Should the WWE End the Flagship Show Concept?

[Milkyway!]

So in 2002 after the WWE bought out World Championship Wrestling (WcW) They realized something that crippled them greatly. Without WcW the WWE had no competition. Competition helps any business to strive, and do better than it would without any competition at all.

Obviously with monopolys on such things, like Wrestling, or any TV program. After a while, what you're putting out will get boring, and people will have no where else to go, except just quit watching wrestling alltogether. I remember my dad used to get bored of WcW, switch the channel to WWF, we'd watch that for a few weeks, then he'd get bored of WWF, and switch to WcW. He could bounce back between products once he got bored of one, or the other. Competition created the WWE cash.


Wal-mart has a monopoly on supermarkets. Obviously this ends up hurting them, because people can get cheaper items in certain stores else where. So what does Wal-mart do? They created Sam's club. To create competition between each store. Sam's club is more or less a VIP only type place. You have to show your Sam's club membership card once you go in, and its basically Wal-Mart, lower prices. But you make up for whatever lower prices are at Sam's club with your membership card. People fall for it, it creates competition.

What if, SmackDown just let it be known on Monday night that there was a war coming between the two. The two shows start to have competition between the two, ratings, merch sales, Pay-per view buys, etc were let known to the public. The flagship show is ended, the WWE mixes all their best wrestlers together, mid card, etc. They work 2 completely diffrent shows, SmackDown takes on a diffrent stage that way it doesn't make us feel like were watching the same show, diffrent wrestlers. The WWE employs two seperate creative writers, has two diffrent men running each show. SmackDown is litterally, warring with RAW, in a competitive stance. Instead of the A, B, C, D show we're seeing right now. I'm no expert, who knows if it'd actually work or not. But it certainly makes sense.

 

[oldschool123]

I think this would be a bad idea because it would force people to choose between Smackdown and Raw and cut both of their ratings in half unless it generated a lot of new viewers.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

I think this would be a bad idea because it would force people to choose between Smackdown and Raw and cut both of their ratings in half unless it generated a lot of new viewers.

A lot of people already have choosen between one or the other. I don't get Smackdown so I can't watch it, however a lot of people are already more loyal to one show than to the other and many only watch one. So that's not really a problem there. However if you start a war perse between the two, then likely more people would tune back into both shows, to see what's going on, likely boosting ratings for boths shows instead of cutting them in half. That's flawed logic to me.

Moving on, sounds like the plan could work Milky. I like the way you are thinking. Everyone knows Raw is the flagship show, but as we also know, there is a back and forth banter between shows now about which one is better. Smackdown claims they have better wrestling, which is true IMO, while saying RAW is more pomp and show, which is true as well. However a full out competition I think could work. However a few things would have to be done. I would say, even out the rosters a bit more ya know, so both shows have a fighting chance, or just automatically align ECW with Smackdown, to streghten their numbers.

Competition is good, so direct competition between the two/three could turn into a phenomal angle. It would need some heavy planning and major thought to bring it about it, but if done right, I would go for it. Good idea man.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

An idea I had not too long ago was to have Shane McMahon, through a little bit of corporate espionage, wind up gaining control o fthe Smackdown brand and essentially renaming it the new WCW or WCW Smackdown or something along those lines. I figured that Shane works closely with his father in the office a lot and had paper work drawn up by an attorney that he hired and he'd sort of trick Vince into signing over Smackdown, the wrestlers working there and even the titles over to him. Shane would come into Vince's office on an especially busy day, a day when Vince is swamped with paper work and phone calls and this and that. He wouldn't really think twice about signing something Shane hands to him since, as per the storyline, Shane always beings stuff in for him to sign so there's nothing out of the routine going on.

Then, on Smackdown, Shane comes out and reveals that he now owns Smackdown, the titles, the contracts of the wrestlers on Smackdown and even the WCW tape library and that he's renaming Smackdown and the titles on the brand as WCW titles. Maybe merge the WHC with the WCW World Championship, rename the IC title the WCW IC title just to rub it in Vince's face, etc. Shane would cut a promo about how he's watched his father basically ruin not only the WWE, but all of wrestling in general. He'd go on about how his father ruined an incredible opportunity just because of his ego and that he intends to make wrestling and championships mean something again, etc. I think it'd also be a good idea if they staged some sort of public confrontation, Vince and Shane "accidentally" being in the same place and at the same time. Vince loses control and starts screaming at shane, smacking him, calling him a Judas, etc. But, what I'd try to do is to not have WWE cameras around, but instead maybe have a WWE office, pul employee at the place, maybe a resteraunt or something pull out his video camera or shoot some video with his cell phone and maybe sell the footage to media outlets and have it air as part of the evening news maybe or put up on the internet, etc. You know, something to maybe throw people for a bit of a loop. I wouldn't want to do somettohing in the angle where the cops are called, but maybe Vince is forcibly restrained by some people that came to the resteraunt with him while the manager is asking Shane if he's alright, if he wants to press charges or call the cops, etc.

There would be little promos by Vince speaking with his attorneys, going over possible strategies on how to fight this and all that. A lot of legal mumbo jumbo, hell it doesn't even have to be actual legal mumbo jumbo, just as long as it sounds plausible. Anyhow, that's what I'd do if I wanted to end the whole "Flagship brand" thing.

However, with things as they are now, the whole concept of a flagship show is something that's already just been ingrained into a lot of the WWE audience. Raw was on the air for such a long time, then came Smackdown and it just never ultimately outshined Raw overall and just sort of fell into 2nd place. Also, Smackdown is on Friday nights and all, which will cut into the potential audience somewhat. People goin' out to the movies or the clubs or bars and whatnot.

 

[Slyfox696]

So in 2002 after the WWE bought out World Championship Wrestling (WcW) They realized something that crippled them greatly. Without WcW the WWE had no competition. Competition helps any business to strive, and do better than it would without any competition at all.

Obviously with monopolys on such things, like Wrestling, or any TV program. After a while, what you're putting out will get boring, and people will have no where else to go, except just quit watching wrestling alltogether. I remember my dad used to get bored of WcW, switch the channel to WWF, we'd watch that for a few weeks, then he'd get bored of WWF, and switch to WcW. He could bounce back between products once he got bored of one, or the other. Competition created the WWE cash.


Wal-mart has a monopoly on supermarkets. Obviously this ends up hurting them, because people can get cheaper items in certain stores else where. So what does Wal-mart do? They created Sam's club. To create competition between each store. Sam's club is more or less a VIP only type place. You have to show your Sam's club membership card once you go in, and its basically Wal-Mart, lower prices. But you make up for whatever lower prices are at Sam's club with your membership card. People fall for it, it creates competition.

What if, the WWE moved SmackDown to Monday's or just let it be known on Monday night that there was a war coming between the two. The two shows start to have competition between the two, ratings, merch sales, Pay-per view buys, etc were let known to the public. The flagship show is ended, the WWE mixes all their best wrestlers together, mid card, etc. They work 2 completely diffrent shows, SmackDown takes on a diffrent stage that way it doesn't make us feel like were watching the same show, diffrent wrestlers. The WWE employs two seperate creative writers, has two diffrent men running each show. SmackDown is litterally, warring with RAW, in a competitive stance. Instead of the A, B, C, D show we're seeing right now. I'm no expert, who knows if it'd actually work or not. But it certainly makes sense.

No, no it doesn't. Not even in the least.

How does it make sense to split your audience and your profits? Because it's not like Smackdown has an entirely separate audience, the majority of people who watch Smackdown also watch Raw. So you would be cutting your audience in half, which gets you thrown off of BOTH TV networks, kills advertising for those slots which is why the networks throw you off.

Silly idea.

 

[Milkyway!]

How does it make sense to split your audience and your profits?

By sparking a war between the brands, it will cause the audience's to completely split? Especially seeing how one shows on a MONDAY and the others on a FRIDAY.

or just let it be known on Monday night that there was a war coming between the two.

Is what I was trying to say. The part of "Just move it to Monday's" was silly.

Because it's not like Smackdown has an entirely separate audience, the majority of people who watch Smackdown also watch Raw.

Okay? Starting a war between the two, obviously on two seperate dates will cause the other 1.0-1.5 (I'm not sure how many people this actually is) that hasn't been watching SmackDown, over to SmackDown.

So you would be cutting your audience in half, which gets you thrown off of BOTH TV networks,

The USA has been the #1 leading netword for months now. Partly because of RAW, if they ever throw them off, for no appearant reason, that would be stupid. SmackDown is the biggest MyNetwork TV and makes them large amount of money, it would be stupid for them to throw SmackDown of MyNetwork too.

kills advertising for those slots which is why the networks throw you off.

How does it kill advertisement? If anything it would promote even further advertisement. RAW talks about whats going on during SmackDown, SmackDown talks about whats going on during RAW. It makes the SmackDown audience tune into RAW, and the RAW audience tune into SmackDown.

Silly idea.

It was probably the part where I said "Move the SmackDown to Monday's" which confused you. But yeah, I would keep SmackDown on RAW for Fridays, that way all people can watch both shows. Theres just major competition going on between the two.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

It's a nice idea, but not so great. You were right there, but need to get over the hump. I would rather see something done with Smackdown. That show needs two hours, and act like the rebel son of the WWE. Overall yes the WWE needs some good competition, but having Smackdown go toe to toe with Raw is insane. I would rather see Smackdown move to USA on Thursday. I'm still surprised that no one has seen TNA move to that Monday night slot. I think it's silly that they are trying to build more fan base before ever doing so. Their fan base are WWE fans, and are a good alternative when Raw gets boring.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

No, no it doesn't. Not even in the least.

How does it make sense to split your audience and your profits? Because it's not like Smackdown has an entirely separate audience, the majority of people who watch Smackdown also watch Raw. So you would be cutting your audience in half, which gets you thrown off of BOTH TV networks, kills advertising for those slots which is why the networks throw you off.

Silly idea.

Ok, leave Smackdow on Fridays on MyNetworkTv and Raw on Mondays on USA, but other than that, keep the rest the same, different creative teams, new GM's, change up the talent, then have them compete for the top spot. Have Smackdown challenge for the number one spot, incite the war between to the brands. It wouldn't split the audience or profits and would likely increase both. People would tune in to both shows more frequently to see who is gonna get the upperhand this week or what they are doing to gain the upper hand. I think a 'war' could work, maybe not a direct war with both show on the same day at the same time, but as I said take those out of the equation and I can see where this might be a good idea. So it's not that it is a silly idea, it just needs some fine tuning, then it could possibly work.

We likely won't see it though, but the concept could work and would defintely help spark the change so many of us want to see. Why's that a bad thing?

 

[Kronik711]

I personally think this is a great idea. Why would it split ratings and profits and all that? I know you remember the infamous Monday Night Wars, that was the birth of the Attitude era and the reformation of wrestling as we know it. People watched both of them and people would watch both of these shows. It would make people that didnt like one show more likely to watch the other just to maintain the story then introduce them to the other wrestlers they may not be familiar with. It totally makes sense.

I watched WCW hardcore back in the day and basically hated the WWF at the time, but then got drug into the war and became a fan of D-X and then started swapping back and forth so yeah I like the idea and looooove the idea Jackhammer has. Just wish they would have done it back in the day when it was a little more relavent.

 

[Slyfox696]

By sparking a war between the brands, it will cause the audience's to completely split? Especially seeing how one shows on a MONDAY and the others on a FRIDAY.

You said that Smackdown was coming to Mondays.

What if, SmackDown just let it be known on Monday night that there was a war coming between the two. The two shows start to have competition between the two, ratings

Is what I was trying to say. The part of "Just move it to Monday's" was silly.

Then you need to learn to post better.

Okay? Starting a war between the two, obviously on two seperate dates will cause the other 1.0-1.5 (I'm not sure how many people this actually is) that hasn't been watching SmackDown, over to SmackDown.

Smackdown viewership is only slightly lower than Raw. Broadcast television and cable television measure their ratings differently. A 3.0 on Broadcast TV means more viewers than a 3.0 on Cable. The viewers that Smackdown loses from the Raw broadcast are probably due more to the concept of Friday night, than the concept of quality.

The USA has been the #1 leading netword for months now. Partly because of RAW, if they ever throw them off, for no appearant reason, that would be stupid. SmackDown is the biggest MyNetwork TV and makes them large amount of money, it would be stupid for them to throw SmackDown of MyNetwork too.

And you said to move the shows to compete on the same night, which would halve the audience and get them thrown off. Please pay attention to your own mistakes.

How does it kill advertisement? If anything it would promote even further advertisement. RAW talks about whats going on during SmackDown, SmackDown talks about whats going on during RAW. It makes the SmackDown audience tune into RAW, and the RAW audience tune into SmackDown.

See above.

It was probably the part where I said "Move the SmackDown to Monday's" which confused you. But yeah, I would keep SmackDown on RAW for Fridays, that way all people can watch both shows. Theres just major competition going on between the two.

So...how is this any different than what the WWE tried to do when they first started the brand split?

Ok, leave Smackdow on Fridays on MyNetworkTv and Raw on Mondays on USA, but other than that, keep the rest the same, different creative teams, new GM's, change up the talent, then have them compete for the top spot.

You mean like they did for years with the brand split? You know, the one that didn't work, and forced the WWE to make PPVs multi-brand to boost PPV buys?

 

[jefferson411]

The USA has been the #1 leading netword for months now. Partly because of RAW, if they ever throw them off, for no appearant reason, that would be stupid. SmackDown is the biggest MyNetwork TV and makes them large amount of money, it would be stupid for them to throw SmackDown of MyNetwork too.

Yeah because Smackdown! being number 1 on the CW network kept the on the air there forever... They got booted because they didn't fit the theme of the network although Sci-Fi changed their whole network theme in order to incorporate shows like ECW

Unfortunately wrestling doesn't get a free pass just for doing well in ratings. RAW is always on top yet lots of reports say they only have a handfull of supporters at the network.

RAW is only the flagship show because it is on the bigger network on the better night. They didn't just sit down and say hey lets make RAW number 1, that is just what makes the most sense. There is no need to make the two shows as distinct as you propose because so much of the audience is tied in because of the similarities not the difference (i.e. it is a WWE show) you would only lose viewers in the confusion by changing Smackdown!