3 ways by which WWE could fix SmackDown

At present, SmackDown has the longest airtime of all WWE shows in a week. Initially, it seemed like an exciting prospect. But over two months into its 180-minute iterations, the fans have remotely given up. On the other hand, Raw is reaping the benefits of being on Netflix, which gives the red brand more leeway on key aspects, including no time constraints.

Censoring hasn’t troubled Raw as much as SmackDown, which would remain on the USA Network for the next five years. The blue brand is lacking a little something in almost every aspect of its programming. WWE HOF’er Road Dogg was recently promoted as the show’s co-lead writer. It’s fair to say that even his fingerprints haven’t done any wonders to spruce up the quality of the on-screen product.

But the following are some pointers that WWE CCO Triple H and his SmackDown lead, Road Dogg, could work upon.

3. Revitalize the mid-card scene on the blue brand

The mid-card division of men and women is in shambles right now. Last week, LA Knight ended Shinsuke Nakamura’s moribund US title reign to ensue a semblance of things getting back on track. Prior to that, Shin held the gold for over three months and ended up having one of the worst stretches as a champion.

He neither had any quality title defenses nor could he deliver any passionate in-ring promos, which has to be attributed to English not being his mother tongue. As for women, Chelsea Green is their US Champ. She won the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event last December against Michin.

It was a career-defining moment for the Canuck, but her ongoing title reign has been all sunshine and rainbows. She hasn’t been given a fresh set of opponents in the meantime to diversify her resume at all. WWE is being pleaded with by the fans to let in-ring magicians like Andrade compete on a weekly basis.

The Mexican grappler is reduced to being an erratic glow on a three-hour show, which could benefit from his involvement in the mid-card scene. Same goes for the women as well. Underutilized talent like Zelina Vega, Alba Fyre, and B-Fab, to name a few, have been wandering directionless for way too long.

2. Disband the dragging course of The Bloodline and let Jacob Fatu go solo

The Roman Reigns-led OG Bloodline was arguably the most impactful force of the modern era. Those hothead Samoans mingled with then-witty genius Sami Zayn produced segments that the fans thoroughly enjoyed. However, after WrestleMania XL, The Bloodline underwent drastic changes.

Solo Sikoa usurped the throne and recruited the likes of Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu. The Samoan Werewolf’s been a standout of an otherwise stale trio involving Sikoa. The latter’s months-long exploits were casually undone by Jacob the moment WWE started handing him the microphone.

Fatu’s in-ring brilliance is another one of his traits to not sleep on. He’s interacted with top stars like Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, and Roman Reigns but has yet to have a singles feud with them. Fatu is on the cusp of betraying Solo, which could lead to their WrestleMania 41 clash, as reports suggest.

That being said, it’s high time WWE disintegrated the remaining pieces of Bloodline 2.0, which hasn’t even been half as successful as its predecessors. It’d allow a one-man wrecking crew like Jacob Fatu to dictate the singles competition on SmackDown going forward.

1. Balance out the rosters in the WWE Draft post-WrestleMania 41

The difference in the star power of the cumulative rosters of Raw and SmackDown is stark, to say the least. A recent report claimed that WWE is planning a post-WrestleMania draft as usual. It has to go well for the blue brand.

Currently, SmackDown is devoid of a few cream-of-the-crop-esque superstars. Roman Reigns is extremely rare on the shows these days, and Cody Rhodes is pulling off double duties to meet the demands of Netflix. The main event scene is suffering with its top heel, Drew McIntyre, involved in a heatless affair with Damian Priest.

There are several within the company that strongly dislike the 3 hour format for #SmackDown as they feel the quality of the show has dipped in the last few months.

(via @WrestleVotes Radio – Backstage Pass) pic.twitter.com/JrIi66ams0

— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) February 27, 2025

John Cena also isn’t slated for SmackDown shows in Europe for the next three weeks. Had he been on them, it would’ve definitely popped big numbers and brought back a must-see appeal. The bottom line is, WWE gave added emphasis to stacking the talent pool on Raw to appease Netflix, inadvertently leaving SmackDown in the trenches.

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