10 Times WWE Tried To Rejuvenate SmackDown But Failed

5. The Cruiserweight And Divas Divisions

Part of what made WCW an alternative to WWE during the Attitude Era in the late '90s was their exciting cruiserweight division that featured the likes of Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho and scores of others. When WWE tried their hand at a light heavyweight division, it didn't match up and, to be blunt, failed miserably. When WCW folded in 2001, they brought the Cruiserweight Championship in to WWE before making it exclusive to the SmackDown brand the following year. It was a fun showcase for Superstars such as Jamie Noble, Funaki, Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms, but it was never done the right way. The title meant next to nothing in its final years with Hornswoggle winning the strap in 2007 being the final nail in the coffin. SmackDown's Divas division was no different. Since the Women's Championship was exclusive to Raw following the brand split, that left the ladies of the blue brand without anything to feud over (other than Al Wilson, of course). That changed in 2008 when WWE implemented the Divas Championship, you know, the ugly pink butterfly belt that's still in existence today. It was intended to be on the same level of the Women's title, but never at one point was it prestigious because the women were treated with even less respect than they were already getting on Raw. Thus, it came as no surprise that WWE eventually merged both belts two years later and had the Divas champion appear on Raw and SmackDown up until the end of the brand split.