For decades, wrestling fans have enjoyed their usual four hours of wrestling in the form of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown on a weekly basis. With that said, Raw is now three hours long (the same length as the average PPV event), and WWE also produces weekly shows NXT, 205 Live and Main Event. For a WWE fan with a lot of time on their hands, that’s eight hours of wrestling to follow on a weekly basis.
So it’s only normal that fans will choose one over the other, or at least nitpick when it comes to Raw or SmackDown since the other shows can be viewed in an hour’s time. While a wrestling fan usually has no quarrels about watching weekly episodic television, tuning into Raw and SmackDown has been rough these past few months.
While SmackDown is the better show, it could improve when it comes to a few things. As for Raw…where should we begin? A lot of episodes are hit or miss, and it’s a shame because the wrestlers on both shows are in a league of their own when it comes to the squared circle. Having said that, where can the changes be made?
It’s going to take some time to get Raw and SmackDown back on the paths they were once on, and it’s going to require a lot of work. If WWE is committed to getting their ratings up and having the action on both Raw and SmackDown truly matter, they should fine tune a couple of things. We will look at ways both RAW and SmackDown could improve down below:
20 RAW: Go Back To A Two-Hour Show
It seems like the elephant in the room is Raw’s three-hour format, which is becoming such a bore to watch.
We don’t envy the producers who have to come up with a show that long, yet the show could be condensed into two hours.
Instead of having Konnor beat Chad Gable in three minutes on Raw, that match could be given 10 minutes on a show like Main Event, and people like the B-Team can also be given a good amount of time while we’re at it. Raw should be pure excitement, week in and week out. Right now, we’re pretty far from it.
19 SmackDown: Always Start The Show With A Match
We've grown accustomed to a 15-minute promo at the beginning of every episode of WWE television, and once in a blue moon, we'll get a match to start off the program. While having a promo usually sets up the program as a whole and gets fans to tune in when a wrestler is speaking, it could be neat to always start off the blue show with a match so that the pace becomes energetic right off the get-go. We don't always have to see a Miz, Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles or Charlotte promo right at the beginning of the show. We could, however, get a promo after the first match or maybe even halfway during the first hour.
18 RAW: Weekly Guest Announcers & More Legends
When it comes to Raw, they definitely have the advantage when it comes to guest announcers, legends and even B-list celebrities popping up on the show. The three-hour window provides a chance to experiment more. Surely, we’ve seen guys like Ric Flair and Edge appear once in a while, but it would be nice to have a legend like Shawn Michaels who can show up and help a storyline like he’s doing as we speak on Raw. Heck, even a one-time appearance by the APA or the Dudley Boyz can get things going, kind of like when The Headbangers showed up in 2016.
17 SmackDown: Bigger Main Events
Lately, we’ve been getting guys like Daniel Bryan and New Day in the main events, but it would be nice to change things up a bit and not have so many singles matches. How about Bryan and New Day against Samoa Joe, Miz and The Usos? Or even Shinsuke Nakamura and Cien Almas against AJ Styles and Rusev?
A little originality goes a long way, and so do big main events.
They can surely help with ratings. It’s nice to see guys like R-Truth in the mix, so at least SmackDown is giving everyone a chance. Still, they could do a bit more with what they’ve got.
16 RAW: Matches Between Both Brands
We’re not quite sure why WWE loves its brand splits, as the shows would be entertaining enough while under the same banner – given that everyone gets a fair shake on a weekly basis. Still, if WWE insists on having proper stars split into two for two shows, then have a SmackDown star like Samoa Joe answer an open challenge for Seth Rollins’ Intercontinental title, or have Randy Orton interfere in a match to set up a dual brand rivalry. That way, if it’s promoted correctly, fans would be enticed to watch both shows in order to follow the storyline.
15 SmackDown: Throw Some NXT Stars In The Mix
We get that NXT is its own show, its own brand and its own entity at Full Sail University. But what if NXT was given a chance to shine on SmackDown with a weekly or even bi-weekly match to spark up interest in the product? Instead of the guys and gals making their main roster debut, we could get a throwaway Ricochet vs. Kassius Ohno match just for the sake of it, or have the Undisputed Era attack two teams involved in a match.
If we can go even further, maybe SmackDown could have a whole episode dedicated to featuring NXT stars on the show, kind of like they did with ECW in 1997 where guys like Tommy Dreamer, Taz, the Eliminators and Sabu inserted themselves in the mix.
14 RAW: Less Formulaic Announce Team
While Renee Young has proven to be a breath of fresh air on the Raw announce team, the tandem of Michael Cole and Corey Graves is so formulaic. They read the same lines over and over again, they completely ignore the action of a match and try to sell the product to a group of fans who already know the rules of a No Disqualification Match or Royal Rumble.
It’s like they have to read the same script every single week.
It would be nice for the announcers to get a little breathing room and come up with their material more organically, but this is something fans have wanted for years.
13 SmackDown: Make 205 Live Part of The Show
When 205 Live had its superstars wrestle on Raw, it’s true that the fans didn’t really care much. You can’t blame the wrestlers more so than the bookers who aren’t allowing the cruiserweights to perform at their full potential. Given that the stars of 205 Live will presumably never get a PPV or their own supershow, they could have a title match here and there on the blue brand’s show to remind everyone that they’re arguably the best program out of the bunch in WWE right now. Even if you had someone like Almas challenge Cedric Alexander in a one-off, the results could turn out to be surprising when it comes to interest.
12 RAW: Change The Set Every Once In A While
Remember how the ramp used to be much smaller and closer to the ring whenever WWE would broadcast from Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple? That's a prime example of what we're talking about. While we’re aware that the Raw set costs a huge amount of money and is transported from city to city, the WWE could ditch the ramp when they’re in a special city that they don’t go to very often. They want to give everyone the WWE experience, but sometimes, fans will notice the little differences – like how Raw looks when it is broadcast live from England.
11 SmackDown: Better Booking For Women's Division
Right now, Charlotte and Becky Lynch are putting on an entertaining feud, but the rest of the division is kind of up in the air. Asuka has resorted to being Naomi’s goofy friend, and the IIconics are still trying to find their groove after moving up from NXT.
The SmackDown women's roster isn’t as stacked as the Raw one, and frankly, it seems like the depth isn’t there, either.
So maybe SmackDown should make a move for someone like Bayley or Sasha Banks to join their brand, and hopefully, the division can be more consistent than it is at the moment.
10 RAW: More Universal Championship Matches
Now that the Universal Championship is off Brock Lesnar, and we barely had any title defenses in the past year, the WWE should be making an effort to book Universal Championship matches more often. For what it’s worth, the Universal Championship is Raw’s premier title, and considering how it looks (red just like the show), fans should be able to get a good look at it once in a while. That doesn’t mean the biggest matches need to happen on television for free. But having their champ defend the title on the flagship show on occasion can lend an opportunity for more midcarders to learn from a big match.
9 SmackDown: Produce More Top Babyfaces Organically
Nothing against Daniel Bryan or AJ Styles, who are in a class of their own when it comes to wrestling, but the light has been shining bright on Rusev for the past year thanks to his Rusev Day gimmick.
Rusev's a perfect example of how to get over by yourself, even though Aidan English has done wonders for his career.
With the pressure of being on a tighter show with less time looms for many superstars, SmackDown seems like the place for an upcoming babyface to come into his own – given that everything seems rushed on Raw. While guys like Jeff Hardy will always have the crowd on their side, it’s time for another babyface to step up and become the talk of the town on the blue brand.
8 RAW: Set Up Matches For The Following Week
When shows like Superstars or Saturday Night’s Main Event were still on the air, we would get a good sense of what the following week had to offer in terms of action. While Raw usually announces a big match for the upcoming week, or even sets up a match that will happen in two weeks time, it would be cool for Michael Cole to announce three matches for the following week right before the main event, so that fans know what’s in store for them seven days later. If Cole would announce a big main event, a women’s division match and a tag team match sure to fire up the crowd, maybe we’d be more willing to tune in and check out the action.
7 SmackDown: Feature Matches With More Stipulations
Remember when Eddie Guerrero clashed with Edge in a ladder match over a decade ago, or when there was a tag team Buried Alive match featuring Undertaker, Big Show, The Rock and Mankind? The show needs excitement we can only get on PPV once in a while, and to have a cage match between Styles and Samoa Joe, or even a Street Fight between Shinsuke Nakamura and Jeff Hardy would really up the ante when it comes to what the show has to offer. Sometimes, WWE feels so conventional in terms of what we’re going to get. This could be a big step up since we usually get one-fall main events on the regular.
6 RAW: Better Mid-Card Booking
WWE has arguably the best roster it has ever had in its history, and somehow, everything feels so boring all the time.
A stellar episode of Raw happens approximately 2-3 times per year, and that’s kind of unfortunate when you realize there’s 52 weeks in a year.
Guys like The Revival are capable of having great matches, but they aren’t booked to look that way. Chad Gable could be a future WWE Champion, yet he’s given three minutes to wrestle once every two to three weeks. Mid-card feuds need to matter, like they did in the Attitude Era and even the Ruthless Aggression era. A bit of continuity would help that.
5 SmackDown: Make SD The 'Pro Wrestling' Show
The upcoming move to FOX will be huge, and it’s a big talking point for SmackDown. Of course, moving to such a major network will have its downfalls for the WWE, as they'll have to cater a little more to what FOX wants, whereas they've generally had carte blanche overt their current product. One thing FOX reportedly wants from WWE is to make SmackDown a more sports oriented show. This isn't the worst idea, as WWE would have a chance to make SD the more 'old-school' pro wrestling style show, with less filler and being all about the action. Meanwhile, RAW can cater to fans who prefer the sports entertainment aspects of wrestling. This would truly give WWE two distinct brands.
4 RAW: Fresh Stars In The Main Event Picture
Remember when The Authors of Pain were in the main event a few weeks back and put up a great performance in a six-man tag against The Shield? That’s what we need more of. While The Shield and the tandem of Braun Strowman and company have dominated the main event picture recently, it would be nice to have a tag team championship match close out the show, or even have a Ronda Rousey match go five minutes against someone like Ruby Riott. We don’t always need to see the same people in the main event over and over again. That’s how things get stale.
3 SmackDown: Restore Prestige To The WWE Championship
Many fans are complaining about the WWE Championship, and it has nothing to do with AJ Styles being the champion. The problem is that the title is being defended on the mid-card at big shows, and sometimes, the WWE Championship feud doesn’t even close out SmackDown.
For WWE to take the title seriously again, which is according to them the most prestigious title in wrestling, it has to be treated as such.
If the title is being defended on a PPV, then the match should go on last – even if Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar is on the card, too. Having a title match on SmackDown once in a while could be nice, as well.
2 RAW: More Wrestling Over Video Packages & Replays
Maybe Raw is three hours because they show a replay titled “Earlier Tonight” from a previous segment about three times during the show. Once can suffice, since we get five to 10 minute video packages and constant replays all the time when it comes to an episode of Raw. It’s just overkill. WWE can give us a longer opening match or even have something original like a team such as Sheamus and Cesaro come up with a one-time segment that leads into…you guessed it, a wrestling match. The social media experiment doesn’t have to take up the show’s time every single week.
1 RAW: Better & More Consistent Writing
Another reason Raw is doing poorly when it comes to the ratings is because the diehard wrestling fan knows it doesn’t matter anymore and that the bulk of what we get out of WWE usually comes in the form of a PPV. Raw is written as if the following week didn’t matter, and angles don’t last more than two to three weeks until a wrestler moves on to something different.
If the writers or bookers found intriguing storylines and made the show stronger, than the general wrestling fan would find time to watch Raw. At this point, when the first hour finishes, the rest of the show drags because the matches and the stories simply do not matter. This should be the biggest change moving forward.