The WWE Draft and brand split will have huge ramifications on "RAW" and "SmackDown" going further.
Let's face it, there aren't many religious fans of the Blue Brand out there and the flagship show blows it out of the water. The brand extension is a huge opportunity for the WWE to level out the playing field by giving "SmackDown" a huge upgrade and chance to succeed.
Going live is a great start for trying to make "SmackDown" legitimate, but the WWE can't treat is as the 'B' show as it did last time they split the brands.
Here are five ways to improve "SmackDown" going forward.
1) Draft Brock Lesnar
Even if he isn't used regularly, having "The Beast" represent "SmackDown" and appear exclusively on the Blue Brand when he returns from his hiatuses is one huge, obvious way to get more eye balls tuning in on Tuesday nights. Lesnar is by far one of the biggest draws the WWE has and it should capitalize on his popularity by putting him on "SmackDown." If the WWE can even semi-regularly have Lesnar come back at least for the summer and buildup to SummerSlam, it would be huge.
2) Draft John Cena
If the WWE wants to keep Lesnar on "RAW," they can always take the face of the franchise and make him a Tuesday night entity. Cena is the most marketable guy in the WWE and where he goes, the young audience who adores him will follow. The "Cenation" leader has become one of the best athletes on the roster, so giving him lengthy feuds and programs based in fluid storylines could make "SmackDown" even greater.
3) Home of Women's Wrestling
The WWE's Divas Revolution flamed out, but now with a potential women's wrestling evolution on its hands, the company could use "SmackDown" as the home of its ladies. Having the likes of Sasha Banks (who said she wants to be on this brand), Charlotte and Becky Lynch on the Tuesday show could attract the female audience as well as others who are desperately hoping the WWE does something to get the division out of its funk. Having the women's competitors all on one show could hopefully centralize the WWE's focus on building compelling characters, storylines and matches within the division.
4) Home of Tag Team Wrestling
If the WWE opts to either scatter the women or keep them on "RAW," they could have the Tag Team Champions be exclusive to "SmackDown" instead. That would mean the entertaining trio of The New Day defending their belts only as part of "SmackDown" and quite possibly the likes of Enzo and Cass, The Vaudevillians and all the other teams coming over to give this show an edge over "RAW" by building a compelling midcard.
5) NXT Generation
The WWE shouldn't necessarily turn "SmackDown" into NXT II, but drafting stars like Finn Balor and Bayley on the same brand could be an intriguing proposition. If these two NXT stars are no longer on Wednesday nights and not a part of "RAW" on Monday,people would have to tune into "SmackDown" on Tuesdays to see them. Having some younger, future stars of the industry on one brand would generate interest from fans of NXT and help "SmackDown" gain some legs.
