Imagining a More Controversial WWE SmackDown Live Under the Fox Umbrella

A new era for WWE SmackDown Live is on its way.

The blue brand has to brace for a shake-up as Raw and SmackDown, are poised to no longer be on the same channel. Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that while NBCUniversal will reportedly focus on renewing a deal for Raw, "SmackDown is being shopped to various networks." Goldberg also noted: "Fox has been speculated as a home for SmackDown, sources say."

That could be a game-changer.

Team Blue heading to a different network would lead to a creative boost for the brand, especially if that comes with a change in rating. Tuesday nights could see Samoa Joe cut down foes with harsher language, rivals batter each other with weapons more often and SmackDown embrace an edgier sort of narrative than its sister show.

Credit: WWE.com

With a new set of executives to keep happy, perhaps SmackDown morphs into an edgier product in the hopes of appealing to the teenage demographic. 

WWE programming has been rated PG since the summer of 2008. It has shifted toward being a more family-friendly product, leaving behind the bloody brows and sexual innuendo of the Attitude Era. The company, though, is at least considering turning up the controversy dial again.

As Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet noted last fall, WWE sent a survey to its fans about potential programming changes. One of the more intriguing items was the company asking whether fans were interested in seeing some version of ECW or other "edgy" show.

Credit: WWE.com

If SmackDown moves to Fox, or more likely FS1 or FX, perhaps the show fills that void to a degree. We are not going to see a full-fledged return to the days of D-Generation X rattling off penis jokes, but amping up the  TV-14 fare is a possibility.

Just what would that look like?

For one, insults would have more teeth to them. As TVGuidelines.org explains, TV-PG can feature "infrequent coarse language," while TV-14 may contain "strong coarse language."

That's not a drastic change, but one that could see heels like Samoa Joe throw out words like "bitch" more often. They could dig into their opponents by talking about crippling them or wishing them a long stay in hell. The Miz going on a profane tirade that mirrors Bret Hart's famous one from 1997 would be something special.

SmackDown could further establish its own identity from Raw by ramping up the violence.

The blue brand could feature more Street Fights, more cage matches, more unsettling backstage beatdowns. It doesn't have to go full ECW and have foes set fire to each other, but some added carnage would go a long way.

It would be easier to paint Big Cass as merciless if we saw him rake Daniel Bryan's face against a steel cage and thrash him with a steel chair. The IIconics could garner more heat if they were allowed to handcuff Charlotte Flair and break a kendo stick over her back.

A less restrictive environment when it comes to storytelling would do SmackDown well too.

A reimagined version of the show could push the proverbial envelope more often. It could introduce a kidnapping angle, much like we saw when Undertaker and The Ministry of Darkness nabbed Stephanie McMahon in 1999. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, two guys spinning their wheels of late, could use the boost from a narrative that gets people talking. Perhaps they break into somebody's home to attack them, for example.

Expanding the booking playbook is something both Fox and WWE should consider should SmackDown head to that network.

There's a chunk of fans pining for the Attitude Era and the days of raunchy, all-out WWE action. Hearkening back to that to some degree with a new deal in place would be a hell of a spark for SmackDown, a show that has struggled to match Raw in terms of viewership.