WWE has ruined Monday Night RAW in an attempt to boost SmackDown and it’s as visible as the day.
For weeks, WWE fans cried, moaned, and complained about SmackDown feeling like it was booked by three toddlers who have never watched a day of wrestling in their lives. The show was abysmally paced, clunky in its booking, and lacked some A-list stars who could spice things up.
So WWE, being the geniuses that they are did the sensible thing and made some shifts. CM Punk returned on RAW and won the Undisputed Title and quickly shifted to SmackDown. Tatum Paxley debuted on the blue brand and has been doing well with Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. The absence of Rhea Ripley was filled in with Chelsea Green who is now one of the biggest babyfaces on the roster and it shows. Kevin Owens returned at SummerSlam and quickly joined SmackDown, and the same goes for Randy Orton.
The overhaul of the brand is quite apparent and it shows that the USA Network did not take too kindly to the fact that SmackDown was more or less being ignored. The show was so bad ratings plummeted faster than Dominik Mysterio’s stocks with Triple H. But in giving SmackDown the boost it needed, Triple H completely buried Monday Night RAW.
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WWE RAW Has A Serious Lack Of Starpower
For years, and even now, RAW was considered the A Show in the promotion. This is where the biggest stars are, the biggest matches happen, and the biggest debuts take place. But there have been times when SmackDown has clearly surpassed RAW in terms of popularity and ratings. Remember when Daniel Bryan was the GM and they had Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles feuding?
Well now, it seems those tables have turned once again. With WWE refusing to do the Draft and openly trading stars from one brand to the other, RAW has been left with fewer stars that hair on The Rock’s head.
The women’s division for example has only one a handful of major stars – Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, and Stephanie Vaquer, and guess what? They are fighting each other. The mid-card scene is Lyra Valkyria and Sol Ruca trading barbs, matches, and wins like exchanging collectibles. Bayley is now gone, not sure when she will be back, and Iyo Sky is missing too. That leaves Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez who are too busy polishing Liv Morgan’s shoes.
The Vision is outdated, The Judgment Day is outdated, and The Bloodline, well that’s a separate piece altogether.
Moving over to the men’s side of the roster, the legitimate A-list mega star on the show is only Roman Reigns. You can argue, there’s Bron Breakker, and there’s Oba Femi, but they are still getting there in terms of the big leagues and the A-list level.
LA Knight is highly popular with the fans, and is certainly a top draw, but let’s be honest, he’s neither Cody Rhodes, nor CM Punk. At this point, without Seth Rollins, or any of the other stars, it feels the scale of balance has tilted in favor of SmackDown once again, and RAW feels like an afterthought. The show doesn’t even have a top heel like Gunther anymore, and at this point, Dominik Mysterio is a parody of his 2025 self, so let’s keep him out of that equation.
Given that WWE has Netflix to worry about and that deal is huge, there has to be better plans for the red brand as well. Rey Mysterio is a loved, he is a superstar, a fan favorite, and at 50 he still moves like he is in his late 30s, but he’s not the draw he once used to be, you can argue he was never that big a draw.
Chad Gable has done exceptionally well as a babyface but even he can’t change the fortunes of the show. Big Cass has been portrayed as a monster and it’s good for him that he is back, but he’s also a midcarder at best.
RAW still isn’t at the level where fans need to think about skipping the show altogether. There are some great matches, some good feuds, and some genuinely interesting feuds. Chad Gable vs Rey Mysterio was a great match, the Bloodline ending segment was great, and Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vaquer and Becky Lynch are putting on a great feud.
Will the fortunes change soon? Yeah probably. But, right now, WWE SmackDown feels like the way bigger show.
