Joeldacat
Showstopper 
Posts 731
Registered 9-10-2002 Location Savannah, GA Member Is Offline Mood: PK Fired Up
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 04:17 PM |
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Why Doesn't the WWE Care About Smackdown?
I get that the Friday night market is difficult, that's it's not the ideal night for television - however: why does it seem that Smackdown
is considered the B-Show and not destination television?
Is the WWE staff really overworked? Does it benefit the company as a whole to not "stress" as much over having two prestige products on the air?
Stories develop at a glacial pace on that show. The same matches regurgitate forever with little to no story advancements, and then don't get
PPV payoffs.
It seems to me if you had two prime time products, even if one's taped, there should be an equal effort put into the promotion of the products,
and on the value. That's not the case at all.
When CM Punk said Vince is a millionaire that should be a billionaire, it seems like this is one of the most glaring examples of what he was talking
about.
Am I looking at this wrong?
X-Box Live: Mr Whale Jr. Message me who you are, though!
When the plane full of wrestlers crashed in the Arctic, he became known as "Nourishing" Rick Rude.
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Stu
Caledonian Crippler
Posts 3002
Registered 5-17-2005 Location Glasgow, Scotland Member Is Offline Mood: Scottish
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 05:43 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Joeldacat
I get that the Friday night market is difficult, that's it's not the ideal night for television - however: why does it seem that Smackdown
is considered the B-Show and not destination television?
One major difference is that Raw is live, and SmackDown isn't. WWE likes to say "anything can happen", but when the results of one show can
get spoiled, there's obviously going to be less effort put into creating massive "must see" surprise moments for it.
[Edited on 17-8-11 by Stu]
The TWO TIME bOOardie Award and Signed Bret Hart DVD Winner!
"Well, Jeff�s puddle throws up the Shocker, so I guess some things never change."
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denverpunk
Showstopper 
Posts 969
Registered 6-27-2007 Location Mile-Hi Member Is Offline Mood: Stoked
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 06:57 PM |
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RAW will always be considered the flagship show, so the majority of the focus will be on it. When the brand split happened and Paul Heyman was
booking the Smackdown Six, the higher ups didn't like that Smackdown was obviously the better show and gutted it. Anytime since then, whenever
Smackdown has been the better show, they've had a draft to move people over to RAW.
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Joeldacat
Showstopper
Posts 731
Registered 9-10-2002 Location Savannah, GA Member Is Offline Mood: PK Fired Up
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 07:27 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by denverpunk
RAW will always be considered the flagship show, so the majority of the focus will be on it. When the brand split happened and Paul Heyman was
booking the Smackdown Six, the higher ups didn't like that Smackdown was obviously the better show and gutted it. Anytime since then, whenever
Smackdown has been the better show, they've had a draft to move people over to RAW.
Isn't that shooting yourself in the foot? I know it's seemingly been going on so long it's just kind of become accepted, but if
you're in the business of making money - that's incredibly dumb.
It's taped, and big things leak to the Internet. Big deal! If it's a major event, let the Internet chatter and have them tell others, and
tune in to see firsthand.
To me, Smackdown went downhill and unwatchable after Eddie Guerrero's title run. But with this renewed push for trying new things, and the
in-theory start of a new era - I feel like they're focused on rehabbing Raw and Pay-Per-Views while neglecting 50% of their TV time. Or have
these last few weeks felt different, and I'm not just watching to see it?
X-Box Live: Mr Whale Jr. Message me who you are, though!
When the plane full of wrestlers crashed in the Arctic, he became known as "Nourishing" Rick Rude.
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Flash
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1016
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 07:46 PM |
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I think its also the history of it all as well.
Smackdown only ever became something that was supposed to "compete" or be on the same level as Raw after the whole Invasion wrap up and they had a
glut of talent and a need to compete with someone. Smackdown ran for almost two years as the B show, and wasn't always available in all markets
initially (I'm up in Canada and we didn't get it until 2000 or thereabouts). Go back to even some of the early brand split days and SD was
the home of Lesnar, Taker, HHH, and Jericho for a while there, and that was when the no-show hopping part was adhered to, so they did try and give it
an honest go at one point, the talent just isn't there now. While the whole Smackdown video game series has probably taken off more then they
intended as opposed to just doing PPV themed games like they used to, you could also point to that as a nod that they do care.
Raw on the other hand is precious to Vince. Its the show that he fought for and nearly lost at one point in the Monday night wars. Maybe they
could've kept SD on Thursday's if they fought harder, but Raw has reached almost institutional levels in terms of it being a Monday night
mainstay Raw has made him an incredibly rich man and has been the face of the company, a face that he'll no doubt always want to keep strong
even if its at the expense of other parts of the company....
In the end I guess they care, but maybe not as much as they do about Raw?
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Frank Lloyd Wright
Man of a Thousand Holds 
Posts 1036
Registered 10-2-2007 Location Fallingwater Member Is Offline Mood: Megalomaniac
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 07:55 PM |
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If you were to ask the WWE brass, they would tell you that the two shows are on equal footing. They might even go as far as to say that one day, they
would like to make Smackdown a "live show" just like RAW. That is all bullshit to make Syfy happy. The WWE lost a lot of credibility when they
promised a RAW type show to WGN, when they agreed to produce and show Superstars. We all know how that turned out.
I have two ambitions in life: one is to drink every pub dry, the other is to sleep with every woman on earth -- Oliver Reed
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theflammablemanimal
The Man
Posts 5000
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 08:02 PM |
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What really pisses me off is that when something big does happen on Smackdown, they spoil it on the front page of their website, like they did when
Edge and Khali won the championship. What is the point of that? Just say something huge happens instead of telling me exactly what happened so I
don't need to watch.
And it's so shortsighted.2 good shows are better than 1 good show and 1 piece of shit. Maybe they'd still be on a real network on Thursday
if they'd attempted to make a good show with good ratings.
The first undisputed OO draft champion of the world
Get the pistons pumping and let the pigeons loose on my yambag
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mastermind
Fella
Posts 345
Registered 3-7-2002 Member Is Offline Mood: No Mood.
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| posted on 8-17-2011 at 09:39 PM |
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Doesn't Smackdown win every cross-promotional contest they hold? From Survivor Series to Bragging Rights? Minimal, I know but still. And
maybe by advertisting big things like title wins or whatever on the main page of WWE.com is like Tony Schiavone announcing Mick Foley just won the
title? That was a big "tune-in" moment. I just wanted to say, I piece of me as a wrestling fan died when Smackdown moved to cable. For years,
Smackdown WAS the premiere show to alot of people I know, because it was the only one they got! I know myself, I never would have even become a
wrestling fan without all the free stuff on Saturday or Sunday mornings back in the day. So when Smackdown moved to pay TV, I was a little saddened
to think another generation of wrestling fans might be passed over.
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denverpunk
Showstopper
Posts 969
Registered 6-27-2007 Location Mile-Hi Member Is Offline Mood: Stoked
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| posted on 8-18-2011 at 12:08 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Joeldacat
Isn't that shooting yourself in the foot? I know it's seemingly been going on so long it's just kind of become accepted, but if
you're in the business of making money - that's incredibly dumb.
Oh, totally. There's no doubt that it's dumb, but that's how egos roll in WWE.
It's a shame really, because that initial split was just amazing for wrestling fans who could get Smackdown. Heyman was booking great angles
(maybe not as one-off as the recent Punk angle, but more consistent), and the wrestling was off the fucking charts. That's probably my favorite
era of being a wrestling fan in terms of pure enjoyment of the product.
Meanwhile, RAW was teaming Mr. Perfect and Big Bossman up, while Planet Stasiak's level of suck polluted everything it touched. So, i can
understand why WWE wanted more star power on RAW, but they went overboard and broke up whatever chemistry that Smackdown had.
They also hated Paul Heyman.
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Froggie
Fella
Posts 484
Registered 10-25-2002 Location Bizarro Land, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood: Stylin'
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| posted on 8-18-2011 at 05:48 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Joeldacat
To me, Smackdown went downhill and unwatchable after Eddie Guerrero's title run. But with this renewed push for trying new things, and the
in-theory start of a new era - I feel like they're focused on rehabbing Raw and Pay-Per-Views while neglecting 50% of their TV time. Or have
these last few weeks felt different, and I'm not just watching to see it?
Latino Heat wasn't the reason for SD! going downhill..its who they paired Eddie with!! Eddie was arguably the most over babyface in the company
at that point. I think people would have been very interested in a Eddie vs. HHH feud or even a Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T feud. However, for
whatever reason HHH didn't want to go to SD! (Hunter and Guerrero had a very good match on the 2004 RAW draft episode) and he got stuck with JBL
who had a tenth of the star power Eddie had. Guerrero took buyrates and ratings personally when he was on top and that affected his confidence (he
told this story to a British newspaper).
I think had he been paired with HHH (who was originally drafted to SD! on the 2004 draft episode before being traded back to RAW for the Dudley Boys
and Booker T three days later on SD!), people would have been into the feud and buyrates and ratings would have been better. Also, if HHH put Eddie
over clean, we would have a bona-fide new main eventer and no one would have questioned Eddies place on the card.
"...Best There Ever Will Be!!"
-When WWE jobbed first time WWE World Heavyweight Champion Christian out to Randy Orton and turned him heel when he (Christian) was arguably the most
over babyface on the roster and having great matches with everyone on the card, it was at that exact moment that WWE jumped the shark!!
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Figure Foreskin
Prefers punkerhardcore Penis 
Posts 2469
Registered 5-4-2004 Location 5-4-2004 Member Is Offline Mood: Smashing
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| posted on 8-19-2011 at 04:28 AM |
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Is there any reason Smackdown couldn't be live? I think that would really improve the show. Then writers would have four days to come up with
stuff for the show, instead of just throwing shit together after exhausting themselves on Raw. Unless they each have their own staff, in which case,
the Smackdown guys probably need to be wished the best of luck in their future endeavors.
"Any time you agree with Krydor, you're wrong." - Jeb
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Gobshite
The Rowdy One 
Posts 2502
Registered 1-30-2004 Location Right here, in Birmingham, England!! Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-19-2011 at 10:02 AM |
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Smackdown is going to be live on Tuesday, August 30th- they announced it yesterday. The official reason is that they're moving it because of
Labor Day Weekend- but coincidentally this will be just days after the first Live regular impact....
My more realistic theory- it just so happened that Yesterday featured a MASSIVE announcement from FOX and UFC that starting next year, they will be
airing 4 prime time specials on FOX, all the 'fight nights' are moving to FX and The Ultimate Fighter will be revamped to be live most
weeks, and will mOst likely be screened on a Friday night.
Sounds like a big deal- and it is. I expect WWE and NBC to both look at moving Smackdown away from Friday nights long before UFC arrives on FOX.
Looks like we may get our wish... They may be about to start caring about Zackdown again!
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Joeldacat
Showstopper
Posts 731
Registered 9-10-2002 Location Savannah, GA Member Is Offline Mood: PK Fired Up
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| posted on 8-19-2011 at 04:16 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Froggie
Latino Heat wasn't the reason for SD! going downhill..its who they paired Eddie with!! Eddie was arguably the most over babyface in the company
at that point.
I did say *after* Eddie's title run. Eddie's was the last one I was hyped for. After that followed a 10 month long championship reign with
an unproven star. That's when the "moments" and pacing went to a total crawl.
ETA:
Live on Tuesday nights could work! The only potentially bad thing is television burnout, particularly on Pay-Per-View weekends.
[Edited on 8-19-2011 by Joeldacat]
X-Box Live: Mr Whale Jr. Message me who you are, though!
When the plane full of wrestlers crashed in the Arctic, he became known as "Nourishing" Rick Rude.
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Jumbie
And I am AWESOME
Posts 105
Registered 9-22-2010 Member Is Offline Mood: Hopeful
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| posted on 8-19-2011 at 04:52 PM |
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I think one of those "did you know" factoids said that Smackdown was the highest rated show on Syfy. Is that true or is there some fine print to
that?
If it's true, I can't imagine why SyFy wouldn't be happy to move Smackdown to Thursday night.
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Grenzschutzgruppe
And I am AWESOME 
Posts 103
Registered 7-24-2009 Member Is Offline Mood: Wayne Bradyish
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| posted on 8-19-2011 at 10:28 PM |
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These are the guys that:
1) Shortened their name to that DUMB-ASS "SyFy".
2) Replaced classics like "Dark Shadows" and "Twilight Zone" with Nazi Dinosaur hunting Sharks...
3) Turned Stargate into "Stargate Universe"
4) Basically LIVE to fuck up a good thing.
The only things they've gotten right in the past few years is Eureka and Battlestar Galactica. They are the polar opposite of King Midas.
I'm pretty sure the reason Smackdown hasn't fallen drastically in quality is because SyFy execs are held away from Smackdown production
with a fucking shotgun.
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cromartie
Creepy Little Bastard
Posts 83
Registered 7-15-2006 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-21-2011 at 03:37 AM |
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I would encourage you to check out the I Want Wrestling podcast with Chavo Guerrero. They talk at some length about the dysfunction in the creative
process.
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Jumbie
And I am AWESOME
Posts 105
Registered 9-22-2010 Member Is Offline Mood: Hopeful
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| posted on 8-22-2011 at 07:26 PM |
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Most recent Raw thread: 20000 views.
Most recent Smackdown thread: 2000 views.
Do we not care about Smackdown because WWE doesn't care about Smackdown or vice versa?
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theflammablemanimal
The Man
Posts 5000
Registered 9-2-2008 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-22-2011 at 08:47 PM |
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It''s because they don't care about smackdown.
Just loom at the past few months. On Raw, you had a holy shit moment with Punk's first promo, followed by a rollercoaster ride where you never
knew what was going to happen. Granted, not much was going on in the undercard, but there was still something interesting to draw you in.
Meanwhile, on Smackdown, the main event scene did not change for 5 months as Christian/Orton kept fighting and cutting the same promos, and even the
undercard kept having the same matches. When it finally did change, it was Randy Orton vs a guy who hasn't accomplished anything in 15 years
with the company. And that doesn't even take into account how they turned their top babyface into a whiny bitch.
And somehow the new COO doesn't even bother to show up on smackdown. Not that I want to see more HHH promos, but shouldn't he be at
smackdown every week?
The first undisputed OO draft champion of the world
Get the pistons pumping and let the pigeons loose on my yambag
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DevilSoprano
Pee Wee's Plaything 
Posts 5024
Registered 11-16-2002 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 8-22-2011 at 08:55 PM |
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Live vs. Taped. That is the biggest issue with regards to Raw vs. Smackdown. Raw would still be better but just imagine the differences if the Punk
stuff had been taped on Tuesdays for Smackdown. A large number of the internet audience would have seen it before it aired for the rest of the
country. I'm not sure Smackdown would get any better by being live, but it's a huge factor when discussing the shows. As is the day of the
week. Raw airs on Monday and gives people all week to discuss it, Smackdown airs on Friday night and not a lot of people are watching when it airs and
if they do, they don't wanna comment on it over the weekend.
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