Smackdown = "Minor Leagues"
 

Ya think Booker is right? Is Raw the better show? I kind of feel that way at times. Cena's awesome, I like Bradshaw's new gimmick, Mysterio can fly, and Kidman needs a push. But I think Raw's got that "cutting edge" (no pun intended) that Smackdown seems to be missing. I've been feeling this way for a while now, and would like to know if you all agree or not. Don't get me wrong, Raw's got its problems too, and maybe Smackdown isn't "the minor leagues," but I wonder if it's the "B show." And the "B" can stand for "bland."

Oh, I most definitely agree.

I too agree.

I like how they're styled differently, but I hate how they seem intent on calling Smackdown the b-team show.

Smackdown has the better roster, IMO.

On an unrelated note, as much as I love the guy, Booker T is too big and sluggish for Smackdown. This is not gonna work. :nono:

For those who agree, how do you think they can make Smackdown better? More angles? Make it live instead of taped? Fire the Smackdown writers? Those are all a good start. (And yeah, Booker T belongs on Raw.)

More angles would be good, and maybe a little bit more promo cutting. And hopefully Angle as the GM will liven it up a bit. Taped shows don't help either.

Actually, I know it's early, but I liked Heyman a hell of a lot better.

I still prefer SD, maybe because of the style of the wrestling, more fast paced with certain matches (Cruiserweights) and more wrestling than angles and storylines (unlike Raw)

I wish SD was live I also which they had at least two real established heels (besides the Big Show)

They might actually have that in the making with Booker T (really digged him tonight saying SD was the minor leagues) and I even enjoyed the new gimmick Bradshaw has going. :p

Kurt is alright as GM...still rather want him wrestling but his health is more important, so better to have him in some role, than in none.

Smackdown as tazz or cole said when Renee dupree wrestled that Smackdown is cruiserweights..

Smackdown is deffinatly the minors unless your into the luchador scene as i am. RAW is deffinatly the power house show

I like Rey Mysterio (especially his entrance), and it's good that Spike Dudley is finally where he belongs (though he should have won tonight), but the rest of them are boring except for Billy Kidman. I always liked him, but I guess the writers don't. Why is he buried so much? I don't get it.

Like Funky said, I like how they are styled differently but I don't like how SD is referred to as minor leagues. IMO, the wrestling aspect is better on SD than RAW. But the actual entertainment and intriguing angles seem to occur more frequently on RAW.

I watch both. I will continue to do so.


As for Booker T on SD, at first I thought it was a good move. And I did enjoy him tonight, and I like how they are using the "minor league" thing as the reason for his new attitude. I don't like how this could potentially hurt SD in the long run, making fans believe it is indeed a B show. When he wrestled I felt like he didn't quite fit into the style but I got into it. Overall, tonight, for me, he seemed like a RAW guy on SD.

Time will tell.

Both shows have their good points. However, without beating a dead horse the main reason I like Smackdown over RAW (if I had to choose, because I watch both) is because it doesn't have HHH.

HHH makes such a huge difference to me. For example, no matter how awesome it is that Chris Benoit is the RAW Champion, I just cant get into it as much I thought I would. Why? Because I know its just a matter of time before HHH, who is far less deserving gets the title back and Benoit free falls down the card on RAW.

On Smackdown I'm totally amped about Eddie as champion because I never thought it would happen in the WWE for him, but more than that the sky is the limit for his title run. He could drop it in a couple of months to Kurt or he could easily carry it for a year. I just dont know, which makes it exciting to watch.

Aside from that I find SD to be a tighter show, there are fewer segments where I sit there, scratch my head and go "why?". Thats mainly due to the fact that they tend to focus on wrestling with the blue squad.

Dont get me wrong, RAW has its good points as well, but I find they try to be too cute with promos and backstage skits, and that usually hurts the quality of the show. And like I said they have the HHH-effect.

In terms of being live, hey if you can stay off the net between Wed morning and Thurs night, it would seem like SD is live. To me that means nothing, if anything SD is better for being taped because they can take out stuff that bombs.

I agree, but if they don't want Smackdown to seem like the "B show," then they should work a little harder (the writers, or whoever) to be sure that doesn't happen. I almost wonder if they're doing this purposely. Ya think maybe McMahon wants Raw to be better? That might be a stupid question.

Actually, wasn't it kind of the same in the WCW? Wasn't NITRO usually better than THUNDER? Maybe Thursday night wrestling will forever be blah.

Hey CyNick, you raised a great point about Triple H, and I feel the same way. But despite the "glass ceiling," I still find Raw to be the better show. I mean, I just don't pumped for Smackdown like I do for Raw every week.

I dont know your tastes but it could also be because Monday night wrestling has been a tradition for over 10 years, and that was where the WCW-WWE war was fought, so it has that advantage of being the "wrestling night". Thursday night wrestling has less of a history, and even though its been around for 5 years it was never the battle ground for the wrestling war.

Or maybe you just like the RAW guys better, I dont know.

Also is it just me or does it seem like the way Smackdown is designed the crowd is always into the show while RAW has moments where the crowd goes from cheering to "what?". I enjoy RAW for essentially the RKO occuring at any possible moment and Smackdown because as mentioned above the emphasis seems to be on wrestling (Even moreso after the additions made to the roster).

Hmmmm..... very interesting. I've always considered Mondays to be the night for wrestling (even back in the "Prime Time" days), so there's definitely that element of tradition. But if Thursday night wrestling could somehow be improved, I would no longer be partial to Mondays.

Also, I guess I do like the Raw guys better. Like I said I like John Cena, and Rey Mysterio, and Eddie and Kidman, but that's really about it. The Bashams suck, Angle should not be the GM (Heyman was much better), and a guy like Ultimo Dragon just does nothing for me. Chavo, Jamie Noble, The Big Show.... nah. (Oh, and I like the new Bradshaw, but he's not main event.)

That's why I was so excited when I heard about the lottery. I thought for sure they'd be changing things around, making the shows more balanced, but they obviously haven't. Kind of a disappointment.

I agree with you. I mean, I know that Smackdown is the better show right now, but I just don't really care about it as much as I care for RAW. Like when I come home from school on Monday's I get excited that Raw's on that night. On Thursdays, I don't really as enthused about Smackdown. I guess it is the whole "tradition" thing.

Yep. That's exactly how I feel. I start to think about Raw toward the end of each week, and when Monday comes I'm excited. But then it's like, "meh, Smackdown's on tonight." It's just not the same.

There isn't one thing about Raw that I like better than Smackdown, barring the few exceptional wrestlers they have (Benoit, Jericho, Christian, Storm, etc.), but they rarely get the pushes they deserve. I had been only watching Smackdown since the Rumble (seeing one or two RAWs along the way), and started watching Raw again after Benoit got the title, but it just seems so stale in every aspect, and even Benoit couldn't make it appealing to me anymore. It's like the whole atmosphere is dull and tired or something, the booking is so generic IMO, and it never really captures my attention. It's like they aren't making any new stars or anything, just hanging on to old names from yesteryear (except for the (IMO) generic orton, and the awesome Christian). Maybe it's that the last few episodes have sucked? did I miss some exceptional shows or something?

However, with Bradshaw's push, Heyman leaving, Angle no longer wrestling, a stupid cowboy Undertaker and Big Show being two of the few remaining big names, and number of other issues may make Smackdown less enjoyable for me in the future, but as long as Eddie is headlining as champ, I'll be interested.

EDIT: Oh, and the cruiserweight division kicks ass. Why they traded Tajiri, especially as he was in a stable, I have no ****i</>ng idea.

Wasn't Thunder on Wednesdays?

SD is treated as the minor league show. But I like the SD style better, I like that there is more wrestling, and I like the cruiserweight scene. So I go out of my way to catch SD (not so much this week...NCAA's). I think showing it live would help it shake the "B" show feel, but with its time slot, the network its on, the FCC thing, and the fact that there couldn't be any run-over time...that's not happening. Oh...and I actually can listen to a match called by Taz/Cole whereas on raw, I mute the TV.

It's wierd. SMackdown! has the most important belt in the company but RAW pushes the World Titlte like it is the most important belt in the company.

I think both brands are equally important, and RAW is only better because they say so. I don't see it in the wrestling. If SD! needs improvement, however, it would be in pushing the tag division and definitely the CW division, which can really heat up TV.

Crusierwight Divison is like the hightlight of the show. You have these big name superstars and then The Lightweights steal the show I find degrating. Well Then again Mysterio should be in run for the U.s Title I think.

Watch WCW Cruiser matches. I've only seen anything approaching that three times on SD! since the division began. The CW DIVISION still has yet to be really pushed. They're obviously afraid they'll steal the show and make the upper carders look bad if they use their full potential..

The CW's are sorely underused.

Yea but, better than the real Top superstars.

Doesn't take much. A little charisma, a little talent, and you've got triple H whipped.

Raw is way better than Raw IMO

Raw is better than Raw?

No way!

Raw rules Raw's ass!

Just teasin ya for your mistake. :)

hire vince russo back mis spell his last name sorry

I think Raw deffinately feels more important, probably because as people have already said the tradition thing, we all know that it was the biggest weekly WWE show in the past and so it still feels like it now. When Smackdown came along it was "the other show" and has never been THE show of the WWE, so it doesn't feel as important.

RAW: Established stars, more glitzy. Hot.
SD!: Youthful and athletic. The future. Cool. Very cool.

You know what I think would help Smackdown a bit or a lot? Putting Taz as a high mid card, low main event card on the show. Taz could just go and put on a clinic. I don't think it'll ever happen but I think it would be fricken awesome.

If i was booker i would be just as pissed. i strongly agree with the wendys theif. i guess hhh just bitched and cried to steph untill he got his way

IMO I think SD! isn't as good because it's on free t.v. Seriously all you would need is a good t.v. antenna and you can pick up UPN. Plus the production values of the network hurt the show also. In my area UPN is a grainy channnel and not that clear.

But SD! doesn't matter to me. I've never been into the SD! side of the roster. If I wanna see some good CW action I'll just order NWATNA on Wensday.

And SD! doesn't have Triple H so...:shifty: