17 Ways WWE Has Changed Since It Was The WWF
6. SmackDown Live
It shouldn’t be underestimated how enormous SmackDown’s move to a live Tuesday spot in 2016 was, particularly considering the recent past before that point and the prior peak of the still-taped blue brand in 2001.
Reduced to being more of a Raw highlights show following the aforementioned death of the original brand split in 2011, the show was brought back from the dead by a USA deal that went so well that the company turned millions to billions with a planned 2019 move to Fox. The true ramifications of the move will only be clear after it takes place, but the pressure to ensure the deal succeeds could see Raw become the company’s most high profile B-Show in decades.
WWE have carefully loaded up SmackDown with most top stars and tweaked the split roster rules to allow for floating stars to drop in when a ratings boost may be required.
Creatively, the show remains a breezier little brother in comparison to the bloated flagship too - the deal at the commencement of the second split may be one of the most mutually beneficial in company history.