10 Reasons WWE's Brand Split Doesn’t Need Saving
2. SmackDown Has Improved
If we cast our minds back to the entire reason that the
Brand Split was implemented in the first place, it wasn’t necessarily the WWE that took the
initiative. it was more of a response to the USA Network’s dissatisfaction with
the SmackDown ratings.
So right from day one, the key impetus behind the splitting of the brands was to revitalise SmackDown and improve the show, in order to subsequently boost those all-important ratings.
And all in all, I think it’s fair to say that the Tuesday night show has certainly been pulling its weight in ensuring that goal is realised.
On top of the changes to production that were mentioned earlier, SmackDown’s seen the arrival of the excellent Talking Smack post-show, which provided us with arguably our biggest talking point of recent weeks in the Miz’s tirade against Daniel Bryan.
On top of that, we’ve also seen a greater emphasis on character development, with a ton of effort being put into the story surrounding Ambrose vs. Ziggler at SummerSlam, additional vignettes throughout the show and, of course, Renee Young’s recent trip to Heath Slater’s illustrious trailer.
Perhaps I’m easily pleased, but I certainly think SmackDown’s been doing an admirable job of improving in light of the Brand Split.