10 Times WWE Tried To Rejuvenate SmackDown But Failed

10. Implementing The WWE Draft

In theory, the WWE Draft was an excellent idea, especially coming off of the end of the Alliance angle where WWE had a surplus of Superstars from their own roster and also from the defunct WCW and ECW. Thus, it was logical to split the roster in half and segregate them to separate shows: Raw and SmackDown. Of course, it's all about execution, and the way WWE handled the brand split was less-than-stellar, to say the least. Before the brand split, SmackDown was an extension of Raw where WWE could further storylines and start new ones (i.e. it was relevant). The WWE Draft made Raw and SmackDown their own entities, which worked for a time in 2002 before officials grew bored with the idea. At one point, SmackDown's ratings were coming close to rivalling Raw's in late 2002 when they were producing quality content on a weekly basis. Once they switched up the creative teams and reduced Paul Heyman's power and influence, the program was watered down and essentially established itself as being the "B-show" of WWE.