Why WWE Raw Has Been Weaker Than SmackDown Live

After one month of programming, the RAW brand has shown that it has been weaker than Smackdown Live.

Last month WWE shook things up when they started the brand extension once again splitting the roster in two. Going into the draft, the red brand was slated to have the clear advantage over Smackdown Live. The flagship show was given more picks, and the upcoming cruiserweight division to help give the show an early advantage, before the draft even took place. However, despite these advantages the Monday night show, is clearly the early loser.

The cruiserweight challenge will be a great addition to Monday nights. However, with no clear timetable on when it’s coming and who will be on the roster as competitors for the division fans are left waiting.

RAW got it right when they picked Seth Rollins with their first overall pick. However, an inconsistent draft really hurt them. They followed up by taking Charlotte, Finn Balor, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar with their next few picks.

Compared to Smackdown these were weak picks. Roman Reigns is still in the doghouse with the company after his suspension last month, Brock Lesnar is gone more than he’s around, too.

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While Balor can become a huge star in time, taking him as early as they did was a big risk for the red brand. With Smackdown taking established stars like Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, John Cena and Randy Orton with their first few picks, the blue brand ended up with the stronger roster.

RAW lacks where it pertains to the main event picture. While it’s true that they have a strong mid card with guys like Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn and others, they have no big stars who appear on a weekly basis besides Seth Rollins.

The brand also lacks a face main eventer. Rollins is the top guy but in hindsight, he’s a heel. It looks like Balor will get the first crack at being a face. However, his microphone skills are lacking and he will need to strengthen this if he wants to stay as the top face.

With not a lot of talent, it strongly makes producing a three-hour show challenging, another thing that hurts the show. With the flagship show being three hours it really makes it hard to watch at times.

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The show has had plenty of filler and at times has been unbearable at times to watch. Smackdown being only two hours makes it a lot more enjoyable to watch, with it having less filler than Monday Night has.

Another issue is the women’s division. After Sasha Banks and Charlotte, there is a huge drop-off in talent in the Women’s division. Sasha and Charlotte are in a program with each other now but after it ends, the division may be in trouble.

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Dana Brooke is nothing more than Charlotte’s lacky, Nia Jax has only been in squash matches and Paige is gone for the time being with injuries and a suspension. Smackdown, on the other hand, has a strong nucleus of veterans and up and comers in their Women’s division making it the stronger division.

Another issue on RAW is the odd pairing of Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley. The fact that Stephanie is a heel and Foley is a face has been confusing for fans. Turing either or the other way would be weird for either one to do.

RAW took a blow when they lost the WWE title at Battleground. With Dean Ambrose being WWE Champion and being drafted to Smackdown the biggest prize in the game is now exclusive to the blue brand.

The flagship show will now create the Universal Championship, a name that most fans are making fun of (and rightfully so). It will be difficult to take the champion on Monday nights seriously when he is carrying around a title with a ridiculous name.

A major belief is that they should have just reinstated the World Heavyweight Championship, just like Eric Bischoff did in 2002 when he lost the WWE Championship to the blue brand.With not having the biggest prize in the game on Monday Nights there again is a major reason why RAW is losing.

Despite having all the advantages possible to be the top show like it always has been, RAW is clearly losing the war to Smackdown. For the first time since 2002, the Red brand is losing to Smackdown.

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While the brand extension is still in its early stages and the show can quickly turn things around as of now it is truly clear that Monday Night RAW for many reasons is the weaker show compared to Smackdown Live. Can Monday Nights bounce back, only time will tell, but after 20 plus years on the air, it would be hard to bet against the flagship show in sports entertainment.