5 Reasons SmackDown Live has struggled since the Superstar Shake-up
SmackDown Live has rightfully earned the moniker of “Land of Opportunity” ever since the brand split last year. Organic storytelling, focus on character development and the unscripted feel of Talking Smack elevated the WWE’s blue brand. There was a unanimous feeling that SmackDown Live was the better wrestling show than RAW.
However, post-WrestleMania, the Superstar Shake-up has seen the blue brand struggle. It has been more than a month since the Shake-up and SmackDown Live is yet to rediscover its mojo.
This stumble can be attributed to a multitude of reasons and here are the top 5 problems which encapsulate them.
#1 Continuity loss
Prior to WrestleMania, Bray Wyatt was the WWE Champion and engaged in a long storyline with Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose held the Intercontinental Championship belt, Alexa Bliss was the de facto no.1 in the Women’s division and the Miz was involved in a storyline with John Cena along with their spouses.
After the Superstar shake-up, Wyatt moved to RAW and his rematch with Orton, who won SmackDown Live’s top title at the Showcase of Immortals, was poorly handled.
Furthermore, Ambrose, the Miz and Bliss were transferred to RAW while John Cena went on a hiatus. Even crowd favourites Heath Slater and Rhyno joined the red brand leaving only AJ Styles as the top wrestler on the roster.
Thus, a majority of the best performers who received a real boost left the brand. These changes in personnel hit the blue brand hard.
RAW Superstars to the rescue then?