Maybe you think of WWE’s weekly television program and my personal favorite show on television, Monday Night Raw. I’m sure a lot of people think of Raw as it is WWE’s flagship program that, to me and other wrestling fans, is must see television. It advances storylines, features a few quality matches and segments, and is overall a pretty entertaining way to close out the beginning of the week.

This same sentiment is not felt toward SmackDown though. SmackDown is known as WWE’s “B” show. It is taped on Tuesday and broadcast on Thursday. What was once considered another opportunity for WWE to showcase wrestlers and progress storylines has essentially become a watered down version of Raw.

Since SmackDown has lost its luster, I too have generally lost interest in it. I used to tune in every week to see what was going to happen on SmackDown. During the Attitude Era, it felt like it was as good as Raw and from about 2002 to 2005, it was better than Raw. Wrestlers like Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, the Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Rey Mysterio among others put on classic matches that had me on the edge of my seat. Other notable SmackDown moments from this time period were Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon being engaged in a classic feud during the Wrestlemania 19 season, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle having the best rivalry in SmackDown history, and Lesnar and Big Show causing the ring to collapse after a monster superplex. Sadly, SmackDown has since decreased in quality, and if you a miss an episode, it usually isn’t a big deal as you won’t be missing much.

So is WWE wasting its time with SmackDown? I think so and unless WWE changes the way it presents its blue-branded wrestling show, I think they should consider cancelling it. If WWE were to broadcast SmackDown live once it moves to USA Network in 2016, that could generate some buzz about the show and hopefully force WWE to treat SmackDown the same way they treat Raw by creating compelling content that viewers would feel a need to tune into SmackDown to watch. Also, spoilers for SmackDown would be a thing of the past if it were live. A lot of people read the spoilers for SmackDown since it is taped on Tuesday. This causes a lot of fans to not tune into SmackDown because they already know what happened.

Another solution I think WWE should look into is cancelling SmackDown and broadcasting NXT in its place. NXT is phenomenal and sometimes is as good if not better than Raw. The wrestlers in WWE’s “minor league” system are really good, and I think WWE should give them the opportunity to show the world what they can do on an actual television network instead of the WWE Network. I would defiantly watch NXT if it were on actual television, and I am sure a lot of wrestling fans feel the same way.

In conclusion, I think WWE should either treat SmackDown like it would an episode of Raw and broadcast it live, or cancel it and air NXT in its place. SmackDown today is just not a wrestling program worth watching every week. Hopefully WWE does something with its Thursday night television programming that will make it must see TV again.