10 Big Questions From WWE SmackDown (July 30)
1. Should SmackDown Change Its Format?
Rather than continuing as the B-show, filled with midcard talent and recap segments, are WWE missing an opportunity to position SmackDown as something else entirely? With the brand split long gone, the show has limped along with a lack of star power and importance. Would a completely different direction revive flagging interest?
There have been ideas floated in the past of SmackDown being a cruiserweight show, or even a Divas-only show. While a change in format need not take the form of either of these, you only need to look at the example of NXT to see how a fresh idea can generate interest in a dying brand.
A format change would surely be a no-lose situation for WWE. At present, SmackDown has the feel of an episode of RAW that only a few superstars bothered to show up for. A new concept has the potential to reinvigorate the show and make it must-see, rather than a supplemental to Monday Night RAW.