This is a problem that WWE had to deal with a lot in the past, but that problem has only exacerbated the insignificance of SmackDown. Since the show is taped on Tuesdays, and airs on Thursdays (Wednesdays for us Canadians), all it takes is one or two people to spoil the show for everyone else by revealing what happened on that edition of SmackDown. This hasnt been a problem for RAW since the Monday Night Wars, but has really become a bigger problem due to the rise of the Internet and the sudden ubiquity of wrestling news and rumors websites, all of which gain traffic from spoiling SmackDown and other taped shows. Fans tune in to RAW to see something unexpected; with few exceptions, RAW is live, and fans go in to the show with only speculation of whats going to happen. With SmackDown, if fans know exactly whats going to happen before it happens, well that just ruins the point of watching the Blue Brand in the first place. Many people have argued about the need for a live SmackDown for many reasons, one of which being this problem. While that proposal has its obvious merits and drawbacks, the current SmackDown product remains irrelevant because of spoiled shows stemming from its taped nature.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
