10 Ways WWE Could Rebuild SmackDown

7. Respect The Referees

Triple H SmackDown
WWE.com

The referee plays an unassuming, though crucial, role in pro wrestling.

Referees represent order in its ridiculous fiction; much like in matches themselves, you are not meant to notice their presence. They lurk in the background, making everything somewhat coherent, somewhat professional, somewhat realistic. On SmackDown, as a cheap means of engineering storylines, they are positioned as complete morons unable to fulfil their remit. And, in order to sh*t out a storyline for the doubles division at Royal Rumble '18, that remit changed for one week only. Are referees permitted to reverse calls using action replay, or not?

Mike Chioda was lobotomised in the summer of 2017, as a means of installing Shane McMahon as the Special Guest Referee in the AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens match at SummerSlam, which itself built towards Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon at Hell in a Cell. Wrestling referees must be somewhat idiotic, or at least half-blind. It's part of the psychology. Wrestling asks you to accept this, and we mostly do, but the balancing act is precarious.

If referees are stupid and redundant, completely incapable of doing their jobs, why engage in the very notion of two wrestlers settling a dispute, if nobody is capable of settling it?

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!