6 Ways WWE Raw Must Improve to Compete with Thriving SmackDown Brand

The first week of 2017 provided WWE with the ultimate opportunity to start with a fresh slate, and now that we are over seven days into the new year, it's safe to say that next to nothing has changed about the product from late 2016. Just because the calendar year has changed doesn't mean WWE's programming problems have suddenly gone away.

Essentially, everything is the same as it was two weeks ago, including the fact that SmackDown is clearly superior to Raw.

That much has been evident since the dawn of the brand split, with SmackDown consistently outperforming Raw on a weekly basis. Although the ratings, per Wrestle Zone, may not reflect that at the moment, due to Raw being the company's flagship show for two-and-a-half decades, the blue brand has slowly built momentum by delivering stellar storylines and remarkable matches and creating new stars.

Truth be told, WWE's biggest competition at the moment is itself, and for years, the main roster was constantly up against NXT. Now, SmackDown has stolen Raw's thunder and is firing on all cylinders while Raw continues to flounder.

The new year calls for people to set resolutions for themselves and goals they wish to achieve. With WWE being no different, we will look at six ways Raw can compete with the thriving SmackDown brand.

Construct a Well-Rounded Women's Division

Credit: WWE.com

At the time of the 2016 WWE draft, it appeared that Raw had an obvious leg up over SmackDown in terms of its women's division. Raw recruited the illustrious likes of Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Paige and Bayley, while the only true star SmackDown picked up was Becky Lynch.

Six months later, SmackDown has made the most of its limited women's division by giving every woman on the roster a defined character. There are several stories occurring simultaneously, including those without championship implications.

On Raw, the women's division was dominated by Charlotte and Banks for months, and while they had a sensational series of matches, it left the rest of the division depleted. Bayley has the potential to be a breakout babyface but doesn't feel nearly as special as she did when she initially arrived on the main roster.

As for Nia Jax, she had been built up fairly well up until she lost in fluky fashion to Bayley on the Jan. 2 edition of Raw. The buck essentially stops there, with Summer Rae and Paige still out hurt, Dana Brooke being a glorified punching bag for Charlotte and Alicia Fox busy with Cedric Alexander.

The flagship show unquestionably has the talent in its women's division, and arguably more star power than SmackDown, so it should not be in as terrible a state as it is. By giving every woman on Raw a clear motivation and purpose, it will be easier for fans to invest in SmackDown's stories.

Creating Must-See Superstars

Credit: WWE.com

Every Tuesday night, fans have a handful of stars to look forward to seeing on SmackDown.

AJ Styles and The Miz are by far the most valuable players on the blue brand right now, but in addition to them, there's John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Becky Lynch and various others.

Granted, Raw has its fair share of notable names as well, from Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, but none of those aforementioned athletes or anyone else on the roster feels remotely special at the moment.

When Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar in shocking fashion at Survivor Series two months ago, it was viewed as a truly remarkable moment. Goldberg came off as an immensely popular babyface with the crowd chanting his name over and over, and Lesnar has a similar aura about him, as well.

However, neither of them is an active member of the roster, and when they aren't on the program, the show suffers. Goldberg and Lesnar won't be a part of Monday's edition of Raw, but The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels will be appearing in their places.

SmackDown doesn't bring back the likes of Edge and Undertaker every week because it doesn't need to. A handful of its wrestlers are must-see, whereas with Raw must immediately begin to build up fresh faces whom fans will want to watch each week.

New Blood in Tag Team Division

Credit: WWE.com

Similarly to the women's divisions, there was fear among fans for SmackDown when the brand split went into effect because its tag team scene mostly consisted of undercard competitors.

Sure, American Alpha was a golden pick by the blue brand, but Raw recruited The New Day, The Club and Enzo Amore and Big Cass, all of whom had momentum at the time.

SmackDown's tag team division started out shaky but have since either created or brought back a number of tandems to fill it out. American Alpha is the current champion on Tuesday nights, but otherwise, The Usos have felt fresh again as a result of their heel turn, while The Spirit Squad make occasional appearances.

Furthermore, The Wyatt Family are a hot act at the moment, with The Hype Bros also being built up as credible challengers to the twin titles.

In so many words, fans aren't seeing the same matches between tag teams every Tuesday night.

New Day's dropping the Raw Tag Team Championship at long last was a step in the right direction, but more teams need to enter the fray. Cesaro and Sheamus are finally jelling as champions and produce entertaining matches, but fans can watch them beat The Club and The Shining Stars only so many times.

Cesaro and Sheamus were two directionless singles stars paired together and have since hit their stride as a unit. Giving them a new batch of opponents to work with such as JeriKO or a makeshift duo of Tajiri and Tozawa would inject excitement into the tag team ranks.

More Focus on United States Championship

Credit: WWE.com

At this time one year ago, the Intercontinental and United States Championships didn't feel all that important and were constantly passed around from Superstar to Superstar. Few wrestlers actually benefited from holding them, which should be far from the case.

Although the U.S. title is just as irrelevant as it was at the onset of 2016, the intercontinental title has since become a major focal point on SmackDown after the brand split.

The Miz played a huge factor in instilling prestige back into the belt and now appears to be ready to return to the main event scene thanks to his reign with the title.

Having the United States title defended on Raw from time to time is key, and it has been on the line more often than not of late, but the same two or three people have challenged Roman Reigns for the gold in the past four months: Rusev, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.

Sure, the matches are occasionally entertaining, and putting the star-spangled strap on Reigns was a refreshing change of pace for his character at first, but he is still "the guy" in WWE. The title hasn't been elevated, either, because it merely comes across as a prop in a bigger story with Owens over the WWE Universal Championship.

If Reigns is going to remain a main event player for the foreseeable future, the best move WWE could make right now would be to move that title off him and onto someone who could really return the coveted championship to its former glory.

Less Reliance on Authority Figures

Credit: WWE.com

Heel authority figures have been the most tired troupe in wrestling since the rise of Mr. McMahon and Co. in the late 1990s, and obviously no one has come close to being a better bad guy than Vince himself over the last two decades.

That said, it would be best to move away from that altogether, which is where SmackDown shines. Its authority figures, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, rarely show up, and when they do, they serve a purpose and rarely take television time away from other talent.

On Raw, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley opening the episode seems to be a weekly occurrence, and they are not all that effective in their respective roles. Stephanie has been overexposed for years, whereas Foley comes across as uncomfortable when reciting lines or appearing on screen.

Stephanie can be a fantastic foil as a heel at times, and Foley can be very likable, but when they are plastered all over the show, they become just another reason for viewers to change the channel. In fact, Stephanie might be more protected than Kevin Owens is, so why not put the WWE Universal Championship on her while we're at it?

In all seriousness, less is more with the authority figures on Raw, which is why that first edition immediately following the draft was so spectacular. They were hardly featured that night, and if Foley and Stephanie can follow that same formula in the future, the flagship show will be better off.

Freshen Up Main Event Feuds

Credit: WWE.com

One of the biggest differences between Raw and SmackDown is that due to being three hours in length, Raw has a larger roster. Despite that, the powers that be on Monday nights have relied on the same four faces to carry the program for the past four months.

Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho and Seth Rollins have all been prominently featured since September. Although all are exceptional athletes, fans have been forced to watch the same matches on a near-weekly basis, and consequently the world title picture has never been less interesting.

Braun Strowman has mixed it up in the main event picture on a few occasions lately, but other than that, the top of the card on Raw has been extremely stagnant for quite some time. If we have already seen Owens vs. Reigns a handful of times before (on free TV, no less), what would entice us to tune in to their rematch at the Royal Rumble?

Coming out of that Jan. 29 pay-per-view, WWE must switch up the stars competing in the main event segments on Raw. SmackDown had a similar issue a few months ago with Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles, but at least in that case, their rivalry was compelling and the outcome wasn't always predictable.

Strowman, Sami Zayn, Cesaro and countless others deserve their shots at superstardom but won't receive that chance to shine unless WWE freshens up their feuds in the main event scene.

Raw could use a massive makeover at the moment, and there isn't a more fitting time to start addressing these issues than the dawn of the new year.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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