The following editorial was written by Tyler Treese and does not reflect the views of WrestleZone as a whole. Feel free to chime in on WWE RAW quality discussion in the comments below.
If someone watched WWE RAW and SmackDown this week without any prior knowledge of the two products and the branding was removed, then it’s likely that they wouldn’t even notice that both television shows are from the same company. Monday night’s show wound up being a test of how much tedium one could suffer through as fans had to sit through meaningless matches, some of the worst promos of the year by both Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax, and then several pee jokes that seem to target an audience of seven-year-olds. Meanwhile, SmackDown featured some instantly gripping promos, fun matches, and a segment with Samoa Joe & Jeff Hardy that touched on the perils of drug addiction.
The tone of the two shows couldn’t have been more different. It’s why so many fans have a hard time believing that Vince McMahon is still in charge of SmackDown Live from week to week. After all, how can his Monday show be such a slog to get through for three hours, while SmackDown breezes by in just two?
Ratings Don’t Correlate To Quality
However, the quality discrepancy in the two hasn’t resulted in more people watching what most of the audience considers the better show. RAW still beats SmackDown nearly every week of the year (with only special occasions ever causing an upset). It’s a bit of a strange statistic when you consider RAW has much more direct competition with Monday Night Football happening at the same time as it airs, but even with that competition, it still tops SmackDown each week.
It really speaks to how much of an institution Monday Night RAW has been. The show has been in essentially the same television time slot for over 25 years. It’s the one of the few constants in an ever changing world, and there’s actually something quite comforting to know that no matter what happens in life, people can count on Monday Night RAW being on around 8pm. SmackDown has shifted around from taped to live, and has changed weekday several times over its course. It’s going to happen again with the upcoming FOX deal, and it simply doesn’t have the loyalty, and RAW is still seen as the main product due to years of the blue brand looking like an afterthought.
It Shouldn’t Be This Way
There is no reason that both shows can’t be enjoyable, though. There have been several episodes of RAW this year that have been as good as some of the best SmackDown episodes, and even as recently as a few months ago WWE proved that they can still write a compelling three hour show. Highlights such as when Seth Rollins wrestled the incredibly long gauntlet match stick out, and there’s no reason why Monday nights should feel like a chore for fans.
Yet, no matter how bad RAW gets, many fans will continue to tune in. It’s why the inconsistency ultimately doesn’t matter if the fan base just accepts it. People tune in hoping for a great show, to see the same type of product that made John Cena and The Rock into household names. They’re forever yearning for the highs of their childhood, and if they get a glimpse of it every couple of episodes then they’ll continue to rough it out and watch a show that seems like busywork rather than enjoyable a lot of the time.
