9 Reasons WWE SmackDown Is Currently Superior To Raw
5. Stronger Focus On Secondary Titles
While we're on the subject of The Miz, another reason SmackDown is pulling ahead of raw in the race to win the hearts of the fans is because of the focus on the secondary championships.
As of this writing, along with Kevin Owens as the main champion, Raw has Rusev (United States), TJ Perkins (cruiserweight), Charlotte (women's) and The New Day (tag team) as their belt-holders. Behind headlining World champion AJ Styles, SmackDown features Intercontinental champ The Miz, Becky Lynch as the women's champion and the unlikely duo of Heath Slater and Rhyno sitting atop the tag team division.
While the feud between US champ Rusev and Roman Reigns has arguably been the second most important angle on Raw, the belt itself is hardly mentioned, much less treated like a coveted prize between the two wrestlers. It's basically an accessory that just happens to adorn the waist of one of the two men who are fighting each other.
Contrast that to SmackDown's focus on The Miz and both he and his GM's quest to restore prestige to the once highly sought-after prize. It's essentially been the impetus for their entire disagreement, and despite being one of the most hated heels in the company, the belt is important to Miz and he makes the audience feel his passion for the title.
Raw has the bigger names when it comes to the tag teams, but in a division that boasts the insanely popular New Day and Enzo and Cass, as well as smark favourites The Club, it's been the ragtag pairing of career jobber Heath Slater and ageing veteran and former WWE washout Rhyno that have captured the audience's attention, along with the refreshing heel turn of The Usos plus American Alpha, the team many consider the future of the promotion's division.
To be fair, SDL does have the advantage of having had to crown several new champions, making the quest for those titles the focus of the show, but Raw gives viewers the impression that the belts are nowhere near as important to the competitors vying for them as they are on Tuesday nights.