WWE: Why SmackDown's Demise Should Signal Extinction of Brand Extension

WWE’s brand extension sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling industry in 2002. Since then, WWE continued to drop the ball to make SmackDown an equal competitor to RAW.

It’s always going to be difficult to compete against a live program, but prior to the brand split, SmackDown was a great show and was often better than RAW.

We’ve had some quality programs over the past nine years, with the "SmackDown Six" consisting of Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero in 2002 to the days of John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker in recent years. Yet all along, SmackDown always felt inferior.

The brand extension allowed WWE to create a legitimate rivalry within the company, but WWE always dropped the ball since the days of Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon competing for superstars when the split first went down.

This past week was another reminder why WWE needs to end the split. SmackDown’s demise over the years was brought back to the forefront Friday night and should be enough of a signal for WWE to send the brand extension to extinction.

This has been a magical week for WWE from Punk winning the WWE Championship and leaving as a free agent to a WWE Championship tournament to Triple H relieving Vince McMahon as CEO and effectively taking his role to Punk invading Triple H and WWE at Comic-Con in San Diego.

Wow.

You need a breather after that, right?

Unfortunately, so did WWE, and it was by the name of Friday Night SmackDown.

If you tuned in to SmackDown excited, I’m sorry for your loss. Yes, that’s how pathetic SmackDown was.

What happened on SmackDown? Aside from Daniel Bryan announcing to the world that he will cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 28 and Mark Henry sidelining Kane for at least three months, nothing. Nothing noteworthy happened.

This is the problem with SmackDown—nothing noteworthy seems to ever happen anymore. There used to be countless of exciting moments on SmackDown, but that was over a decade ago. The last truly great and exciting moment may have been when Brock Lesnar superplexed Big Show off the top rope to cause the ring to collapse.

Seriously, SmackDown was so boring it’s not even funny; it’s sad. I feel bad for people who have to buy a ticket to go see that abysmal show.

Somehow, we only saw four matches, and yet nothing happened between any of them.

The opening segment with Christian and Randy Orton didn’t do much to progress their feud. The match between Ezekial Jackson and Christian was a bore, as was Bryan against Heath Slater. Wade Barrett vs Sheamus and the Street Fight were both decent bouts, but yet nothing of consequence happened. We need the segments between matches to drive the show, or at the very least put on solid matches.

The problem with SmackDown is that Orton and Christian are the only superstars left on the roster, with Kane and Big Show being sent to the sidelines. If everything good and meaningful happens on RAW, there is absolutely zero reason to tune in to SmackDown.

I recall attending the SmackDown after No Mercy 2000. For those who don’t remember, No Mercy 2000 was when Kurt Angle won the WWE Championship and Steve Austin obliterated Rikishi and was arrested for his acts.

At that SmackDown, the Main Event saw Rikishi destroy Too Cool only to call out Austin. Stone Cold was then attacked backstage by a masked man, but managed to crawl to the ring only to get beaten down by Rikishi. It didn’t happen on RAW, it happened on SmackDown, and everyone was left wondering who hit Stone Cold?

That same show also saw Angle defend the WWE Championship against mystery opponent Chris Jericho. We saw those two matches along with five more for a total of seven contests in a two-hour program.
Was that the greatest SmackDown? Not even close. Yet it’s what SmackDown used to be. It wasn’t just a bunch of crap like we see now with four total matches and nothing happening between them.

Why?

Back then, WWE actually used its stars to progress the program.

In 2002, I attended another SmackDown event. This was Triple H’s return to SmackDown following his quad injury. We all remember his historic return to RAW, but let me tell you, his SmackDown pop may not have been as long, but it was louder.

At the event, we saw The Rock and Rob Van Dam team to take on Chris Jericho and Booker T. The Main Event was a TV classic featuring Steve Austin and Kurt Angle, which ended in a no contest as Kane, Big Show and Triple H all stormed the ring one after another with their finishing move to claim who would win the 2002 Royal Rumble. The show ended with a stare down between Triple H and Undertaker. We saw entertaining backstage promos from The Rock and Angle as well.

Look at the supreme star power at that SmackDown event, literally filled with Hall of Famers in that Main Event. Yet now all we have is Orton and Christian on SmackDown. Sorry, but that doesn't cut it.

Aside from the mention of Christian vs Orton for the World Championship, did you even know there was a live crowd watching SmackDown? The fans seemed genuinely bored throughout the show, and rightfully so.

The difference between the two SmackDown events I attended and the garbage we witnessed last Friday night is excitement. RAW following Money in the Bank was exciting.

SmackDown is simply far too thin to accomplish this, unlike RAW. WWE uses RAW to progress its main storylines when SmackDown is simply in the background. In fact, that’s what SmackDown should be called—"BackGround."

That’s all its good for. WWE uses SmackDown now to keep its wrestlers in the shadows for the time being until they feel RAW needs a new face. It is imperative WWE combines the rosters to maintain the level of quality throughout the week.

This past SmackDown was nothing more than a glorified version of Sunday Night Heat back in 1999. We had one good match and a bunch of nonsense.

For the sake of its product and the fans, WWE needs to end the brand extension. The time has finally come, as SmackDown managed to hit rock bottom during one of the most exciting and entertaining weeks in WWE history.

SmackDown used to be one of the most exciting programs on TV, let alone in the wrestling industry. It used to compete nearly every single week with RAW for top honors. That was then.

Now, it’s a pathetic excuse for an entertaining wrestling program due to the lack of star power and overall excitement.

Please, WWE, make SmackDown exciting once again.