10 Things WWE Must Add To WWE Network To Justify $14.99
3. The Complete SmackDown Collection
SmackDown Live has emerged as WWE’s most consistently enjoyable show following the Brand Split. Though lacking in Raw’s star power, SD is a smartly-booked brand that has largely eschewed its red cousin’s tedium for smart, logical storytelling, and while it hasn’t been perfect, it’s been one of the New Era’s biggest highlights.
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, though. Though the ratings were usually lower, SD was the more enjoyable brand through the original Brand Split too, and provided a wrestling-centric island away from Raw’s sports entertainment trappings. While Raw had Triple H’s main event monopoly, SmackDown had tremendous competitors like Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and Eddie Guerrero putting in sterling in-ring performances on a weekly basis, but the archive isn’t quite complete.
The Network features most SmackDown episodes through to September 2004, but only a handful thereafter. Fans seeking to rewatch the blue brand’s glory days are out of luck, because while much of SD’s best content is there, giant chunks are missing, and there’s no way to relive highlights like CM Punk and Jeff Hardy’s great 2009 feud, for example.
WWE are gradually going through the archives to upload the old footage, but it’s a slow process. For fans who prefer stories that advance through matches rather than lengthy talking segments, SmackDown’s peak years are unmissable.