Quote:
Originally Posted by Simple Fan
I mean if thats the way you've taken it I guess but I just haven't seen it that way. Especially in recent years with t hem putting WCW stars in the Hall of Fame and the use of Sting and Goldberg. Plus they've spent years making their own product crappy so I don't see why it would matter.
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I think it's pretty clear that your opinions differ from the majority a lot of the time (not saying you're wrong, just that you have a different opinion).
They don't need to rebrand it; most fans would still know it's run by WWE, they need to re-imagine what they want from it.
At the minute it's very standard fare; World Title, Midcard Title, Women's Title, Tag Title. Authority figure making the matches at the top of the show, getting too involved with storylines.
It's exactly the same set up as Raw, and pretty much any other company since the 90s. SmackDown is Raw Lite, and Impact is Diet Raw Lite.
Look at the buzz coming out of last week's Raw because they did something different.
The original brand split (for all it's faults) had a very defined line; Raw for the over-the-top storylines and personalities, SmackDown for the wrestling. Times have changed and most fans will expect great in-ring action on any show but that doesn't mean you can't differentiate the product.
What makes the US Championship different to the IC, aside from how it looks? What makes SDL different to Raw?
They could take a similar approach to the GM role as they have with NXT; you only see Regal to make a quick announcement, or if some real shit goes down. He doesn't come out at the top of every show to book that night's main event.
They could really throw some shit at the wall to see what sticks, this is the show they should be taking risks with if they feel they can't with Raw.
The Top 10 List is a thing, but not if it's just a device to facilitate a single US Title programme.
They could bring in elements of the Cyber Sunday/Taboo Tuesday idea with matches voted on by fans; they could open the Top 10 thing to fans if they genuinely want to get a feel for who's popular (I know, I know, they don't).
SmackDown is the "Land of Opportunity", right? Scrap the US Title (or reformat it), to something similar to the FCW 15 Championship with guys competing in 15 minute (or more) "Ironman" matches, then set the challenge that if the champion can defend it 15 times he automatically becomes Number 1 Contender to the World Title. So many ways to play that out, and there's your standard build towards the main event that the IC title represented back in the day.
Guy A wins the belt, defends it 15 times, challenges the World Champ. Wins.
Guy A wins the belt, defends it 15 times, challenges the World Champ. Loses.
Guy A wins the belt again, defends it 15 times, challenges the World Champ again. Wins this time.
Guy A wins the belt, defends it 14 times, gets screwed by Guy B
Guy A wins the belt, defends it 15 times, challenges the World Champ, screwed by the guy that he beat for the belt.
Guy A wins the belt, loses it next match.
Guys A/B/C/D/E/F/etc win belt but nobody can get past [INSERT NUMBER HERE] retentions until one guy eventually does.
So may possibilities you can cycle through.
That's one idea that will provide you with a TV segment every week if you like for the next 2 years and provides a platform for midcard guys (or former Main Eventers that have been denied another shot at the World Title).