WWE SmackDown chokeslammed Raw to the canvas for much of 2016.
The blue brand consistently produced the superior show following the July draft. Stronger storytelling, a better use of the spotlight and crafting a more tightly drawn product were among the keys to a thorough beatdown.
SmackDown had long been considered WWE's "B show."
Raw was live; SmackDown was taped. Raw featured the bigger moments and the major storylines. SmackDown was largely skippable.
It looked as if that domination would continue once Raw scooped up the likes of Brock Lesnar, Finn Balor, The New Day, Charlotte Flair and others in July.
WWE had decided to split its roster in two once more, returning to the days of Raw and SmackDown being two distinct entities. The draft that decided which Superstars went where favored the marquee show, leaving SmackDown an uphill journey to outclass its big brother.
And that it did.
From an entertainment standpoint, SmackDown won the brand war in 2016. The Tuesday show was easier to consume week in and week out. It lagged less often and often had a more electric feel.
As the year's end drew near, the Mat Men podcast asked a pertinent question:
The answer begins with the writers. SmackDown's stories trumped Raw's.
First-Rate Storytelling
Dolph Ziggler's frenzied fight to save his career. James Ellsworth's unexpected, absurd rise to prominence. Heath Slater's pursuit of a double-wide trailer. The Wyatt Family's inclusion of Randy Orton.
Time and again, SmackDown offered fans creative, compelling fare.
The show saw a jobber shine in a Cinderella story for the ages. Ellsworth arrived as a virtual unknown, an also-ran with a pizza delivery boy's physique. Through his part as a pawn in Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles' feud he became the talk of Tuesday nights.
SmackDown continually finds intriguing narrative paths for its talent.
Orton reinvented himself as part of Bray Wyatt's backwoods clan. Ziggler grew desperate during his chase of the Intercontinental Championship.
And SmackDown featured a memorable glimpse of Slater's home life:
Raw told some strong tales, too, but not at the rate of the blue brand.
The Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins feud underwhelmed. Rusev's rivalries too often flopped. The cruiserweight division was often devoid of stories altogether.
The Miz, one of SmackDown's brightest stars post-draft, spoke the truth when he touched on what allowed his show to be the better one. The IC champ told Jacob Wolf of ESPN.com, "SmackDown Live has better characters, better stories."
Great Taste, Less Filler
Sitting through a full episode of Raw can be tough at times.
At three hours—plus however long WWE decides to run past 11 p.m. ET each week—it is a marathon experience. Recaps follow recaps. The amount of commercials one ends up sitting through is staggering.
SmackDown, on the other hand, has a preferable format.
It runs for two hours. The drama then overflows onto Talking Smack, a talk show featuring the blue brand's personalities preaching and venting.
WWE vet Kane nailed it when he said in an interview with Top Rope Press: "I really believe that Raw is at a disadvantage being on a three-hour show as opposed to SmackDown. In that respect, I think SmackDown is really going places where it probably wasn't capable of going four years ago."
The lack of a third hour makes SmackDown an inherently tauter show.
But it's more than that. More often than Raw, every segment has a clear purpose. More matches advance a feud or push a Superstar toward contention.
No. 1 contender's matches are commonplace. The same goes for title matches.
From Sept. 10 on, SmackDown aired seven Intercontinental Championship matches; Roman Reigns has defended the United States title three times on Raw in that span.
The Role of Authority
Authority figures play a far larger role on Raw. General manager Mick Foley is ever-present on the program. Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon often appears several times a night.
Foley is currently at the center of Sami Zayn's rivalry with Braun Strowman, is a supporting player in Cesaro and Sheamus' story and was too prominent for some fan's taste during Sasha Banks' feud with Flair.
Sometimes, including Foley and McMahon adds to a story, but it's a device WWE leans on too much. It's at the point that Raw's spotlight on those managing the show is a running joke.
SmackDown commish Shane McMahon, by comparison, is rarely around.
General manager Daniel Bryan has been at odds with The Miz for a long time now, but beyond their bickering the former WWE champ is mostly a background figure. He pops up to announce a match or make a ruling before exiting soon after.
He doesn't linger as much as Foley does. He doesn't overshadow SmackDown's wrestlers the way Stephanie and Foley have a tendency to do.
That frees up more airtime for emerging stars.
The Brand of Opportunity
The biggest star SmackDown scooped up during the draft wasn't around much. John Cena spent more time filming the reality series American Grit than he did competing on SmackDown.
That contributed to the blue brand having to lean on lesser-known names.
Styles, who wasn't even signed to WWE until January, became the face of the show. Ambrose slid into a headliner role. And SmackDown featured a variety of talent in its main event at times, from Luke Harper to Ellsworth, Baron Corbin to Slater and Rhyno.
And nothing embodied SmackDown's sense of spreading around the limelight more than the women's division.
While Raw zeroed in on the personal war between Banks and Flair, SmackDown chose to highlight a larger percentage of the division. Natalya is currently involved in a story where she revealed she blindsided Nikki Bella in November. Carmella battled Bella for weeks. Naomi clashed with Alexa Bliss while Becky Lynch recovered from an undisclosed medical situation.
This approach led to variety. It worked to elevate more women at once, making for a deeper show.
SmackDown's celebration of the underdog compelled, too.
Slater was a low midcarder who struggled for airtime before the draft. On SmackDown, he was the star of his own drama.
He clawed his way to a SmackDown contract. He rattled off win after win as he fought to provide for his family. The story of the long shot exceeding expectations hit home.
And it was the story in the end that signaled victory for SmackDown.
It's not as if Slater is a better performer than Raw's Neville. It's not as if Ellsworth is a better WWE prospect than Titus O'Neil. But the blue brand's grapplers benefited from the SmackDown script putting them in a position to succeed.
Raw may have had the edge in players following the draft, but SmackDown had the better playbook.
Championship match information courtesy of CageMatch.net.