Ranking all the Eras in the history of WWE Smackdown
In what can be termed as a massive milestone for WWE and the wrestling world, Vince McMahon's younger child, Smackdown Live, completed it's 1000 episodes this past Tuesday. In doing this, the show joined its sister show, Monday Night Raw, as only the second weekly television show to complete 1000 episodes.
Smackdown 1000 was a brilliantly produced episode, with some memorable appearances from some of the biggest stars in the show's history, taking every fan on a huge nostalgic trip. However, despite all the acclaim and praise, the show has earned in the last 19 years, the journey for the blue show has not been as smooth as Raw.
As a matter of fact, no show has seen more time slot changes, more airing day changes and more network changes in their lifespan than Smackdown. In fact, before the second Brand Extension in 2016, the show aired on tape delay for almost 17 years. These changes also reflected on the overall quality, with the show going through various ups and downs. As a big salute to Smackdown, here are the rankings of all such eras in WWE Smackdown's History.
#7 The Forgotten Show (2014-2016)
Even though WWE's First Brand Extension ended sometime in 2011, there were still two World Titles in the promotion until 2013. This meant that, despite both World Champions appearing on Raw and Smackdown simultaneously, both shows had separate storylines and rivalries. However, the unification of both World Titles in December 2013 started the worst phase in the history of Smackdown.
With no separate storylines for the two shows and the same superstars appearing on them on a weekly basis, Smackdown turned into a less important show for the promotion and fans alike. Instead of showing important segments and matches on it, WWE saved them for Monday Night Raw and kept most of the filler material for the Blue Show.
Even though all the top tier superstars appeared on it during this period, none of their segments and matches served any purpose and were just there on the show to cover the two hour period. It's astonishing how well the show has recovered from this dark period.