12 Ups & 12 Downs For WWE In 2019
7. The Normalisation Of The Billion Dollar Show
SmackDown - the show that barely feels different from SmackDown Live other than the fact less people talk about it on Saturdays than used to on Wednesdays - is worth a billion dollars.
It's a figure that has to be brought up as often as it is, because it's unprecedented for a wrestling company to be earning so much for their output. It reflects, more than any TV rights deal in wrestling history how well Vince McMahon read the room when he cannibalised his pay-per-view game in 2014 for the good of his Networks and his flagships. Conversely, it highlights how far gone his once-dynamic creative mind is - Roman Reigns getting covered in dog food will not f*cking do, no matter how much you could practically hear the Chairman's cackles through Michael Cole's headset.
Raw is better than SmackDown. Three hour jesus-f*cking-christ-why-do-I-do-this-to-myself Monday Night Raw. Something has to change.