10 Mistakes WWE Will Probably Make With The Brand Split

SmackDown's been a regularly-running show for almost 17 years, but never in its history has it aired live on a regular basis - whether it's been on UPN, SyFy, or MyNetworkTV, and whether it's aired on Thursday or Friday, the show has always been taped on Tuesday and broadcast days later.

That's set to change this summer, as SmackDown will start airing live every single Thursday. Even though it's only a superficial change, it will make the show feel more important - it'll have an "anything can happen" vibe, without spoilers playing a role in the show. This will be an exciting change.

Unfortunately, putting a two-hour SmackDown on Tuesday means that it airs the day after a three-hour Raw. That might be too much wrestling for even the most hardcore of fans, who undoubtedly have other interests and commitments beside the sport. To make matters worse, NXT is on Wednesday - and, this summer, so is the Cruiserweight Classic. That's seven hours of wrestling in three days (and ten in four on PPV weeks).

It's not financially feasible for SmackDown to air live on Thursdays (there's too much equipment and too many crew members who would need to go back and forth rather than travel straight from Raw to SmackDown), so as long as the show's live, it'll be on Tuesdays. Time will tell if keeping it live is worth the potential overexposure.