Current Smackdown Product

I must say during the last couple months, smackdown as become interesting to watch.

Their seems to be more emphasis upon the tag teams, I personally enjoy D.Young & O'neil (millions & millions) along with the USO's.

Rybeck continues his onslaught and looking forward to seeing him take on undertaker at the next Wrestlemania!!!

Cm punks feud with Daniel Bryan as been a joy to watch and actually Kane's and Aj's involvement as just made it that more interesting....Yes Yes Yes Yes

'The Showoff' dolph Ziggler continues his excellent selling of opponents and his match with 'The Great White' Shemus had a element of chemistry.

Add to that, Cody Rhodes and Christians feud, two great wrestlers and the introduction of "educating the Masses' will be a interesting concept.

Finally....you have Booker T

I hope this continues throughout the year and Raw my actually learn a thing from the current smackdown product.

Hi Sunny, good to see a lurker sign up!

Smackdown for me could do with a really big redesign of its content and I'd look to move it back to being very much the wrestling show.
I'd do the following...

Make it the show that the vast majority of FCW debut on, bring through these new guys on the show with less pressure and they can carry on working with guys theyve been training with for some time so that the chemistry is there.
Move all the tag teams onto SD permanently, bring through tag teams that actually look like tag teams where the outfits match, they have chemistry and it's not just two singles guys they have nothing for in creative so just merge their names and stick them there for 6 months.
Merge the US and Intercontinental belts and then bring back the Cruiserweight title, again make it SD exclusive and let the smaller guys then go up against one another to showcase their talents, the likes of Tyson Kidd v Evan Bourne for example.

Hi Hero

You make for some interesting reads....and I must occur that I like the concept of making the brand alot more wrestling show focus, however I am concerned that in this "WWE universe" era that this may just be wishful thinking and it's trying to balance a wrestling show into the WWE universe audience.

I like the idea of the tag team division you suggest and would be great to see some chemistry between partners such as the haydays of The Rockers, LOD, Demonlation, money incorporated etc etc.

I also like your idea regarding the cruiserweight title and this would add that exclusive wow factor compared to RAW. However his their enough talent coming through currently?

I personally would love to see the hardcore title being re-introduced....but this will remain a pipedream........

Hero wrote:Hi Sunny, good to see a lurker sign up!

Smackdown for me could do with a really big redesign of its content and I'd look to move it back to being very much the wrestling show.
I'd do the following...

Make it the show that the vast majority of FCW debut on, bring through these new guys on the show with less pressure and they can carry on working with guys theyve been training with for some time so that the chemistry is there.
Move all the tag teams onto SD permanently, bring through tag teams that actually look like tag teams where the outfits match, they have chemistry and it's not just two singles guys they have nothing for in creative so just merge their names and stick them there for 6 months.
Merge the US and Intercontinental belts and then bring back the Cruiserweight title, again make it SD exclusive and let the smaller guys then go up against one another to showcase their talents, the likes of Tyson Kidd v Evan Bourne for example.

Spot on. I have been wishing for this for months. Smackdown! has lost its identity and is simply the 'blue brand'. I would certainly bring back the cruiserweight title, there are some useful wrestler that could get involved there like Sin Cara, Hunico, Tyson Kidd. The Tag Teams are looking decent again and I agree Young and O'neil have been a breath of fresh air.

I would like the fist to return to. It was such an iconic symbol for me growing up as because I didn't have sky, Smackdown was my main show and I used to love waking up on a saturday and turning over to sky 1 for Smackdown.

1st things 1st they need to either drop the "Super Show" and go back to complety seperate brands. Raw and Smackdown. Or just have EVERY superstar compete on both shows like they do for Raw.

I think Smackdown was at its best during the summer last when Orton and Christian had the long running feud.

NickisBHAFC wrote:1st things 1st they need to either drop the "Super Show" and go back to complety seperate brands. Raw and Smackdown. Or just have EVERY superstar compete on both shows like they do for Raw.

I think Smackdown was at its best during the summer last when Orton and Christian had the long running feud.

This week just gone, it was confirmed that Brodas Clay his now fully signed to appear only for Smackdown, eres hoping each brand gets it's own Roaster.

"just one more match"

I think the problems with smackdown (of which there are many) is that it has always been thought of as the 'B' show especially by the powers that be and this is the root of the major problem. I like the idea of giving smackdown it's own identity and making it watchable for more than just seeing the 'lesser superstars'. However I am totally against brand separation and two titles be it world titles or mid card titles such as the us or ic, the main reason wwe is in the state it is, is down to the brand separation, being world champion doesn't really mean anything any more the titles changes hands far to many times and multi title reigns such as cena's and orton's over the last 5 years have devalued being a world champion. I would love to see the world titles unified and then for someone to hold it like it was the most important thing in the world. History has proved during the last few years for a mid carder to make the step up and win the big one is not the spring broad to a main event career that it used to be, just see the miz and swagger for proof and if Ziggler, Rhodes or Barrett was to win the title in the near future I fully believe they would suffer the same fate, that's because no mid carders are given the opportunity to fully get over like they used to which makes them unbelievable as champions the fans don't buy into the reign and back to the mid card they go! The business is to obsessed with merchandise, tv ratings, making films and trending on twitter to develop its star and book them creatively- how much money does one company need??? WWE needs to remember where it came from and how it became so successful in the first place, If they could recreate a fraction of the passion and interest generated in the 80's and 90's they would be on to a winner! Down with brand separation!!!! Rant over!

MtotheC wrote:I think the problems with smackdown (of which there are many) is that it has always been thought of as the 'B' show especially by the powers that be and this is the root of the major problem. I like the idea of giving smackdown it's own identity and making it watchable for more than just seeing the 'lesser superstars'. However I am totally against brand separation and two titles be it world titles or mid card titles such as the us or ic, the main reason wwe is in the state it is, is down to the brand separation, being world champion doesn't really mean anything any more the titles changes hands far to many times and multi title reigns such as cena's and orton's over the last 5 years have devalued being a world champion. I would love to see the world titles unified and then for someone to hold it like it was the most important thing in the world. History has proved during the last few years for a mid carder to make the step up and win the big one is not the spring broad to a main event career that it used to be, just see the miz and swagger for proof and if Ziggler, Rhodes or Barrett was to win the title in the near future I fully believe they would suffer the same fate, that's because no mid carders are given the opportunity to fully get over like they used to which makes them unbelievable as champions the fans don't buy into the reign and back to the mid card they go! The business is to obsessed with merchandise, tv ratings, making films and trending on twitter to develop its star and book them creatively- how much money does one company need??? WWE needs to remember where it came from and how it became so successful in the first place, If they could recreate a fraction of the passion and interest generated in the 80's and 90's they would be on to a winner! Down with brand separation!!!! Rant over!

Some very interesting points raised!!

It would be interesting to flip this and actually curious to know what factors of the brand you do currently enjoy???

MtotheC wrote:I think the problems with smackdown (of which there are many) is that it has always been thought of as the 'B' show especially by the powers that be and this is the root of the major problem. I like the idea of giving smackdown it's own identity and making it watchable for more than just seeing the 'lesser superstars'. However I am totally against brand separation and two titles be it world titles or mid card titles such as the us or ic, the main reason wwe is in the state it is, is down to the brand separation, being world champion doesn't really mean anything any more the titles changes hands far to many times and multi title reigns such as cena's and orton's over the last 5 years have devalued being a world champion. I would love to see the world titles unified and then for someone to hold it like it was the most important thing in the world. History has proved during the last few years for a mid carder to make the step up and win the big one is not the spring broad to a main event career that it used to be, just see the miz and swagger for proof and if Ziggler, Rhodes or Barrett was to win the title in the near future I fully believe they would suffer the same fate, that's because no mid carders are given the opportunity to fully get over like they used to which makes them unbelievable as champions the fans don't buy into the reign and back to the mid card they go! The business is to obsessed with merchandise, tv ratings, making films and trending on twitter to develop its star and book them creatively- how much money does one company need??? WWE needs to remember where it came from and how it became so successful in the first place, If they could recreate a fraction of the passion and interest generated in the 80's and 90's they would be on to a winner! Down with brand separation!!!! Rant over!

I agree 1000000% back when there was one world title and the brands wasn't split the title match was made to feel like a main event and had that main event feel. The one title match was made to feel the most important match on the card, and even with the other matches on the card you could feel they were either really personal or vying to win to move up the card. The big time matches, the wrestlers, the titles and even the ppvs are so diluted, nothing has the chance to grow anymore.

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:

MtotheC wrote:I think the problems with smackdown (of which there are many) is that it has always been thought of as the 'B' show especially by the powers that be and this is the root of the major problem. I like the idea of giving smackdown it's own identity and making it watchable for more than just seeing the 'lesser superstars'. However I am totally against brand separation and two titles be it world titles or mid card titles such as the us or ic, the main reason wwe is in the state it is, is down to the brand separation, being world champion doesn't really mean anything any more the titles changes hands far to many times and multi title reigns such as cena's and orton's over the last 5 years have devalued being a world champion. I would love to see the world titles unified and then for someone to hold it like it was the most important thing in the world. History has proved during the last few years for a mid carder to make the step up and win the big one is not the spring broad to a main event career that it used to be, just see the miz and swagger for proof and if Ziggler, Rhodes or Barrett was to win the title in the near future I fully believe they would suffer the same fate, that's because no mid carders are given the opportunity to fully get over like they used to which makes them unbelievable as champions the fans don't buy into the reign and back to the mid card they go! The business is to obsessed with merchandise, tv ratings, making films and trending on twitter to develop its star and book them creatively- how much money does one company need??? WWE needs to remember where it came from and how it became so successful in the first place, If they could recreate a fraction of the passion and interest generated in the 80's and 90's they would be on to a winner! Down with brand separation!!!! Rant over!

Some very interesting points raised!!

It would be interesting to flip this and actually curious to know what factors of the brand you do currently enjoy???

Tough one really as I'm not a smackdown fan at all, I really struggle to watch it all the way through and 90% of the time I x30 through it. Like you I enjoy booker T on commentary however much prefer matt striker to josh Matthews I still dont understand why striker was pulled from the desk?! I like Cody Rhodes and Bryan otherwise that's about it I'm afraid.

MtotheC wrote:

Sunnydapasingh1984 wrote:

MtotheC wrote:I think the problems with smackdown (of which there are many) is that it has always been thought of as the 'B' show especially by the powers that be and this is the root of the major problem. I like the idea of giving smackdown it's own identity and making it watchable for more than just seeing the 'lesser superstars'. However I am totally against brand separation and two titles be it world titles or mid card titles such as the us or ic, the main reason wwe is in the state it is, is down to the brand separation, being world champion doesn't really mean anything any more the titles changes hands far to many times and multi title reigns such as cena's and orton's over the last 5 years have devalued being a world champion. I would love to see the world titles unified and then for someone to hold it like it was the most important thing in the world. History has proved during the last few years for a mid carder to make the step up and win the big one is not the spring broad to a main event career that it used to be, just see the miz and swagger for proof and if Ziggler, Rhodes or Barrett was to win the title in the near future I fully believe they would suffer the same fate, that's because no mid carders are given the opportunity to fully get over like they used to which makes them unbelievable as champions the fans don't buy into the reign and back to the mid card they go! The business is to obsessed with merchandise, tv ratings, making films and trending on twitter to develop its star and book them creatively- how much money does one company need??? WWE needs to remember where it came from and how it became so successful in the first place, If they could recreate a fraction of the passion and interest generated in the 80's and 90's they would be on to a winner! Down with brand separation!!!! Rant over!

Some very interesting points raised!!

It would be interesting to flip this and actually curious to know what factors of the brand you do currently enjoy???

Tough one really as I'm not a smackdown fan at all, I really struggle to watch it all the way through and 90% of the time I x30 through it. Like you I enjoy booker T on commentary however much prefer matt striker to josh Matthews I still dont understand why striker was pulled from the desk?! I like Cody Rhodes and Bryan otherwise that's about it I'm afraid.

What I like about Striker was 1) He was a good play by play guy and 2) He was a genuine fan of the company, you could hear it in his voice and he would emulate JR's reactions, obviously not as good but he was genuinely excited, as if he didn't know what was coming next. Mathews just sounds lost on Smackdown and is only good for the backstage interviews, what he is known for really.

As it stands there are officially 31 male SD stars on the roster.

So on that basis I would build a SD roster of the following with my previously mentioned Crusier and tag titles in mind, I'll use guys from FCW and guys from other feds that would be a possibility to bring in if a contract was offered.

F = face H = heel

Main stars (7):

Chris Jericho (H)
Daniel Bryan (F)
Rey Mysterio (F)
The Miz (H)
Cody Rhodes (F)
Dean Ambrose (H)
Seth Rollins (F)

With this mix at the top there's a great blend of talent, from the high flying to the technical and a fair few with decent mic skills. No-one too seems head and shoulders the A star of the list so it wouldn't be centred around one guy. A few also can easily drop down into the Crusierweight scraps when not in the title scene.

Crusierweights (8)

Sin Cara
Tyson Kidd
Jack Evans
Teddy Hart
Justin Gabriel
Evan Bourne
Heath Slater
Richie Steamboat

Fairly decent mix again of crusierweights, some of which can put on a real spotfest show and again they can easily make tag teams if needed.

Tag teams (15)

Kings of Wrestling (Antonio Cesaro/Claudio Castagnoli & Kassius Ohno/Chris Hero)
MCMG (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Usos
Carlito, Primo & Epico Colon
Ryder & Hawkins (w Edge as manager)
Rotunda brothers
Young Bucks

All the tag teams have identities there, there's 3 very well known tag teams from the indies and there are guys that can swiftly become singles stars.

I know it sounds extreme but I would actually dedicate smackdown to the tag division and cruiserweights, in reality it's the b show so at least be honest with yourself and the viewers and market it as such. That would leave NXT for developmental, superstars for lower to mid card talent, smackdown for tag and cruiserweights and RAW as the flag ship programme where the wwe title is the main attraction. It would right at lot of wrongs in the company IMO, focus on the tag teams, an x division style programme, an interesting, accessible televised developmental programme and a focus on the world title once again.