Having watched mostly WWE programming ranging from one hour, such as NXT, to three hours of Monday Night RAW), I have developed a good sense of how well each show uses the time that they are allocated, and perhaps to offer a healthy medium of what the ideal amount of time a wrestling should have to maximize ratings and interest.
I understand the need for three hours on WWE’s flagship show because of the advertising requirements, and while originally two hours of RAW probably would have been more than enough, RAW is gradually making better use of the roster with the expanded time that they have.
Meanwhile, with only two hours Smackdown can at times come off as a bit rushed, such as this past week with the first round of the King of the Ring qualifying matches. On RAW, both the Samoa Joe v Cesaro and Cedric Alexander v Sami Zayn bouts were solid matches that, because there was three hours, had enough time to deliver on a quality performance.
By contrast, the Elias v Kevin Owens came off as ending rather quickly, judging by the usage of the same ending that happened the last time Elias and Owens wrestled a match: Shane McMahon as referee giving a fast three count. The fact that the Elias and Owens matched ended then abruptly cut to the Roman / Daniel Bryan and Rowan reveal goes to highlight the time restriction.
On NXT, they may only have an hour (although that will change to two hours when NXT moves to live television on September 18), but they manage to coordinate their storylines and build matches / have matches that provide more meaning to the dedicated wrestling fan within that one hour time frame. The two hour increase makes sense because WWE has to sell advertising; what NXT does with the extra hour and being live depends on how they adapt to that situation.
For smaller wrestling shows or independent companies that manage to land some kind of distribution deal, one hour is probably enough…and it would be all they could afford anyway from their standpoint.
Ideally, I think the most appropriate amount of time for a standard wrestling show should be two hours; you get enough time for men and women’s wrestling matches as well as putting in filler segments to advance story lines. If you’re smart like NXT and focus on some story lines even with an extra hour, the quality of the product would remain intact.
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
Recent Comments