10 Times WWE Tried To Rejuvenate SmackDown But Failed

9. Invading Raw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=squ7ZFzNmXY After five long years, Raw was set to return home to the USA Network in October 2005. As part of the monumental occasion, WWE went all out by making it a three hour event and featuring specialty matches, guest appearances and the highly anticipated return of Triple H. SmackDown also had a presence on Raw Homecoming with six of the blue brand's brightest stars facing off in tag team action, but before the bout could reach a conclusion, then-Raw general manager Eric Bischoff cut it short and ordered the show go to a commercial break. Following the night's WWE Championship main event between John Cena and Eric Bischoff, the SmackDown Superstars exacted their revenge by attacking Cena and Kurt Angle before brawling with the rest of the Raw locker room. The angle led to a brand supremacy rivalry between Raw and SmackDown, culminating in a grand five-on-five elimination tag match at Survivor Series. Despite SmackDown emerging victorious in that heated contest, it didn't change a thing: SmackDown was still seen as being inferior to the flagship show, and ratings reflected that. WWE failed to capitalize of the momentum properly, resulting in the Friday night show continuing to play second-fiddle to Mondays.