Are We Being Overwhelmed?

[ztwhite]

It's not really something new, but there's way too much wrestling to watch.

When you combine 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of Smackdown Live, 1 hour of 205 Live and NXT -- each -- that's 7 hours of WWE programming each week. Now, we're getting two separate PPVs each month (for the most part) which are at least 2 1/2 hours each. So two weeks out of every month, we're getting between 9 1/2 and 10 hours of WWE programming. That doesn't include the months when we have an NXT Takeover PPV (or special).

Plus, when it comes to the big PPVs... Royal Rumble, Mania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series... those have become 4 hour events or longer. Shit... The most recent Mania was 6 hours!

If you combine all of the above with Lucha Underground, ROH, TNA, and NJPW, it's become ridiculous.

Personally, I only watch WWE and LU, but this week alone, I'll spend close to 11 hours watching wrestling. Holy shit.

None of this includes stuff like Talking Smack or WWE original programming, and some of it is actually really good.

Like most people, I actually do have a life. Crazy long hours for work, friends, general life stuff, other TV that I enjoy watching, movies, music, etc... Thankfully, I don't have kids (that I know of) so I have a lot of free time for myself to do what I want... unless SHE says otherwise

Even during the heyday (old person word) of wrestling -- the Monday Night Wars -- we were only getting 8 hours of wrestling per week... Raw, Smackdown, Nitro, and Thunder. I suppose if you were a devout ECW person, and could find it on TV, that added another hour. We also would have gotten a couple of PPVs every month between WWE/F and WCW.

Maybe I'm just getting old, or I'm just realizing we're being bombarded with wrestling programming, but get off my lawn, WWE!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Nobody's forcing you to watch. If you think it's too much, turn the TV off, turn it to something different and/or don't log onto the WWE Network to watch more WWE programming. It really is just that simple.

 

[johnbragg]

I think some of this is WWE strategizing, using the Network and their funding advantage to prevent competition from springing up. With the Network, they have the ability to put on programming to meet pretty much any and all pro wrestling tastes. NXT, the CWC, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic don't cost a lot, compared to the WWE budget. And they bring more and more talent into the WWE orbit, where they're less available to help build something like TNA (imagine TNA completely revamped under competent management)

It maximizes what people get for their $9.99 a month, it makes it a lot harder for a competitor to emerge--when TNA was at its most promising, they could say they were the go-to promotion for womens, tag-team and cruiserweight/X-division wrestling. The NEtwork lets WWE fill those niches without infringing (much) on what Vince wants for Raw and SmackDown. So, even if Paul Heymann and Jim Ross signed on tomorrow to overhaul Impact Wrestling, or start a new promotion for Fox/Disney/Time Warner/Viacom, it's a lot harder for them to write a mission statement.

The downside is you the viewer can't watch everything. Now if that becomes a common enough complaint, watch the Network debut a one- to two-hour weekly recap show, with all the highlights of RAW, Smackdown, NXT, 205 Live, and maybe a spotlight or two on other WWE Network programming. They could maybe even syndicate it on local channels.

EDIT: It makes it harder to watch TNA/ROH/NJPW/LU? That's not WWE's problem, and may be kind of the point.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Being from canada, i'm fortunate enough to be able to get the WWE network as a regular tv network which mean that i can PVR all the shows i want to watch and that's what i do most of the time.

I tend to watch about half of Raw every monday and pvr the rest because the show is becoming boring and repetitive. I watch smackdown every week and pvr talking smack because of the change in the schedule.

i always pvr NXT because i like to watch the show early in the morning and i can cut all the talking and vignette on the show which makes the show go faster. Same thing with TNA. Last week, i was able to watch impact in under an hour because i skip so much crap on the show.

All this to say that it's possible to cut the number of hours of wrestling you watch if you don'T watch everything live. The PPV goes alot faster when on pvr them and watch them latter which is what i do for most of them.

But having said that, i still miss the late 80's early 90's when you didn'T have as much wrestling on tv, it made those shows feel special and the big event felt bigger because of it. The fun of going to the video store to try to find the latest WWF compilation vhs or even trying to get a copy of wrestlemania on the first week of release was so much fun. i miss those days but we're in a new era and while i'm able to cut a lot of time on wasted segments in wrestling shows, i still think their are too much wrestling on tv especially in the WWE product.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Nobody's forcing you to watch. If you think it's too much, turn the TV off, turn it to something different and/or don't log onto the WWE Network to watch more WWE programming. It really is just that simple.

fourms.wrestlezone.com says:
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Jack-Hammer again.

3 hours of Raw + 2 hours of Smackdown + 1 hour of 205 Live + 1 hour of NXT + 2 hours of TNA Impact Wrestling = 1 hour and 45 minutes of WWE TV I actually watch + 30 minutes of TNA Impact Wrestling I actually watch.

I tried watching ROH, but I just couldn’t get into it for whatever reason. I tried watching NJPW, but I just couldn’t get into it for whatever reason. I tried looking for Lucha Underground, but I was only able to find the Spanish version.

My point is Jack-Hammer’s point. If it’s too much for you, cut it down. To me WWE is like sex. I want to do it all the time, but sometimes I’m just too tired. Also, if you do it all the time, you could eventually get tired of it altogether. Just kidding, I’ll never get completely tired of…WWE!! The key is moderation.

Well, the real key is the WWE Network. Since the launch of the WWE Network, I’ve been watching every single WWE / WCW / ECW Pay Per View, in chronological order, from 1983 onward. Currently I’m on WrestleMania XXVII. With the way the product has been, I’ve been watching more past PPVs than the current weekly episodic TV shows. Once I’m all caught up, I’m going to go back and watch every Saturday Nights Main Event and Clash Of Champions, in chronological order, from 1985 onward.

 

[@smarkmouth]

There's definitely a saturation, which is an interesting phenomenon in it's own right when you consider that there's only one major game in town. But as thoroughly explored in the replies, it's the choice of the consumer to use the off switch.

I definitely felt overwhelmed, and did indeed alter my viewing schedule. Raw's been written off for me as it's felt like a chore since the brand split. 205 Live has done me a favor of cutting another 1/2 hour, as I'm not going to linger on the Network for another hour to watch Talking Smack. PVRing NXT affords me an extra 10/15 minutes of fast forwarding commercials and such. I usually watch NXT with Lucha Underground by fridays, the latter of which airs seasonally. And then WWE ppvs. So, 3-7 hours a week for me.

Homestly, cutting out Raw makes everything a little better. I still feel like a schmuck some weeks by the 4th hour, but I don't watch much else on tv.

 

[Navi]

With the network now you can pretty much watch wrestling 24 hours a day if you want. If you don't want you can watch whatever and whenever.

I always try to catch RAW and SD, if I miss 205 Live, that's okay, it's on the network I'll catch it later. Also watch the PPV's. But if for any reason I'm going to miss them, it's easy just to PVR them and watch when I have the time.

No one is sitting there with a gun to your head making you watch. I work full time and have a family, but don't feel that a few hours of wrestling a week is cutting into my time. If it was I would cut back.

 

[OYDK]

Nobody's forcing you to watch. If you think it's too much, turn the TV off, turn it to something different and/or don't log onto the WWE Network to watch more WWE programming. It really is just that simple.

True. At the same time, I don't think you're fully grasping OP's point.

Some people love WWE and they want to stay caught up with everything Raw, Smackdown, NXT, 205 Live, etc. but in order to do that, they would have to watch about 7 hours of WWE programming a week. OP doesn't seem to be saying that he hates the product, he seems to be saying that he wants to watch everything, but it's nearly impossible nowadays because of how time-consuming they're programming is.

And I agree. Since the Brand Split I have mostly stuck to reading reviews and and watching small clips on Youtube in order to stay caught up, but others might not find that enjoyable enough. Some people want to watch everything in its entirety but the nature of WWE programming nowadays makes it extremely difficult, especially when PPV's run til about 11:30 on a good Sunday night.

 

[ztwhite]

True. At the same time, I don't think you're fully grasping OP's point.

Some people love WWE and they want to stay caught up with everything Raw, Smackdown, NXT, 205 Live, etc. but in order to do that, they would have to watch about 7 hours of WWE programming a week. OP doesn't seem to be saying that he hates the product, he seems to be saying that he wants to watch everything, but it's nearly impossible nowadays because of how time-consuming they're programming is.

And I agree. Since the Brand Split I have mostly stuck to reading reviews and and watching small clips on Youtube in order to stay caught up, but others might not find that enjoyable enough. Some people want to watch everything in its entirety but the nature of WWE programming nowadays makes it extremely difficult, especially when PPV's run til about 11:30 on a good Sunday night.

Amazing how quickly people jump to this becoming a bashing WWE thread.

My point, exactly, is that I WANT to watch everything. It's like sports -- and to some extent, I consider wrestling a sport -- I want to watch everything.

Last weekend, I wanted to watch all the college football conference championship games. On Monday night, when I saw the Warriors Klay Thompson dropped 60 points in 39 minutes, I was pissed that I didn't see it.

Is it a product of my own volition... of course. But when we're constantly seeing stories about ratings being down, and people discussing why the wrestling fan base isn't what it used to be, is it a reality of their own doing?

There's an old saying, less is more. While it doesn't always equate -- and one brilliant chap used sex as an example -- is it appropriate in wrestling, or in this case, WWE?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Amazing how quickly people jump to this becoming a bashing WWE thread.

My point, exactly, is that I WANT to watch everything. It's like sports -- and to some extent, I consider wrestling a sport -- I want to watch everything.

Last weekend, I wanted to watch all the college football conference championship games. On Monday night, when I saw the Warriors Klay Thompson dropped 60 points in 39 minutes, I was pissed that I didn't see it.

Is it a product of my own volition... of course. But when we're constantly seeing stories about ratings being down, and people discussing why the wrestling fan base isn't what it used to be, is it a reality of their own doing?

There's an old saying, less is more. While it doesn't always equate -- and one brilliant chap used sex as an example -- is it appropriate in wrestling, or in this case, WWE?

I knew it wasn't a WWE bashing thread, I just don't really see the point of the whole thread. With the WWE Network, you can watch whatever is going on at your own convenience. If you miss a ppv, an episode of NXT, 205 Live then it's not a huge deal as you can catch it later at any given time. Does that mean that WWE is somehow diluting the product themselves? Not to me because all forms of TV media are changing and moving in different directions. Take the Walking Dead, Monday Night Football & the Big Bang Theory as examples; they're still powerhouse shows that draw a lot but even their numbers are down significantly compared to previous years because people are watching them different ways than just the traditional sit in front of the TV way. It's the same with so many shows now that people just record them via DVR, sometimes recording an entire season so they can binge watch during a weekend or something and they manage to avoid conversations with people discussing it or reading spoilers online. It's often that way with shows on Hulu, Netflix, etc. The traditional TV medium is still alive and well, but people have more viewing options now than ever before and that in & of itself is cutting significantly into TV viewership.

 

[ShinChan]

What I think about it is that WWE is trying to keep every fan happy, be it a casual one or hardcore.

How? By giving them various options to opt from. If you don't like Raw, watch Smackdown. If you don't like Smackdown, watch NxT. If you don't like NxT, watch 205 Live. If you want to watch non-wrestling show, then you have Total Divas and Bellas too.

If you don't like any of weekly programming, then watch bi-weekly PPVs. If you don't like to watch many PPVs, just watch the dual-branded PPVs. Or just watch Wrestlemania itself.

No WWE? Then TNA. No TNA? then RoH. It just continues. They're just trying to make us a permanent viewer.

So in nutshell, it's good that we are getting multiple options. Variety is good.

 

[Navi]

I don't see it as a WWE bashing thread either. The OP wants to watch all the shows, but is sort of complaining that there are two many of them. Believe me I get it. Also understand that RAW and SD are aired live so if you miss it, you miss out. But my point still stands, you can always record them and watch them when you have some spare time.

If you fast forward through the commercial breaks and recaps, you can cut down a 3 hour RAW to about an hour or so. 205 Live is on the Network and can be viewed On Demand. I really don't see the point of the thread as JH said. The programs are put out there for your enjoyment, it up to the individual if they want to watch them all or not.

 

[Dagger Dias]

It depends on how much spare time you have, but I fully understand feeling overwhelmed. There is a LOT of content out there.

Raw - 3 hours
Smackdown - 2 hours (Not including Talking Smack)
NXT - 1 hour
205 Live - 1 hour

That's 7 hours each week if you watch each show in its entirety. Then you have Talking Smack and all the WWE Network's shows whether that be old stuff like past PPV's or newer content such as Holy Foley. 7 hours is a lot for those of us who work full time and have other things going on, whatever your current season of life looks like. No one's forcing you to watch all of it. You should watch what you want to watch. If there's a match featuring wrestlers that you don't like or if you feel bored by the thought of seeing the match that's about to start, skip it. Watch the stuff you do like. I prefer to DVR Raw and Smackdown to watch later for that reason. Watching legitimately "live" is fun yes, but instead of the full 3 hours on monday for Raw I could DVR it then skip the stupid stuff as well as the commercials and suddenly a whole extra hour comes back that I can spend doing something else. 205 Live and NXT are on the Network so I save them for when I have the time to watch.

During different seasons of life you'll have different amounts of spare time. Back in the day we had Raw and Nitro on mondays. I'd watch Raw in one room while Nitro was being taped in the other room, which I'd watch afterwards. I didn't have any other major commitments outside of school back then. In college I had plenty of spare time so I had the time to watch Raw monday, WWE's ECW on tuesday, TNA Impact on thursday, and Smackdown on friday. I had the time for it. Today as an adult who works full time and is very involved at church, I don't have the time to devote all 7 hours to WWE each week. I have been watching Raw and Smackdown back to back in DVR'ed form on tuesdays or wednesdays. More spare time monday evening for me. Then I'll watch NXT and 205 Live on the Network during the weekend.

I don't watch any other federation at the moment. I gave up on TNA years ago, never was interested in ROH, and doubt I'd have the time for Lucha Underground but I've heard good things. I watch what I want, and what I have the time for. Wrestling is a hobby. It doesn't have to be a lifestyle when all we're doing is watching/reviewing it. So, watch what you like and what you have the spare time for. If that's all of the above, great. If it's just Smackdown and NXT, or even just another federation's show only, then do what works best for you. Then you won't feel as overwhelmed.

 

[Tsunaru]

There's also the extra PPV a month as a result of the brand split, and ANOTHER PPV for NXT the day before one of the Big 4. So add an extra 3-7 hours every other week, so yeah, being overwhelmed by it is easily a possibility.

 

[Navi]

There's also the extra PPV a month as a result of the brand split, and ANOTHER PPV for NXT the day before one of the Big 4. So add an extra 3-7 hours every other week, so yeah, being overwhelmed by it is easily a possibility.

To be fair Takeover only happens 4 times a year and generally puts the main roster to shame. I have no problem setting aside time to watch Takeover at all. As for the rest, you can (beating a dead horse here), DVR, watch On Demand or watch live.

Yes it can be overwhelming if you dedicate yourself to watching them each and every week, so most fans make the choice to give certain shows a miss, or watch later. It's the equivalent of complaining that you feel sick after eating a whole pie, when in fact you could have had one piece and saved the rest for later.

 

[johnbragg]

To be fair Takeover only happens 4 times a year and generally puts the main roster to shame. I have no problem setting aside time to watch Takeover at all. As for the rest, you can (beating a dead horse here), DVR, watch On Demand or watch live.

Yes it can be overwhelming if you dedicate yourself to watching them each and every week, so most fans make the choice to give certain shows a miss, or watch later. It's the equivalent of complaining that you feel sick after eating a whole pie, when in fact you could have had one piece and saved the rest for later.

But there is no later. Every week, there's 3 hours of RAW, 2 hours of Smackdown, 1 hour of NXT, and 1 hour of 205 Live. That's 7 hours in a week with no PPV/Network specials. Plus maybe TNA, ROH, LU, studio shows on the Network, old PPVs on the Network.

You're realistically not going to watch this week's RAW after next Monday.
Using your analogy, you're getting a whole pie delivered, for you, every day.

You just can't consume all the product there is to consume. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a thing.

 

[Tsunaru]

To be fair Takeover only happens 4 times a year and generally puts the main roster to shame. I have no problem setting aside time to watch Takeover at all. As for the rest, you can (beating a dead horse here), DVR, watch On Demand or watch live.

Luckily for me, Takeover is the ONLY WWE I watch, but yeah. I was mostly just adding all the hours DD missed in his calculations. It was one thing when you only had the one PPV a month and then Takeover every three, but the inclusion of brand specific ppvs happening every two weeks now, as well as the Big 4 getting an extra hour tacked on, and it could easily be a source of burnout.

I've barely got the time and energy to watch my Walking Dead, New Japan PPVs and occasional "Road to.." shows, I have no idea how people could sit through as much as 14 hours of WWE programming in a single week (not including preshows/postshows).

 

[stingray11214]

Look, it all depends on what you are looking for. If you have access to Apps, you can stream all the wrestling until you are blue in the face. You just need to pick your poison. I have had streams of Scotland's ICW while Raw was on. I would stream RoH and WCPW whenever I wanted to watch a good show. Hell, there are nights I would watch YouTube streams of Stardom while the women were wrestling on Raw and SmackDown. It all depends on what you want. Is there an oversaturation of the WWE product? If you pay $9.99 a month, the answer is yes. I'd rather see Tony Nese as a king at WrestlePro or Tier 1, rather than a sad sack in WWE. Why do you think they have 205Live? It is so VKM can put his chest out and say "Look what I have done for the little man!" Look at Curt Hawkins. He had near deity status, especially in the Tri-State area. Now what is he? So much for a brand split. All it did was make the rich richer.

Sorry for the rant. However, if you want to find other shows, they do it smart. You can watch 5-6 companies, and spend less time doing so, than watching WWE. So, if you say there is an "oversaturation" of the product, you are right if ALL you watch is WWE. If you watch others, or have an open mind about watching others, you only have more choices.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Luckily for me, Takeover is the ONLY WWE I watch, but yeah. I was mostly just adding all the hours DD missed in his calculations. It was one thing when you only had the one PPV a month and then Takeover every three, but the inclusion of brand specific ppvs happening every two weeks now, as well as the Big 4 getting an extra hour tacked on, and it could easily be a source of burnout.

I didn't include Takeover's or the PPV's because they aren't weekly. Even when still including them.... My suggestion of only watching what you went and that you have time for, still applies. The only shows you "have" to watch as soon as you can are the main roster shows. NXT is on the Network so it's not going anywhere. Same goes for 205 Live. My last post was a typical week so let's do a typical month.


Week 1
Raw - 3 hours
Smackdown - 2 hours
NXT - 1 hour
205 Live - 1 hour

Week 2
Raw - 3 hours
Smackdown - 2 hours
Smackdown PPV - 2 to 3 hours
NXT - 1 hour
205 Live - 1 hour

Week 3
Raw - 3 hours
Smackdown - 2 hours
NXT - 1 hour
205 Live - 1 hour

Week 4
Raw - 3 hours
Raw PPV - 3 hours
Smackdown - 2 hours
NXT - 1 hour
205 Live - 1 hour

That's roughly 33 hours of content. In one month. If it was a Big 4 month you'd have a longer main roster PPV with an NXT Takeover, so let's estimate that at around 35 hours. No one HAS to watch all of this 100% live. I mentioned in my last post that I watch Raw and Smackdown back to back on wednesdays, that way I can fast forward past things I don't like as well as the commercials. I save more than an hour of time this way. Suddenly that 33-35 hours is knocked down significantly. It's more like 25 hours at that point. NXT takes less priority unless there is a Takeover that month, then I would make sure I was caught up. If I miss NXT or 205 Live for a couple of weeks it's not the end of the world. You only have to be on top of things for whatever major show is coming. Main roster PPV on its way? Be caught up on Raw and Smackdown. Not watching the night it airs helps a lot. Save it for a night you have time if watching it live is too much. As does saving NXT for the weekend if it comes down to it. NXT Takeover on the horizon? Make sure you've watched all the recent NXT's up to said Takeover show by that point. There's ways around it without getting burnt out and this is my preferred method. I'm caught up most of the time, have time to watch what I do want to see, and I'm not burnt out at all.

Now, if you were going to watch TNA or Lucha Underground also then that's more hours. I'm talking from a WWE point of view only since they are the only federation I currently watch. It's up to every person to decide for themselves how much they want to watch and if they get burnt out then prioritize and cut out one or more things that you are less interested in.

 

[rmp0012002]

My thinking has always been less is more. NASCAR and the NFL haven't figured that out yet as part of their decline. As with the shows and hours posted above I never even watched that much during the territory days so it becomes oversaturation. You're showing the fans everything instead of leaving them wanting more.