WWE: Why Raw-Only Fans Should Be Watching SmackDown Every Week

There is a wide range of types of WWE fans. 

Some only watch it casually, some only watch pay-per-views, some watch it religiously and some only watch certain shows. For that last group, it’s usually up to that person to decide which one they want to watch: Monday Night Raw or Friday Night Smackdown. 

But Raw is on Mondays and is generally considered to be the WWE’s “A-show,” while Smackdown airs on Fridays and is billed as the company’s “B-show.” So, naturally, more fans choose to watch just Raw rather than just Smackdown. 

Big mistake. They should be watching both. 

Raw gets all the glitz and the glamor, and it features more notable names than Smackdown, such as The Miz, John Cena, Triple H and CM Punk. But it’s not the name power that makes the blue brand, it’s the way the show is booked. 

Monday Night Raw is considered to be the WWE’s “A-show” because Vince McMahon values “entertainment” more than wrestling, and Raw focuses much more on that aspect of the product.

Raw is on a bigger network (USA) than Smackdown (SyFy), it features celebrity guest hosts and it relies more on promos and backstage segments than in-ring action. 

I guess that’s fine if you’re looking for a WWE product that’s more like a male soap opera. 

But, if you like to skip out on crappy, pointless backstage segments or three-minute matches, then Smackdown is where it’s at. 

I just look back to last week’s episode of Raw as proof of why you should really make sure to pay attention to the blue brand every week. 

Here are the main things we saw on last Monday’s Raw: “The Michael Cole Challenge,” Mick Foley’s “This is Your Life” segment with John Cena, and The Rock’s return and promo with Cena, The Miz and R-Truth. 

Now, here are the main things we saw on the Nov. 11 episode of Friday Night Smackdown: Sheamus defeats Christian in a 14-minute match, Mark Henry defeats Daniel Bryan, and Wade Barrett beats Randy Orton in a 13-minute main event. 

See the differences here? 

A typical episode of Monday Night Raw is highlighted by a 15-minute opening promo, a few short matches and things like contract signings or main events that don’t go on until the show is almost over.

But a typical episode of Friday Night Smackdown is highlighted by two, sometimes even three, 10-minute-plus matches that you’re more likely to see on pay-per-view or at live events. 

The only question is: Which show is your cup of tea? 

Look, I have no hatred toward fans who prefer Raw because it focuses more on entertainment than wrestling. I watch that show every week, and I do so at least somewhat for the entertainment factor as well. 

It’s just that this is professional wrestling after all, and if you really want to watch actual wrestling, then Smackdown is the place for you to do that. 

The blue brand puts a major emphasis on in-ring competition, and just about every week, you can plan on tuning into that show and seeing the best WWE matches of the week. You can also watch a show that pushes new talent to the main-event level. 

Just in 2011, Smackdown has seen Mark Henry and Christian with their first sustained main-event pushes, and the widespread expectation is that Cody Rhodes, Sheamus and Wade Barrett are all on the cusp of joining them in the near future. 

The blue brand is fun for me to watch because it doesn’t hold back up-and-coming stars like Raw does. While Zack Ryder’s struggling to get a pay-per-view match, Dolph Ziggler’s still stuck in the mid-card scene and The Miz is taking a backseat to John Cena and Triple H, Rhodes and Barrett are having intense feuds with Orton that get the spotlight with TV main events and pay-per-view matches. 

That’s what’s so great about Smackdown.

It puts its primary focus more on actual wrestling and less on promos, and as a result, it makes what the blue brand’s stars do in the ring so much more important. Everything they do inside that squared circle matters—facial expressions, mannerisms, moves, etc. 

You tune into an episode of Smackdown, and you see that those guys truly care about what they’re doing because they know that if they put on a good 10-minute match, a World title shot could be in their future. 

Raw, on the other hand, features guys getting three minutes to attempt to get over, and as a result, the overall quality of the show suffers. 

That’s why I make sure that on Friday nights I either set my DVR or stay in to watch Smackdown. I don’t want to miss what is almost guaranteed to be a good show.