Mick Foley Says This Is Why Fans Are Picking SmackDown Over Raw

Ever since the brand split, and curious thing has happened. WWE’s flagship Monday night show has been regularly eclipsed in quality by what was formerly known as the B-show.

You can attribute that to many different things. There’s the rise of AJ Styles as WWE’s great in-ring performer, contrasted to a stale main event scene on Raw with Finn Balor’s untimely injury. There’s the continuation of the Authority story on Raw, while SmackDown has a fresh on-screen manager in Daniel Bryan.

Beyond all that, though, there’s one big difference between the two shows, and Raw GM Mick Foley think this is the reason why fans are starting to pick the blue brand.

Speaking on Lilian Garcia’s Making Their Way To The Ring show (transcribed by 411Mania), Mick says that SmackDown’s shorter running time is helping it to stay on top.

“Even though SmackDown has been kind of like the internet darling, I believe that if they had three hours instead of two they would find out that it’s tough to be a darling when you’ve got that massive three hour anchor around your neck.”

And it’s tough to argue with that. Even Raw’s best episodes drag in the middle, and all that running time means a lot of lengthy talking segments, and a bit too much devoted to the midcard brawls of the week. SmackDown, of course, is trying to keep things shaken up for WrestleMania.

Do you think this is a fair assessment of the difference between the brands? Let us know in the comments, or on Facebook!