You’re either a wrestling fan or you’re not, and within the world of WWE fans there are everything from casual fans that know the names of their favorite wrestlers and look in on it from time to time, and there are those that could tell you the back story of every wrestler on the roster. But in the history of WWE Smackdown, which debuted in 1999, there have been a lot of greats and a lot of non-starters that have been meant to be great that have come and gone under the watchful eyes of the audience. Some of the changes that have gone on during the history of the show have been wildly appreciated, while others have been less so. Where Smackdown used to be considered as the new and exciting show that would continue energize WWE it’s kind of fallen off in recent years despite the fact that it’s still bolstered with a great amount of talent.
Initially it made WCW Thunder move to Wednesdays in order to stay competitive.
Anyone remember World Championship Wrestling? They had some of the greatest talent in the business but didn’t seem to know how to use them properly. The WWF, when it was still the WWF, actually lost talent to the WCW at one point and was on the verge of going under, or so it seemed. When the Attitude Era chimed in the WWF rallied in a big way and Raw is War came to town with a thunderous ovation as stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock started their infamous feud and Cactus Jack and Terry Funk and many others really started to make their voices heard. Smackdown was filmed on a Tuesday but broadcast on Thursday, which meant that WCW felt the need to get out in front of the press and make themselves visible before their rival so as to stay on top. It didn’t really work since WWF really started putting the screws to WCW in a big way as their two shows were producing more positive feedback than all of WCW’s shows combined.
If you couldn’t guess or don’t remember, the show got it’s name from an infamous quote by The Rock.
Back when he was competing full time, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was notorious for his skills on the mic as well as in the ring. During his time as a heel and a hero he was great when it came to delivering catchphrases and one of those “Layeth the smacketh down…” was the basis for Smackdown, which is a large part of why he would come to the ring and state that it was his show. Obviously this wasn’t the case but throughout the years people seemed to have forgotten this as Smackdown has been seen as the number 2 show in the WWE stable right behind RAW, which has held sway for quite some time. To this day Smackdown is still one of the most popular wrestling shows on TV and while people might have forgotten how and why it got the name, those of us that were there from the beginning can still hear The Rock laying down that particular line, among many others.
In its current form Smackdown has given rise to a women’s division that has been nothing short of impressive.
Women have been involved in professional wrestling for quite some time as you might recall names such as Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah, who were legends when WWE was still a fledgling company. But in this day and age the women are getting just as down and dirty as the men and their numbers are growing as more and more of them are starting to come up from the developmental shows and other promotions as WWE is considered by many to be the big time that they want to aspire to. While some might still argue that women shouldn’t be getting as physical as the men do there are more still that would argue this as rubbish since the women tend to get just as physical and do so in a big hurry. From their athleticism to their physical and mental toughness the women in this business are no joke and they’re ready to put their skills to the test. Some of them are still window dressing it would seem as they serve as managers and those that are more for show that anything, but most of the women in the WWE at the moment, even Stephanie McMahon, who’s one of the top owners of the company, have gotten in that ring and squared up without hesitation.
Smackdown has changed quite a bit since it was first brought to light, but it’s still one of the most popular shows on TV and one of the longest-running since it’s now into its 20th year come this April. Considering how popular it still is there’s no doubt that it might keep going for quite a few years to come.
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