One of the favorite things that WWE universe loves to complain about is the amped up sound on Smackdown each week. On Raw and the pay-per-views, we get live sound from the audience versus Smackdown which can be downright over-the-top with its not-subtle use of sound. But I say don’t blame the producers, blame the bookers. The reason why Smackdown needs that aural boost every week is because of Main Event.
Main Event is the hour-long program that started in 2012 as part of a TV deal with ION television but has since been moved off the air and exclusively onto the WWE Network and Hulu Plus and is given little fanfare by the company. That’s too bad, because usually it’s the best hour of wrestling that the WWE produces week in and week out.
If you ever attend a Smackdown taping, in the first hour, before Smackdown starts, you’ll be treated to some of the best mid-card talent the company has to offer and they are there to put on a show.
When I went to a taping last year here in Phoenix, Sheamus and Curtis Axel pounded each other in what was easily the match of the night, on Main Event, not Smackdown. Watch the show yourself sometime, you’ll see what I see - Cesaro making a name for himself, Stardust and Jack Swagger digging deep into their in-ring and wrestling bags of tricks, R-Truth schooling everybody in sight, whether he wins or not. To be honest, it doesn’t really matter who has a match on Main Event, every time I watch it, I see damned good wrestlers going for it and usually providing the match of the week or better, given the opportunity.
So do you see the problem? After the audience is wowed by an hour of really good wrestling entertainment, the Smackdown taping begins and it almost always feels like a letdown. Throw in a bunch of Raw rewinds and follow-up storyline stuff that fills in between and you wonder why the Smackdown audience seems like they didn’t eat their Wheaties that day – it’s obvious.
So what can WWE do to reverse this trend given the fact that Smackdown’s Thursday night ratings have been dwindling and Main Event isn’t even on television? Reverse the booking so Smackdown tapes before Main Event and while you’re at it, give some of these talented mid-carders some more TV face time. At the end of the day, fans of all stripes just want to see a good show and right now that’s exactly what Main Event is.
-- Dave Parrish
Ensuring a better future, for ALL
http://www.operationsavetheearth.com
