Seven months removed from the 2016 WWE draft, it's safe to say that SmackDown Live has clearly been the superior show over Raw from week-to-week so far. Granted, Raw has been a bit better as of late, but for the first time in nearly a decade, SmackDown is relevant again and outshines the flagship show almost every week.
From the WWE Championship picture all the way down to the women's division, many of the angles on the blue brand have felt fresh and have captured the attention of fans. Not only does the two-hour format give SmackDown a clear advantage, the simple storytelling and booking has also been one of the program's greatest strengths.
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However, to say everything SmackDown has done since the Brand Split has been perfect would be false. The blue brand hasn't been without its flaws, with these five failed storylines being its biggest blunders.
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#5 Dolph Ziggler's mishandled heel turn
The jury is out on this specific selection considering that there is still time for him to turn it around, but so far, Dolph Ziggler's heel turn hasn't lived up to its full potential.
Ziggler has always been a better heel than a babyface, so when he finally flipped the switch for the first time in three and a half years at the onset of 2017, it was a breath of fresh air for his character.
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As of now, however, he has yet to change his tired entrance music, his awful attire, or virtually anything about his stagnant persona.
His lifeless feud with Apollo Crews and Kalisto hasn't done him any favours either, trading wins back and forth with them and never building any real momentum. Fans hoped he would solidify his spot as a top villain on SmackDown once he went heel, but that hasn't been the case up to this point.
#4 Heath Slater and Rhyno's forgotten tag team title reign
If you had told me a year ago that Heath Slater would become one of the most popular acts of 2016, I probably would have called you crazy.
In fact, he was the only active Superstar to not be drafted to either Raw or SmackDown Live, yet he tried his hardest to earn himself a contract and he won over the audience in the process.
At Backlash, the makeshift duo of Slater and Rhyno came together to become the inaugural SmackDown Tag Team champions, and it was an amazing moment. They had decent feuds with The Usos and The Spirit Squad shortly thereafter, but beyond that, they were largely left off of SmackDown during the remainder of their reign as champions.
Once they dropped the straps to The Wyatt Family, that was all she wrote for Slater and Rhyno. They came up short in their rematch for the twin titles two days later, and although tension was teased between the two stemming from that loss, it was never acknowledged again.
#3 Apollo Crews remains directionless
One of the biggest benefits of WWE bringing back the Brand Split was that more wrestlers would be allotted opportunities they might not have received otherwise. Several Superstars have risen to superstardom as a result of this, while others have floundered, including Apollo Crews.
Crews was destined to be a breakout star from the moment he debuted on the main roster the night after WrestleMania 32. He struggled to find his footing in his first few months on Raw, but it seemed that being drafted to SmackDown Live was what he needed to come into his own as a singles star.
Sadly, seven months have passed and he still hasn't done anything of note aside from winning a Handicap match against Dolph Ziggler at Fastlane. He still can be a top star with the right push, but WWE better capitalise on his untapped potential soon at the risk of him becoming damaged goods.
#2 James Ellsworth's main event run
An argument can be made for talented guys such as Apollo Crews and Kalisto that not everyone can be pushed at once, but why are they spinning their wheels when James Ellsworth is constantly in contention for the WWE Championship?
Okay, so it's been a few months since Ellsworth last challenged for the title, but there was a pretty lengthy stretch of time where he was the focal point of the program on Tuesday nights. He managed to beat AJ Styles on three separate occasions and competed in countless SmackDown Live main event matches.
It was fun at first because he was the ultimate underdog and a lovable loser, but he eventually overstayed his welcome, and there was never a proper payoff. After costing Dean Ambrose the WWE title at TLC, he was quickly squashed by Styles and he hasn't wrestled on SmackDown since.
#1 Jack Swagger signs with SmackDown Live
There was (and arguably still is) plenty of confusion at the dawn of the Brand Split regarding how and if Superstars could switch shows. That question was quickly answered when Jack Swagger revealed that his Raw contract “expired” in early September and proceeded to jump ship to SmackDown Live.
In his initial appearance on the blue brand, he cut a promo about feeling rejuvenated and how he had his sights set on Baron Corbin. If there was any place for Swagger to experience a career resurgence, it was on SmackDown Live, or so it seemed because he amounted to absolutely nothing after that.
At No Mercy, Corbin and Swagger contested a forgettable match that Swagger lost, and in their rematch, Swagger was beaten in under two minutes. He has not been in action on the show since then, and most fans have likely forgotten he ever signed with SmackDown to begin with.
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