@theflyest here's how i'd set up a typical Smack 5 battle card:
1st battle : bar heavy dudes
the crowd is fresh and hhas the energy to listenin closely, they won't boo nikkas prematurely
2nd battle: entertainment battle
this is were you put the DOT's, Goodz, K-Shines, just dudes who know how to get the crowd hype so they go into the next battle in a good mood
3rd battle: main event
the crowd already got their eyes tuned to hear bars from the 1st battle,the 2nd battle got them hype. Top tiers usually have a good balance of lyrics and performance, the crowd isn't tired and unruly yet so this is where you'll get the most unbiased crowd reactions
4th battle: ???
this is the battle where you can experiment with shyt, could be a 2v2, could be a couple rookies(which is good cuz they just saw top tiers put on a show so they'll have a better idea of how to work the stage) you can even put the "weird" matchups here and people won't be upset cuz the still riding off the high of the main event
5th battle: That old SMACK
you get 2 gritty nikkas with alot of aggression and good performance, at the end of the night nikkas aint tryna hear lyrical miracles, they aint tryna hear long winded personals or jokes either, but that street shyt gonna still land, this is where you put your Tay Roc's, Suge's, Calicoe type nikkas