Bruce Prichard disagrees with the claims of Vince McMahon treating SmackDown like a B-show.
Prichard, who returned to WWE this year, is now working as a Senior Vice President and is a member of the creative team. Considered one of the best authorities on all things WWE, the 56-year-old has seen great success through his Something to Wrestle podcast, which he still does despite taking up duties within the promotion.
On the latest episode of said podcast, Prichard touched on the notion that Vince sees Raw as the top show and doesn't really care about SmackDown.
“False. I think that you have to look at it in this vein. Going back to the live and taped, Vince had to focus on Raw," he explained (h/t 411Mania). "Raw was first.
"Having been on Smackdown back in the day and being the lead writer on Smackdown and what have you, you always felt — I would even argue there are some days that even Raw felt like they were the stepchild. But when Vince is working on something else, it’s always, ‘Why aren’t you giving me time? Why aren’t we talking about Smackdown?’ And the answer to that is simple. Vince is looking at what is in front of him and what’s next. Next was always Raw.
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"So, when you’re dealing throughout the week, the next one he has to tackle is Raw. And next after Raw, that’s Smackdown. So, Smackdown got the feeling sometimes — and me included — that ‘Hey man. We’re second-class citizens, and we’re not going to get any of his attention until Raw is through.’ That was the case. That was just reality in that he was dealing with what was next. Raw was live. Raw was up next, and that was what he was focused on at the time.
“Now, he’s going to look at Smackdown and give it just as much attention. And then he doubles down on Tuesday, where it’s like, ‘OK. It’s pedal to the metal on Smackdown. What are we doing guys? Let’s make this the best it can be.’ And he doesn’t give a s*** about Raw at that point. But the perception of people throughout the years has always been Raw is the baby. Raw was first. By virtue of Raw being live, I think really gave people of, ‘Oh. It’s number one. It’s the A show. It’s the only one they really care about.'”
What This Means
Prichard makes a great point here and Vince's personal involvement with SmackDown as of late shows that he does hold the Tuesday night show in high regard.
Nevertheless, one can be forgiven for believing that he prefers Raw, which is considered the flagship show by many fans, neither should Vince be criticized if he has a favorite.