Shining a Spotlight 9.17.09: The Impact of SmackDown

Posted by Michael Weyer on 09.17.2009

411’s Michael Weyer takes a look at the history of WWE Smackdown, and how over the last 10 years, the brand has established itself as the stronger, wrestling-based branch of the company. Check out the full column for all the details!




Really not much I can say regarding the Jeff Hardy situation as I pretty much expected this guy to hit bottom a while ago. It's a damn shame but hopefully this shuts up all those marks who say he should still get a main event run. I doubt TNA is going to try for him since he burned them twice already. Just a damn shame to see a guy with so much talent ruining himself yet again. I just hope this is the final wake-up call to get it all together.

As for TNA letting go of Jim Cornette, a pretty big move and mixed feelings on it. On the one hand, Cornette can be pretty temperamental with some old-styled booking that may not work right for today. On the other hand, getting rid of a guy who knows the business so well and has a great creative mind isn't the type of thing to soothe the TNA doubters.
　
It's always odd when a major anniversary sneaks up on you. Often, you really don't realize how much time has passed until it's here and it makes you reflect. I've done a few pieces on such things in my columns before and it looks like it's happening again. I'm talking about the face that we're looking at the tenth anniversary of the premiere of SmackDown!. It's interesting to look back on it and consider how much the show, and the business itself, has changed in that decade.
　



The Early Years
　
SmackDown came as the last battles of the Monday Night War were being waged. By late 1999, WWF was pretty much smacking WCW around in the ratings as the latter company was in a creative tailspin. Yet, the idea of adding another two hours of programming was seen as a huge risk for WWF. After all, WCW had tried the same thing nearly two years before with "Thunder" and the results were poor. It basically meant more TV time for the main event guys and spread WCW's talent out a bit much. It hardly helped that Thunder was turned into a laughingstock of a show, forgotten by WCW so much that you'd have plot points in "Thunder" that were totally ignored on "Nitro" a few nights later.

But, as noted before, a major reason WWF had the edge in the war was because of their talent. While WCW was pushing the same guys all the time, WWF was freshening their cards up and doing it with guys like the Rock, Steve Austin and others who were light-years ahead of WCW's guys in terms of charisma. WWF was riding high in early 99, so much that the UPN network decided to try their hand with a one-hour special in April. The ratings were so high that the network immediately decided to make it a weekly series, starting on August 29th.

That first show set the tone for things as it was clear "SmackDown" wouldn't be a forgotten show. It all kicked off with the Rock challenging HHH to a WWF title match with Shawn Michaels (then Commissioner) as the special ref. The Rock appeared on his way to winning the belt when Michaels suddenly hit him with Sweet Chin Music and let HHH win. Soon, the show was home to some big matches and events involving WWF storylines. This really took off in 2000 as WWF hit a terrific creative high and SmackDown became a part of that with matches equal to RAW's big ones and great pushes to the storylines. It carried through 2001 as well with the Invasion and made you see how large WWF really was.




The Brand Split
　
2002 brought the big change that would really elevate "SmackDown." When the brand extension was announced, it was seen as WWE trying to recreate the competition it had with WCW. Regardless of the reasons behind it, SmackDown did manage to get the better half of the deal, starting with Brock Lesner as WWE champion. The guy blossomed huge with feuds against Undertaker and then Big Show, solidifying him as a true star who helped boost the brand. Also helping was the commentary team of Tazz and Michael Cole who gelled pretty well as a unit despite some of Cole's flaws. Yeah, they did have some rough stuff (the Al Wilson saga and Billy and Chuck wedding come to mind) but overall, they were the stronger of the two brands.

2003 was really the year that SmackDown solidified itself as the better brand. First, WWE really started to get serious by giving the two brands their own separate PPVs, making them seem more important on their own. Also, the decision was made to give SmackDown its own secondary belt by reviving the old U.S. title. Even better was that they had the belt decided by a tournament with Eddie Guerrero beating Chris Benoit in the finals, thus ensuring the first champion would be a guy who could make the belt worth something right off the bat. You also had Brock Lesner and Kurt Angle waging an amazing feud for the WWE title, switching it back and forth in great battles. This built up to September 16th, as the two went at it in the first-ever broadcast TV Iron Man match. Sure, it was marred a bit by commercials but still being able to watch two great wrestlers go at it for sixty minutes was an awesome affair, resulting in one of the best matches of the year.

Through all this, you also had great tag team action with Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas holding the tag belts and feuding with Eddie and Chavo. Better yet was the Cruiserweights were really given a chance to shine. Just like "Nitro" of old, "SmackDown" would have the light heavyweights get some great matches for the title, showcases "RAW" wouldn't go for, providing fans of actual wrestling with entertainment amid the usual cartoonish antics WWE is noted for. And also in 2003, John Cena took on the rapper persona that would elevate him majorly. Even having Stephanie McMahon as the general manager wasn't that bad as the brand was clearly the better of the two for WWE.




Cena was the best example of the overall legacy "SmackDown" has created, which is its ability to create/elevate new stars for WWE. Like the Rock, Cena started as a bland baby face the fans were cool to but his heel persona led to newfound popularity. By getting the U.S. title, he boosted himself further and fans were able to respond to that. Another example is JBL. Now it's true at first fans were cool to the idea of him suddenly elevated to main event status and becoming champion. Even JBL himself has admitted to that. But the man did certify himself in the end as a great heel and standing out with the brand as a top level guy. That's still continued as "SmackDown" has helped give guys a chance to break through more than they might on "RAW" where Cena, HHH and Orton dominate so much. The Miz, MVP, John Morrison and Melina, Michelle McCool, Hornswoggle, Ken Kennedy, Bobby Lashley, Carlito, Kofi Kingston… SmackDown allowed them all their first shots at real stardom and capable of breaking through as they all have in various ways.

Not that the veterans are ignored by any means. Finlay showed he could still deliver great matches while Rey Mysterio got the biggest push of his life to a World title in 2006 (even if he really wasn't right for the role). After peaking as World champ on RAW in ‘04, Chris Benoit proved himself a capable guy as US champ and he and Booker T had a great feud for the belt. Even better was when Booker won the World title and transformed himself into the terrific "King Booker" persona that added fresh life to his career. And the Undertaker has made "Smackdown" his own, carrying most anyone to big feuds and his face is instantly identifiable with the brand in ads. Through it all, you had the top-notch production values and Cole paired with JBL as a surprisingly good commentator. While RAW could be frustrating at times with HHH on top so much and rough mid-card stuff, "SmackDown" was able to be pretty entertaining on the whole for fans.




The present

However, the last few years seemed to have diluted "SmackDown's" influence a bit. Part of that was due to how the show and the revived ECW shared talent quite a bit to the point where they were practically one brand. The way WWE started to break down the draft barriers with more guys crossing over between shows didn't help. I remember how it was cool when such things were rare and thus a huge deal like when Kurt Angle jumped from RAW to win the vacant World title in a battle royal in 2006. It can be seen as a throwback to how WWE was one single unit but the brand division did help give "SmackDown" its own identity.

It also suffered due to some creative problem stuff like Vickie Guerrero as GM. A lot of people forget (or don't know) that the original plan was for Kristal (who'd "married" Teddy Long) to be the one to become GM and attached to Edge. But then she got fired so Vickie had to take the role and needless to say, she didn't go over well with fans. It's a shame as the brand was still doing unique things like bringing back the old "King of the Ring" tournament and was surviving the change from UPN to the CW and then My Network with no shakeups. But the show was boosted by HHH being drafted to it and continued to give fans solid action that exemplifies it as the real "wrestling" brand of WWE. It's true some of its status as "creating stars" has been ceded to ECW but "SmackDown" is a great place for guys to get big pushes without being overwhelmed by some of the over the top aspects of RAW. The arrival of Batista has been criticized by some but they do need another big name guy there to help the new talent get over, something the brand has always managed to do well.


Summation

Ten years is a long time for any TV show, even a sports-themed one. "SmackDown" deserves respect for being able to continue to put a bit more emphasis on wrestling than cartoonish skits. They fall to that, of course, they are a wrestling company and the "PG" standards WWE has been holding themselves too lately has cut down on some of the action. But the show remains a solid fixture with emphasis on more ring action and still a way for new guys to get big attention. A lower-spotlight network is still a network and everyone wants to make an impact on it. Through all the ups and downs, "SmackDown" retains a vibe much different than "RAW," one that often feels pretty energized. It may be considered the "B" show by a lot of fans but the series showcases how WWE still works as a wrestling promotion and gives fans some bang for their buck. A decade old and going strong, the show will no doubt continue to lay its title for some time to come and fans will love it.


For this week, the spotlight is off.