Even the most devoted fans of professional wrestling and WWE often skip SmackDown. WWE's Thursday night broadcast, pre-recorded every Tuesday and edited into a mess of piped-in crowd noise, has alienated the wrestling fanbase after years of becoming increasingly inconsequential. This wasn't always the case. In the days of the noughties brand split, SmackDown was often superior to Raw and made stars of the likes of Eddie Guerrero and the repackaged JBL. Most importantly in terms of legacy, it was on SmackDown that John Cena rose to fame and became a massively over babyface talent in the days before half of the audience wanted him to lose every week. When the rosters were merged in 2011, SmackDown began a gradual decline in importance as it held nothing that couldn't be seen on Raw. This year, ratings are down and SmackDown often feels less important than it ever has before. In January 2016, however, SmackDown is moving from its Syfy home to the USA Network, which already hosts Monday Night Raw. This presents WWE with an opportunity to reinvent and revitalise their secondary show in an attempt to bring the viewers back and improve the overall quality of their weekly programming...
Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.
