The first episode of the professional wrestling programme WWE Raw, formerly known as WWE Monday Night Raw, aired on the USA Network on January 11, 1993. The first episode, which ran for the full 60 minutes, was hailed as groundbreaking at the time. This was the first wrestling programme of its sort to air to a live audience and WWE live commentary rather than the taped shows that featured commentary following their matches. When it competed head-to-head with WCW’s Monday Nitro, the programme was at the centre of the Monday Night Wars.
When the WWE roster was separated in July 2016, RAW and SmackDown were reinstated as two distinct WWE brands. Both events are live and have separate pay-per-views that will be broadcast on the WWE Network. SmackDown used to be taped and wasn’t televised live before the draught. The differences between the two brands have gotten tougher to distinguish over time, but the average WWE fan can still point out a few clear distinctions.
In this article, we will take a look at the major differences between RAW and Smackdown in WWE.
The major differences between RAW and Smackdown in WWE
Broadcasting
SmackDown airs on Tuesday, whilst RAW airs on Monday. However, SmackDown will begin airing on Fridays when Fox networks begin showing WWE material in October.
Brand Colour and Ropes
Red is a reserved colour for RAW, and similarly, the ring’s ropes are red when the show is on. On the other hand, SmackDown is connected with the colour blue because they switched to blue ropes after using white ropes for a while.
Championships
Five titles are presently held by RAW: the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, the WWE RAW Women’s Championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and the WWE Universal Championship. The four titles that are held by SmackDown, on the other hand, are the WWE Championship, WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship, WWE United States Championship, and WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
Rosters
Due to the presence of celebrities like Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and a long list of others, RAW clearly has the advantage over SmackDown in this area. While Asuka, Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, and Daniel Bryan are arguably in charge of SmackDown. While SmackDown has superstars Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles as well, it is evident that RAW is home to the majority of the greatest names signed to Vince McMahon’s company. In contrast to RAW’s glitz and glamor, SmackDown features more indie darlings and homegrown talent.
Content and Duration
SmackDown airs for two hours, but RAW lasts for three. The WWE’s flagship programme is RAW, while SmackDown has recently been giving it a run for its money. The more well-known of the two events, RAW has been operating for the longest time and hosts the majority of the promotion’s top talents. However, SmackDown has typically placed a more emphasis on in-ring action, whereas RAW is typically bloated with non-wrestling elements, interviews, and recap videos. RAW can drag after three hours and cause viewers to look for other programming. The two hours of SmackDown usually leave viewers wanting more.
Commentators
Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young make up the commentary team for RAW, while Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton do the same for SmackDown.
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