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After Jinder Mahal's reign as WWE Champion finally ended, SmackDown's future looked much brighter. Those hopes proved untrue. Instead, the uptick was only the eye of the storm, with the backside of the hurricane being as strong as the front. This time, while the champion is right, everything else around him has been a disaster.
SmackDown has become once again unwatchable, to the point that one has to wonder why WWE bothers airing the show at all. Ratings have fallen for the blue brand for most weeks of 2018 and infamous photos of a half-empty arena circulated on Twitter last week. It's hard to imagine that barely over a year ago, SmackDown was consistently regarded as being better than Raw.
Unless WWE plans to cancel SmackDown, the show needs a reboot and fast. If the following elements come into place, the blue brand might finally find its footing again.
Step 1: Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan must go
Almost every episode of SmackDown starts the same way - Shane McMahon or Daniel Bryan come out for a promo. Some kind of tension is teased which is unresolved as the promo ends. The two then hog up even more TV time backstage. This has been going on for months now with no payoff or reason for viewers to even care.
While authority figure shenanigans aren't new in WWE, the McMahon/Bryan angle has been particularly noxious, smothering the entire show. With Daniel Bryan unlikely to ever come back for a match, it's been that much more pointless.
In NXT, General Manager William Regal doesn't take up much camera time, but when he does appear, something important happens. He's there to enhance angles among his wrestlers and a few words are all he needs. In recent weeks, Raw has been approaching this as well, with the 20-minute opening promo from Kurt Angle not as prevalent as a few months ago.
This innovation is something SmackDown needs to follow. It always follows Raw, so why not now when it can improve the show? Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan are currently the biggest problems with the on-screen SmackDown product. They must go and this meandering storyline must end.
Step 2: "Kami" must move down the card
The counterpart to the Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan story is the partnership between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Their heel partnership has been the driving force behind that tension. Yet, nothing consequential has happened since its explosive start in September and October. It's been nothing but wheel spinning since Sami Zayn's heel turn at Hell in a Cell.
What is the point?
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are supposed to be the blue brand's top heels, but they don't feel like it. They feel like a vehicle to drive tension between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, which, I don't need to remind you, hasn't gone anywhere either.
It's worth noting that when Kevin Owens was Raw's top heel in late 2016, that was considered the red brand's weak period. It's not a coincidence that the reverse is true a bit over a year later.
While the angle started off great, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn ultimately haven't been able to carry the show as the top heels. They're better suited for the upper mid-card. The "Kami" partnership should dissolve en route to a WrestleMania match and then they should go their own separate ways.
Either that, or they should join the tag team division.
Step 3: Push Rusev
Rusev has become the most over guy on SmackDown and it's not close. He's been off TV for the past few weeks, which isn't a bad thing by itself (part of what makes NXT so great is that stars stay fresh since they aren't overexposed), but this absence following a series of losses, including one to Breezango, is concerning.
Rusev should be in a far more prominent position.
SmackDown is in desperate need of top stars (more on that next), but getting big names won't come overnight. Rusev, though, has the potential to be a top star and can be used right now. Push Rusev!
Step 4: Get some stars
SmackDown badly needs to have a good draft this year. Last year's superstar shakeup is widely acknowledged to be a key turning point in the show's fortunes. The only real bona fide A-list star the blue brand got was Charlotte, while it lost The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Alexa Bliss, and more.
SmackDown is in desperate need of star power. Nothing feels like it matters because of the lack of star power on the show. Whenever the next draft or shakeup happens, SmackDown needs to get some notable names.
First, the blue brand is in dire need of main event level heels. Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn have failed badly in that role. As a result, rivalries have been lacklustre and angles haven't been compelling. SmackDown needs top villains that can actually provide urgency and drama to the quests of the babyfaces for glory.
Samoa Joe is an obvious choice. With a few exceptions, he hasn't managed to escape the mid-card on Raw, even though he proved how good he was in the main event during his program with Brock Lesnar last June. He could be put to much better use as one of SmackDown's premier, title-holding villains. Getting Samoa Joe in the next draft should be a top priority for SmackDown's creative team.
Andrade "Cien" Almas is another name that comes to mind. The NXT Champion made an appearance at the Royal Rumble, suggesting a call-up is soon to come. He'll likely lose his title to Aleister Black at the next TakeOver and then come up after WrestleMania.
Almas, with Zelina Vega in tow, has proven just how good he is as a top heel, and he should go to SmackDown, where his talents will make more of an impact.
While not quite as deficient as in the heel department, SmackDown could use some additional main event babyface talent as well. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor would be two excellent acquisitions, as they're unlikely to break past their current ceiling on Raw, while SmackDown would give them more of a chance to get to a higher spot and do more to improve the show they're on.
Step 5: Shake up the writing team
#FireRoadDogg was trending during last week's episode of SmackDown. For better or worse, he's become the public face of the blue brand's creative woes. Whoever is writing the show must know just how bad it is. Indeed, such rumours are rife.
More than any talent acquisition, the creative team of the show needs a major shakeup. It needs a new start, badly. The current team should go. New people like Jeremy Borash should be brought in. Give Ryan Ward more freedom. Road Dogg's role should be minimized.
Even if SmackDown fares better in this year's draft, it won't go anywhere if the creative output is still terrible. If this flaw isn't fixed, no other fix will matter.
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