10 Ways WWE SmackDown Has Declined In 2017
9. Losing The Miz
The Miz was SmackDown Live’s first big success story. His career had plateaued long before the brand split kicked-in, and while he wasn’t dead in the water, Miz's interest levels had definitely waned. His WWE Championship days long gone, ‘The A-Lister’ looked doomed to an eternity as an also-ran until he went to SD, where he starred in a remarkable career revival.
Miz was thrown back into the spotlight, and he absolutely thrived. His promos became a weekly highlight, and he stepped his performances up between the ropes, tormenting Daniel Bryan by borrowing liberally from the retired General Manager's old moveset. Most importantly, of all, however, was that Miz was drawing legitimate heat from an audience that increasingly wants to root for the bad guy, marking him as WWE’s most effective heel.
The Superstar Shake-Up sent him to Raw, however, and SD has been lacking ever since. The brand desperately misses its top bad guy, and without Miz, the show’s heel side feels very underwhelming. The likes of Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose were at their best while feuding with him, but Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger won’t ever get that opportunity, and will suffer for it.