5 reasons why Smackdown Live needs a new creative team

Since Wrestlemania 33, Smackdown Live has been on a steady decline. A show that at first thrived following the brand split, has now become must-miss TV. Despite having one of the best wrestler's in the world, AJ Styles, as the poster boy of the show, ratings are down and fans have become frustrated by the poor storytelling on WWE's blue brand.

A lacklustre Jinder Mahal WWE Championship reign coupled with confusing feuds, has led to many fans criticising the current creative direction of the show. Further, the women's division has been suffering, with the female stars having very few prominent matches over the last few months.

A lot of that has to do with the creative team, so here's five reasons why Smackdown needs a new creative team...NOW!

---

#1 Great talent is being wasted

Although RAW has the best talent of the two brands, there is still a host of great stars on Smackdown. AJ Styles, Charlotte, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton are all superstars in their own right. But there is so much talent that is currently under utilised. The RusevDay gimmick is one of the most over things in the WWE at the moment, but despite this, the creative team still won't give him the push that he deserves. Rusev's win in the United States Championship No.1 contender match was his first single's victory since October 2017 - is that how you book one of your most popular superstars?

#2 Confusing Storylines

The Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon storyline has caused much confusion in the WWE Universe

Under utilising talent is one thing, but when the storylines stop making sense, the audience is really left scratching their heads. Smackdown Live has been centred around Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan for weeks now, and Bryan's seeming favouritism towards Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Bryan appears to be helping Sami and Kevin as he feels they are being 'wronged' by Shane, but the execution has been terrible. Why would a babyface Bryan sympathise with Owens and Zayn, and give them repeated title shots? I'm sure there's logic to it, but the Smackdown creative team have failed to tell the story in a compelling manner. There seems to be no direction, and it's unclear what story WWE are actually trying to tell.

#3 They're killing the women's division

The women's division has been pushed to the sidelines

Despite the big female names on the Smackdown roster (most notably Charlotte and Becky Lynch), the creative team have treated the women's division as a supporting act over recent months. Too often, we have seen the entire women's roster in a short and unentertaining backstage segment, as a way to just get all of them on the show. Apart from the introduction of the Riott Squad a few weeks ago, there have been no real storylines involving the women for the last few months. The current women's champion, Charlotte, hasn't defended her title for two months now - even Brock Lesnar defends his Championship more often than that!

#4 Repetitive matches

AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn and/or Kevin Owens is being done to death

Repetitive match-ups can hurt any wrestling promotion, and with Smackdown Live, the case is no different. Lets look at how AJ Styles has been booked as an example. AJ has faced either Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens (or both) in nine of his last eleven matches! Nine! This sort of creative booking is just lazy and unimaginative. Being able to predict who is going to face who, week to week, makes it very hard for the fans to get invested in what's happening on the show. New creative blood is needed to help give the show a sense of unpredictably.

#5 The ratings are down

Money talks, and poor ratings are bad for business

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, the ratings are on the decline. The February 13th edition of Smackdown Live drew 2,449,000 viewers - this is a drop of 56 thousand viewers on the previous week. In fact, it was the smallest audience for the show since October 2017. Whilst Smackdown has traditionally performed worse than RAW in the ratings, the recent viewership figures won't make pleasant bedtime reading for the WWE executives.

Ratings fall for a reason, and the reason is that the show just isn't interesting at the moment. A new creative direction, and writers, are needed to help this failing show. Better, more compelling storylines will help to boost ratings and return Smackdown Live to where it was following the brand split.

---

Send us news tips at [email protected]