10 Reasons Why WWE SmackDown Is Better Than Raw
4. Less Authority Drama
From SummerSlam 2013 to WrestleMania 32, WWE programming was absolutely dominated by The Authority. It started out as a fun idea, giving Daniel Bryan a heel stable over which he needed to triumph, but after Bryan's victory, it got boring. By early 2016 - when Triple H reigned as WWE World Champion - it was downright painful.
Triple H has been gone since WrestleMania (save for a single Raw appearance), but The Authority storyline has continued with Stephanie McMahon's presence on Raw. As a heel commissioner, she frequently dresses down talent and finds herself at the center of angles, seemingly serving no purpose other than to feed the insatiable McMahon ego. Triple H is also due to return soon, building to a WrestleMania feud with Seth Rollins.
SmackDown, by contrast, is run by Shane McMahon, but he doesn't seem to show up that often. Daniel Bryan does most of the authority work on the show, and he never makes the talent look bad at his expense - in fact, he managed to put The Miz over without even wrestling him. Fewer McMahons and fewer figureheads put SmackDown miles ahead of Raw.