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The Drastic Differences Between RAW and Smackdown

8K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  freezingtsmoove 
#1 · (Edited)
So with the Smackdown Live Special on USA came a lot more viewers than usual. This undoubtedly brought eyes to the benefits of ONE NXT writer on Smackdown over the deficiencies of Vince's entire staff of stooges. We also saw the benefits of a 2 hour wrestling show. There was very little filler and lots of fast paced action. I'll point out a couple of things to get you started.


Starting Off The Show With a Bang

This is something we haven't seen since Jericho vs. Wyatt in the Steel Cage, which would've been forgotten had it not been for the Slammys. The anticipated in ring return of Roman Reigns was put on first to juice up the crowd and keep them hype throughout the entire night. Right after that, we immediately transition to the premier feud of Ambrose and Wyatt. This feud has seen the most progression on Smackdown, therefore being one of the most anticipated segments on the show. Crowd is still hot and the writers have effectively told you that you're not going anywhere. How does this differ from RAW? There's no awkwardly drawn out 20 minute opening segment that advertises a main event you don't want to see after you've sat through 2 and 1/2 hours of horseshit.

The Divas Title Felt Like It Mattered

Naomi's winning streak has been rewarded with a Divas Championship opportunity, which also ties into the Miz/Uso feud. This does two things in making Naomi look like a worthy competitor and furthering storyline. Eden makes the Divas match feel important with a special announcement, and the girls get a good 6 minutes to wrestle before the inevitable distraction roll up. Naomi still looks strong because she wasn't flattened by Nikki's rack attack and she has the excuse of her husband's interference to fall back on. THIS is the time you use distraction roll ups because they aid storyline. It's been wasted on weekly stupidity up until this point, which takes away from the power of it.

Ziggler vs. Rollins

Now, we've seen this about 20 times this year, but they FINALLY made it seem like it mattered. Instead of having Ziggler and Rollins walk to the ring and fight with no explanation, Ziggler comes out and challenges Rollins fresh off his IC title win and Rollins smugly accepts. This lays the groundwork for overconfidence being his downfall after J & J Security is removed from ringside. In a shocking turn of events, Ziggler wins and leaves the fans with that feel good feeling as the show goes off the air.
 
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#9 ·
I'll be interested to see what rating it pulled since this past Mondays Raw drew its lowest rating since 2012.
 
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#2 ·
Smackdown has been superior to RAW for a month or so. That NXT writer is doing work. There was a report the other day saying they wanted to improve SD, so maybe this is the start. Instead of it being filled with recaps, and useless matches like it has been for too long now.
 
#6 ·
Indeed, Smackdown was a refreshing breath of fresh air on Tuesday, a show that didn't make me want to tear my hair out at the stupidity of it; through I still prefer NXT.
 
#11 ·
The Ziggler/Rollins stuff was great. One guy cuts a promo, another guy interrupts. They have a beef, one challenges the other- match is booked. Doesn't take up much time and gets the audience invested.

I'm so sick of Raw starting with 20 minute segments every single week. When was the last time Raw didn't start with a long ass segment?
 
#15 ·

Fire RAW's entire creative team and Bring Back Russo. Russo+Heyman+Dusty+3 NXT writers+Triple H as an overseer would be golden.


Thing is, Smackdown in terms of pure wrestling, has been the best mainstream show the WWE puts out. Raw has the most story progression and normally the biggest stars but it's often SD with the matches that make you sit up. Although I haven't seen it for like 3-4 months, I'm glad it's getting even better.
Then you've missed the best episodes of Smackdown this year. They've all come within the last 3 months because the NXT writer got promoted in September.
 
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