Smackdown Goes Live!

So Smackdown made its big move, including a live episode that featured stars from both major brands. Much like Raw's 900th episode spectacular, I found this attempt to draw the fans right before Hell in a Cell to be pretty poor. If the brand split had ended months ago, most of the matches between Raw and Smackdown superstars tonight would have either been done a long time ago on either show or still not have that much added interest in it anyway. You would have been able to see them any old time. Would the return of Paul Bearer have been more epic if done on the live show? Would Natalya earning the title shot tonight have been a better diva draw? And how many times can Undertaker beat Punk with only so few months left in the year?

Considering that this show was hyped, including having Nexus and John Cena himself show up, I would expect ratings to be good. Much like Raw's 900th, however, I would be shocked if ratings did not drop as weeks went on. No more Cena on Smackdown. Fans tuned in to that Raw hoping to see something great and got crap. By my standards, that is what fans got on Smackdown too. I could be wrong. If fans actually liked that, ratings will continue in the area they get for tonight's show or get better.