Sorry about the lengthy title, but that kind of sums up the whole thing, right? My take is that WWE's massive roster really, genuinely needed a third 2-hour show for people to start actually getting on TV, but I wouldn't have used NXT to do it. By the numbers:
2 Hours: Bad. Wrestling's better in shorter, faster bites, in my opinion.
Live: Extremely Bad. Taped shows mean you can edit out mistakes and cut down on lengthy dead time, as well as cutting out boring stuff like live crowds during ad breaks and there's a bunch of other cool editing stuff you can do.
On USA: The Worst. This means that the network, and of course, Vince, are going to need to have a hand in the product, which is exactly what everyone doesn't want.
Vs. AEW on TNT: Good, Actually. Okay, real one-to-one wrestling competition could be fun, and NXT is the closest equivalent to AEW that they've got.
Genuinely kind of a bummer for me, NXT's biggest backer on this board, but hey, let's not bury it until the first episode, at least. Additionally, if you're a big fan of good wrestling TV that Vince doesn't have a hand in, they still run 205 Live, a great show that everyone should watch all the time.
If Vince doesn't get into the mix (at least not much) and lets them do their thing, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. They just had to have a tournament of guys who haven't been on the shows. Two hours gives them time to spotlight some of the massive talent amounts they've signed. If 205 goes away, and it probably will, I imagine most of them will end up with the yellow brand. As great as it would be, I don't see Vince sticking Jack Gallagher on Raw.
If Vince does stick his fingers fully in the pot and in January we are watching Keith Lee and Chelsea Green do races pushing Hornswoggle (or Drake Maverick) in a wheelbarrow, then we have a problem.
The good: it'll still be on the Network, just the next day. I was worried it would get the same 30 day curse Raw and SD get. I'm fine with a day wait as a non-cable person, but I've also been more of a lapsed NXT fan in the last year and mostly just watch Takeovers.
I think they think they are going to get ratings with this though and they aren't. It's 2019 and we are used to streaming NXT at our convenience. Now we just stream it a day later and watch AEW live, right? Is there a consistent base that watches NXT right at 8 p.m.? And if not, will low ratings cause Vince to start bringing Big Show and Roman to NXT in a sad attempt to spike the ratings? Do we get Shane McMahon wrestling Adam Cole?
I find NXT to be a weird brand. It's obviously the little leagues, but gets a ton of love for being not mainstream. Now, it's going to be mainstream probably with people moving down to help. I'm sure the ratings will be good even with AEW going head to head. Which by the way I get that they want to piss on that, but really fuck off with three straight days of wrestling. Why is this not a Friday night thing?
Originally posted by andy1278If 205 goes away, and it probably will, I imagine most of them will end up with the yellow brand.
I'm not currently worried about 205 (or, at least not anymore than I might usually be), on account of the fact that, a)It's weathered a lot of shit since it's inception, and it's still here, and b)the word has been that Vince wants live wrestling on the Network, and it's the only show that fills that spot.
And if 205 goes away, and NXT is off the Network, then what the hell am I paying $9.99 a month for?
The idea is NXT will be still on the Network on a day later for those who don't get USA. But that delay and the possible demise of 205 Live means you're paying the network for the major shows and NXT UK. In theory, WWE might start adding in the other promotions they've scooped up, but that's been promised as coming soon for about two years now.
On USA: The Worst. This means that the network, and of course, Vince, are going to need to have a hand in the product, which is exactly what everyone doesn't want.
I do think this is a real thing to be worried about but I also wonder if it's even possible. There's going to be at least 7 hours of TV a week - maybe eight if SmackDown gets an additonal hour as part of the demise of 205 rumor - and there's no time to micromanage it all if you're also trying to get a football league off the ground. It's hard to be sure of what Vince involvement is going to look like a month from now - he might be heavily involved in the early shows, he might just do the big picure stuff, he might juat handwave the whole thing and let others handle it.
Originally posted by thecubsfanThe idea is NXT will be still on the Network on a day later for those who don't get USA. But that delay and the possible demise of 205 Live means you're paying the network for the major shows and NXT UK. In theory, WWE might start adding in the other promotions they've scooped up, but that's been promised as coming soon for about two years now.
On USA: The Worst. This means that the network, and of course, Vince, are going to need to have a hand in the product, which is exactly what everyone doesn't want.
I do think this is a real thing to be worried about but I also wonder if it's even possible. There's going to be at least 7 hours of TV a week - maybe eight if SmackDown gets an additonal hour as part of the demise of 205 rumor - and there's no time to micromanage it all if you're also trying to get a football league off the ground. It's hard to be sure of what Vince involvement is going to look like a month from now - he might be heavily involved in the early shows, he might just do the big picure stuff, he might juat handwave the whole thing and let others handle it.
Is anyone else starting to feel like this whole thing is beginning to get out of hand?
I love love love NXT and all the fears about Vince/USA watering it down are surely justified. I don't always watch at 8 on a Wednesday but am certainly used to watching at say, 8:30 or 9 on demand and knowing it's a solid 50-60 minutes and that's that. Overloading it with Snickers ads and Pearson promos is going to test my patience and hopefully not make me glaze over the way RAW & SD! often do...
Originally posted by lotjxI find NXT to be a weird brand. It's obviously the little leagues, but gets a ton of love for being not mainstream. Now, it's going to be mainstream probably with people moving down to help. I'm sure the ratings will be good even with AEW going head to head. Which by the way I get that they want to piss on that, but really fuck off with three straight days of wrestling. Why is this not a Friday night thing?
Because SmackDown is going to be a Friday night thing on Fox this fall.
Realistically how many hours are people going to watch each week? As I've said before I have given up on WWE because of their camera work, and because of this I have become a fan of MLW which is shown over here in the UK each week so it isn't a problem for me but for the 'normal' fan how much can be watched?
I may be wrong on this, but I think WWE will be showing 9 hours a week (Raw, Smackdown, NXT, 205 & NXT UK) which might be stretched to 10 if they add an hour to Smackdown before monthly shows between 3 and 9 hours depending on event.
I'm not sure what other shows are available in the US but am assuming ROH and Impact as a minimum, so despite wrestling being enjoyable again (finally!) what will actually be watched, ignored or forgotten about? There has to be a limit for everyone for how many hours can be watched in a week for even the most hardcore of wrestling fans. Doesn't there?!
Am I the only one who feels they only put this there to pimp the ratings on the other shows? IF they beat AEW (and they probably will) then the line is "our developmental league beat them". If they lose its "these youngsters aren't ready for Raw or Smackdown, but keep watching"
So does this mean -ric flair voice- MY MAN...BATISA..WHOOOO Is now set for the main event at WrestleMania? I'm willing to say that they might do a triple threat with Dave, Randy and Trips at WrestleMania, though. Maybe even a four way with Ric?
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