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WWE SuperThread II *Spoilers*

Messages
23,952
I think they have plans for Big E, but this was a weak way to split them. A stable that lasted 6 years has some story behind their split, rather than just being divided.

There have been many opportunities to split them up in the past but WWE have resisted. I just hope they don’t give all the New Day branding to one of them and leave the others as generic babyfaces.
To be fair, I prefer the draft splitting up the New Day rather than the usual one guy heel turn "it's my time now" schtick they have done for every faction in recent memory.

Will be interesting to see if Kingston & Woods retain the New Day gimmick or if they just go on as a tag using their names.
 
Messages
14,028
To be fair, I prefer the draft splitting up the New Day rather than the usual one guy heel turn "it's my time now" schtick they have done for every faction in recent memory.

Will be interesting to see if Kingston & Woods retain the New Day gimmick or if they just go on as a tag using their names.

its more the absolute lack of attention to detail which bothers me. Why would Raw want Woods and Kofi but not Big E? It makes no sense, unless it comes out on story that Big E asked to be separated. Kofimania proved that these guys can exist together as a singles guy and a tag team.

it reminds me of the last draft when Smackdown took Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss as back to back picks when they could have drafted them together. Another instance of there being 0 attention to detail with the story telling.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
28,939
It's best not to over-think these things. The brand split has always worked in mysterious ways, even going back to the first incarnation where they split up every major tag team they could. It's just the WWE's zany universe where things like the Money in the Bank briefcase exist and suddenly brand pride becomes a big deal every November.

The main event of Wrestlemania is determined by a 30 man free for all with a lucky draw system where victory is determined by unconventional means.

I don't think they're just going to sweep this under the rug. I think it will be a part of their characters and when Big E wins the big one they'll reunite them.

I just hope they go all in on Big E and he beats Roman at some point in 2021.
 
Messages
14,028
It's best not to over-think these things. The brand split has always worked in mysterious ways, even going back to the first incarnation where they split up every major tag team they could. It's just the WWE's zany universe where things like the Money in the Bank briefcase exist and suddenly brand pride becomes a big deal every November.

The main event of Wrestlemania is determined by a 30 man free for all with a lucky draw system where victory is determined by unconventional means.

I don't think they're just going to sweep this under the rug. I think it will be a part of their characters and when Big E wins the big one they'll reunite them.

I just hope they go all in on Big E and he beats Roman at some point in 2021.

As I said, if you’re going to do it, then have a reason (for example Big E asked to be separated). When you can’t tie up the most obvious of loose ends in your storytelling then it is near impossible to invest in said story.

There are better ways to kill off a 6 year tag team than what we saw, even without anyone turning on anyone else.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
28,939
They obviously don't want to make Big E the heel which is the direction he'd be going on with that creative.

Yes, they could have done a loser leaves SmackDown match but the draft is a significant story-telling device the WWE likes to use to help kick-start pushes. Just like everything else on the show there's nothing logical about it but it's just how they operate and another example of the brand being bigger than the stars.
 
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Messages
23,952
WWE as a company has booked itself as a heel for around 2 decades now, particularly the McMahons bar Linda. the idea of the split being a “company thing” wouldn’t surprise me at all.
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,509
Anyone give the Hell in a Cell PPV a look?

The first match between Reigns and Uso was phenomenal. It really told a story and was the closest you can get to 5 stars IMO without a crowd.

Roman as a heel is money.
 
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14,028
Anyone give the Hell in a Cell PPV a look?

The first match between Reigns and Uso was phenomenal. It really told a story and was the closest you can get to 5 stars IMO without a crowd.

Roman as a heel is money.

smackdown is very good at the moment. Roman/Jey story is fantastic, the Rey/Murphy/Seth stuff is alright at the moment and Sasha/Bayley is decent.

Raw is a dumpster fire, Orton/Drew is fine, the Hurt Business are brilliant but almost everything else is hot garbage.
 

Joely01

Bench
Messages
4,553
Hey guys
Just a question for all you wwe fans, I have been watching it quite a bit over the last few years, more so due to it being a bit of light hearted fun on tv.
But I’m curious as to why smack down is such a better quality viewing show then raw, when it’s quite obvious WWE prefers raw to smack down..?

Perhaps this is just my views, but I much rather watch the 2 hour smack down over the 3 hour raw which isn’t doing much storyline wise at the moment.
 

Styles clash

Juniors
Messages
583
Hey guys
Just a question for all you wwe fans, I have been watching it quite a bit over the last few years, more so due to it being a bit of light hearted fun on tv.
But I’m curious as to why smack down is such a better quality viewing show then raw, when it’s quite obvious WWE prefers raw to smack down..?

Perhaps this is just my views, but I much rather watch the 2 hour smack down over the 3 hour raw which isn’t doing much storyline wise at the moment.

Entirely the runtime improves SmackDown. 3 hours is way too much for a weekly show.

P.S. Watch some full episodes of Raw and SmackDown from 1997-2002 on WWE Network or Dailymotion. You'll be stunned they're technically the same shows as today. Way more emphasis on characters, storylines and keeping the live crowd engaged.
 
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Joely01

Bench
Messages
4,553
Entirely the runtime improves SmackDown. 3 hours is way too much for a weekly show.

P.S. Watch some full episodes of Raw and SmackDown from 1997-2002 on WWE Network or Dailymotion. You'll be stunned they're technically the same shows as today. Way more emphasis on characters, storylines and keeping the live crowd engaged.

Yeah I was thinking the same!
Just the whole feel of the brand makes it feel like they much prefer raw doing well, when to a fan it feels like smack down is way ahead.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
28,939
Hey guys
Just a question for all you wwe fans, I have been watching it quite a bit over the last few years, more so due to it being a bit of light hearted fun on tv.
But I’m curious as to why smack down is such a better quality viewing show then raw, when it’s quite obvious WWE prefers raw to smack down..?

Perhaps this is just my views, but I much rather watch the 2 hour smack down over the 3 hour raw which isn’t doing much storyline wise at the moment.

SmackDown is on a bigger network with a better television rights deal in the US. While the WWE will always take care of Raw, SmackDown is their major focus which is why Roman Reigns is on that show. The WWE have finally hit paydirt with Reigns' character, so it's making for quality television while Raw has yet to recover after Edge's comeback had to be shelved.
 
Messages
14,028
Hey guys
Just a question for all you wwe fans, I have been watching it quite a bit over the last few years, more so due to it being a bit of light hearted fun on tv.
But I’m curious as to why smack down is such a better quality viewing show then raw, when it’s quite obvious WWE prefers raw to smack down..?

Perhaps this is just my views, but I much rather watch the 2 hour smack down over the 3 hour raw which isn’t doing much storyline wise at the moment.

a few reasons which have been touched on. 3 hours is too long for a TV show and only PPV events should run that long. Smackdown is on a major network as well and so it is key that it maintains its good ratings so a lot of major storylines are happening there. Usually when you have 3-4 good storylines running on a show then everything else gets a spike in quality.

Raw is on a smaller network and is one of the big shows for that network, so ratings are not as important right now. With 3 hours of airtime to fill it is a drag to get through the whole thing and WWE have still not worked out how to make a good 3 hour episode every week.

another thing that is important to know is that scripts (more so for Raw) are not locked in until minutes before the show starts and are sometimes changed during the show. This can result in something happening early on in the show that is completely contradicted later on on that same episode.
 

Styles clash

Juniors
Messages
583
Worst thing about extending Raw from 2 hours to 3 hours (aside from the fact they did it) is you don't get 50% more wrestlers and storylines. They just pad it out terribly and replay stuff even more.
 

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
56,107
Hey guys
Just a question for all you wwe fans, I have been watching it quite a bit over the last few years, more so due to it being a bit of light hearted fun on tv.
But I’m curious as to why smack down is such a better quality viewing show then raw, when it’s quite obvious WWE prefers raw to smack down..?

Perhaps this is just my views, but I much rather watch the 2 hour smack down over the 3 hour raw which isn’t doing much storyline wise at the moment.

I think SmackDown! has better:

* writing teams (turning Roman Reigns into a badass, kickass heel was a long overdue masterstroke)

* wrestlers on their roster

* time management


It all leads to a better product, imo.
 
Messages
14,028
I think SmackDown! has better:

* writing teams (turning Roman Reigns into a badass, kickass heel was a long overdue masterstroke)

* wrestlers on their roster

* time management


It all leads to a better product, imo.

smackdown is headed by Trips these days isn’t it? He seems to have a clue how book things long term. Unlike raw which is headed by Pritchard who is a known Vince yesman.
 

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
56,107
smackdown is headed by Trips these days isn’t it? He seems to have a clue how book things long term. Unlike raw which is headed by Pritchard who is a known Vince yesman.

I'm pretty sure you're right.

Vince needs to step back, and let Leveque take more control - he's proven many times over already that he is more than capable.

McMahon is destroying his company.
 
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