When SmackDown debuted in 1999, WWE and WCW were still in battle, with SmackDown being meant to compete with WCW Thunder. It took a bit before the show got more popular, yet for a long time, it was treated as the “B” show of WWE. However, it got more attention when the 2002 brand split happened, and SmackDown took off nicely as a strong show.
That first decade is intriguing, with SmackDown more on its own and sometimes much better to watch than RAW. Obviously, there were poor years as, despite their talent, the brand suffered from bad storytelling and pushes, not to mention a few unexpected injuries and turns. Yet it’s amazing to see how the “B show” could offer a lot more entertainment than RAW in the 2000s. Without further ado, here is how the first 10 years of SmackDown rank and a reminder that this show was often the better one in WWE during this time period.
10 1999
To be fair, it’s not like it was a full year as SmackDown premiered in August following an April tryout. It was hampered by 1999 being a rough year for WWE as a whole with bad creative moves, hot-shotting titles, and other poor bits.
Nevertheless, the premiere was big with Shawn Michaels costing The Rock a shot at the WWE Title, and there was good stuff with The Rock n Sock Connection. There was an uptick near the end of the year, but the first year of SmackDown was the show finding its way before it got good.
9 2007
2007 was a rough year for WWE, thanks to the Benoit mess and SmackDown felt flat. Besides being mostly bland, there were downright horrible moments like making The Great Khali the World Heavyweight Champion.
Some stuff could be fun like Miz and Morrison as a team and pushing Lashley, MVP, and Mr. Kennedy. Edge’s World Title win looked promising only for an injury to ruin it, while the Cruiserweight Title died with Hornswoggle. It was showing improvement near the end of the year, but 2007 wasn’t a good period for the brand.
8 2006
This year kicked off with some promise as Batista was forced to drop the World Heavyweight Title and Kurt Angle winning it in a surprise. Rey Mysterio’s title win should have been a great moment but suffered from bad booking and challengers.
Booker T’s King Booker character was surprisingly good, yet the show didn’t seem as fun, many episodes were rather bland with forgettable main events. It was a shame as the talent was there, yet things like The Boogeyman were intriguing to see as well as The Miz as just the arrogant reality show guy. Still, this was a forgettable year for the brand with mild exceptions.
7 2001
This was a very tough year for wrestling fans with the fall of WCW and ECW. SmackDown wasn’t bad at first with some top battles including the Two Man Power Trip and a sensational four-team TLC match.
The Invasion actually sparkled on SmackDown with lesser-rung guys given more of a push and The Rock’s return bringing in some terrific promos and a feud with Booker T. It had the emotion of the post-9/11 show yet also suffered from the same bad turns that marred the rest of the Invasion angle. Yet there was good stuff to watch, even with the bad mixed in.
6 2009
Given this was the year RAW was obsessed with guest hosts, SmackDown couldn’t help but look better. It helped to have some great turns by Chris Jericho, LayCool, and Matt Hardy finding his own as a singles star and the Jeff Hardy-CM Punk feud was top-notch.
There were also rising stars like Drew McIntyre, Morrison becoming a good IC Champion, and the tag division not being bad either. While not as sparkling as some years, it was still better to tune into SmackDown than RAW to close out their first decade.
5 2000
2000 was one of the better years for WWE, yet most of the really good stuff was on RAW. SmackDown had some good action and such but still felt more like the “B” show this year. There were still good matches with The Hardys, Edge and Christian, and The Dudley Boyz going at it and the undercard was strong.
Yet somehow, the show just felt lacking when compared to the great action happening on RAW and usually joke stuff like Al Snow as European Champion. It was a strong year, just not as great as it could have been given the talent in WWE at the time.
4 2004
This year kicked off nicely with Brock and Goldberg feuding before Eddie Guerrero won the WWE Title. That led to a wonderful spring of action, including The Undertaker returning as the “Dead Man” and some shifts in the talent.
John Cena rose as U.S. Champion, and JBL’s transformation into heel WWE Champion was an unexpected turn that worked out in the end. The creativity was still top-notch with a strong undercard, so despite slumps (Undertaker vs Dudley Boyz), folks still enjoyed turning into SmackDown for some fun.
3 2005
This was a huge year of change for the brand. First, after months of chasing, John Cena won the WWE Title and fired things up with his attitude and spinner belt. Then, he was “traded” for Batista, who brought a new appeal with some great feuds.
The Eddie-Rey Mysterio feud was an excellent highlight, but Eddie’s tragic death rocked everyone and threw a few plans for the brand off. Still, with the action and the roster they had, the brand was doing well during this year despite the tragedy of Guerrero’s passing casting a shadow on things.
2 2003
Yes, there was some bad stuff here like Vince vs Stephanie and Hulk Hogan as Mr. America. However, the good more than outweighed the bad during this year. The introduction of the U.S. Title sparked the brand up while John Cena found his footing as a heel and Matt Hardy introduced his “Version 1” act.
Los Guerreros vs Team Angle was fun to watch and, of course, there was the epic war between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. That included the first broadcast TV Iron Man match and plenty more action abounding. Ignore some rough patches, and this was one of the best years for the brand.
1 2002
RAW may have suffered when the first Brand Split occurred but SmackDown shone. The key, of course, was the “SmackDown Six": Kurt Angle, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, and Eddie and Chavo Guerrero. In any mixture, these guys put together some brilliant matches to elevate the division nicely.
There were also the debuts of Randy Orton and a young rookie by the name of John Cena. The tag matches were just as great, and there was Brock Lesnar taking over as WWE Champion. Even Hulk Hogan’s brief comeback here was good to spark the year up and transform SmackDown into the better show of WWE at the time.