5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE SmackDown Live (July 26)

1. The New Era

The New Era is supposed to be characterised by change. This is the gospel WWE have been preaching since WrestleMania, and while the New Era hit a few missteps in the weeks leading-up to the Draft, the company looked to be on the right path with Raw and Battleground.

Pushing excitement and unpredictability to the forefront, WWE seemed to finally be turning the corner. Gone was the lethargy and apathy of old: the company were reconnecting with their thinning audience by altering the playbook, and delivering the kind of product that fans have spent years yearning for.

Unfortunately, SmackDown Live felt like a step back to the dark ages. This was supposed to be the wrestling-focused “alternative” to Monday Night Raw: instead, SD combined some of WWE’s absolute worst habits to produce a show that felt no different to the bland, lifeless Raw shows that got the company into this mess in the first place.

From questionable booking and burials to pointless segments and a lack of convincing stories, this week’s SmackDown had it all. There was nothing to separate this show from the worst of WWE’s pre-Brand Split product, which makes a complete mockery of the New Era’s very idea, and after doing nothing to make viewers want to tune-in again next week, SmackDown is off to a very rocky start.

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