10 Live Observations From Glasgow's WWE TV Tapings
9. Smackdown Dead
In contrast to Raw, Smackdown Live struggled getting out of the blocks a bit. A single Main Event taping match (more on that later) as a curtain-raiser didn't exactly set the world on fire, and with a few notable exceptions, the show failed to draw quite the atmosphere it's red counterpart managed 24 hours earlier. This is not an uncommon occurrence for a Smackdown crowd on a UK tour, as many in attendance may be on their own Night 2, where burnout sets in a little and the anticipation has dropped having seen a good portion of stars the previous evening. That's also discounting some of the crowd rapidly losing patience with repeated adverts for *next week's* show, the big Episode 900, causing a little bit of an inferiority complex almost in contrast to the previous night's Raw, which dealt with some significant stakes in the form of finalising team announcements for Survivor Series.
That said, when watched back on TV, Smackdown Live was its typical polished self. It's as breezy as show to watch live as it is on TV, in that nothing drags, and the roster and gone generally feels creatively freer than some of the stricter confines placed upon those on the Flagship show. It actually feels like fantasy bleeding through to reality, where the passive babyface bosses on Smackdown generate a less oppressive environment than the bullish and abrasive Stephanie McMahon on Raw.
Speaking of McMahons, it was a pleasant surprise to see both Commissioners making the trip over this week (with Vince himself and Triple H also doing their usual shift behind the curtain, if you believe some dusty Instagram posts from 'Glasgow Airport' anyway). The true purpose of their attendance didn't rear its ugly head until the final segment of Smackdown Live, when Shane-O-Mac was placed into his favourite role of 'proper hardnut' yet again for Team Blue at the Survivor Series.
That said, he got one of the biggest three reactions on the entire show, and the only ones to top him were for much littler blokes who also aren't on the main roster. What that says about the Smackdown Live squad I don't know, but it basically left the exact opposite conclusion to Raw - a stronger presentation on TV than in person, and maybe in need of some bolstering from WWE's ever increasing talent pool to re-energise the live shows.