Should WWE do away with 20 mins plus in-ring promos?

[Sweettre15]

Now before you guys go assuming that I mean make it all about in ring action and nothing else, That's NOT what I'm talking about.

What I'm saying is that instead of beginning every show with a super lengthy promo or making the talkers have to do in ring promos for ever just to set up something up, why not try different things?

For instance, What about utilizing backstage segments, pre-taped/live on locations segments/interviews etc more as well as cutting the in ring promos to maybe 5 minutes maximum?

You can still build the storylines and characters without exhausting the crowd or viewing audience. No matter how good or had a mic worker one wrestler might be, 30 minutes of talking is still 30 minutes of fucking talking and it makes the format feel tired after a while. Not only that but mixing it up allows guys to show more of their strengths and less of their weaknesses.

Like for Reigns, he's a guy that you can have in pre-taped interview segments or any type of segment to where he doesn't have to talk much and can relax and show more personality despite not being the best talker while progressing his angles.

Or even take guys like Kidd and Cesaro, when they are in vignettes like the one in the restaurant, they both show more personality than they could just doing an in ring promo.

Hell they could even do those grounded interviews for guys where they are doing something like training for a match, at the house with their families, or even a vignette where a guy and his tag partner or talking to each other in the car because for whoever those guys are that are in those segments, that's a chance to feel at home and talk like they would if they weren't on TV while showing fans a different side of themselves.

If they did something like this then they could give some pretty good ring time to some matches to wake up the crowd or give them their fix of action without necessarily sacrificing story and character development OR sacrificing wrestling while being able to fill the 3 hour time slot without trouble.

Hell back in the day...Hogan, Flair, Dusty, Roddy Piper, Tully Blanchard, Macho Man and Jake The Snake only had to do about 5 min max promos and still people got behind their characters.

 

[jrush1978]

I am admittedly a little old school (and not in a cool way) so I do miss the backstage segments. Gave an air of an 'interview' instead of someone magically having 25 minutes of talking to do to 10,000 people and get interrupted every week. Bring some of them and the 'live via satellite' back so its not always the same formula.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

I don't really know. It depends on many factors. If you have a good talker (Wyatt, Punk, Jericho, Heyman etc) that can go out there and captivate the crowd, then I'm fine with it be default.

The thing is, how creative can someone be, given their storylines etc. Back when Punk was the heel WWE Champ, he kept talking about respect, but he kept changing it up, he kept things interesting. It was compelling.

When Heyman talks, he is always talking about Lesnar breaking the streak, even when he was with Cesaro. He was saying the exact same thing all the time, but with different wording and with such eloquence, that it was captivating and entertaining.

The common denominator here is that those guys were not week in and week out doing the same promo all the time. No matter how good they are, eventually it gets repetitive, which brings me to HHH.

For like 2 years now, we have HHH opening Raw most of the times, cutting the same old promo about how the Authority wins, for about 15 minutes. Nothing new, nothing groundbreaking and after a while, nothing captivating or shocking. THAT needs to go. Same with Cena. The same old tired promo about how he embraces the hate, about the energy of the crowd, about how good his opponents are and about how he is gonna hustle loyalty and respect and kick their asses on the next PPV. Nothing new, nothing exciting. THAT needs to go.

Where I'm getting at is that there isn't a simple solution for the exact same situation. First of all, it's personal preference. I could listen to Punk or Heyman talk all day, while others would hate it. It is all based on personal taste mostly.

As far as backstage segments go, or out-of-the-arena promos (like Austin driving trucks etc), these are really refreshing and they would be really cool to be done from time to time. Look at Rock's promo on Cena where he was making fun of his mechandise, so cool and funny and refreshing.

Variety does help, but it is mostly personal preference. What I enjoy personally might be hated by others and vice versa.

 

[Wrestling Mind 300]

Like what best wrestling opinions stated, a good talker like a Cm Punk or a Paul Heyman has the mic skills to captivate an audience for a long period of time however, even having them come out almost every week to start off the show would turn their promos very long winded. I wouldn't say completely get rid of 20min promos but just not have em every week and only have them if necessary when building up a ppv or a big main event match.

 

[TDFG]

When RAW is 3 hrs long, they need the 20 min promos, I would rather sit through a long promo than watch Adam Rose vs Xavier Woods or another divas match.

Even back when RAW was 2 hrs, there was a long promo at some point, it's almost become a mandatory event.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Every now and again, I think a 20 minute promo segment could be warranted, depending on the circumstances. For instance, if it's an especially high profile feud between two major players, if it's the night following a big ppv in which the wrestler won a huge match or some sort of major happening took place at a ppv that has a ton of buzz surrounding it; I don't mean Vince trying to impose that some major buzz taking place when there actually isn't any just so they can eat up 20+ minutes of air time with a long, drawn out promo segment. If such segments were more of a rarity, I think the long promos would have more of a lasting impact rather than simply being par for the course.

Not to keep harping on NXT but very, very, very few NXT promo segments have lasted past the 10 minute mark. Over the course of the past year, I think there may have been 3 that I've seen that went longer than 10 minutes, but they didn't feel like they were being dragged out for the purpose of filling air time. I think the build for the last encounter between Sami Zayn & Cesaro about this time last year went past that mark, I also think that a promo between Sami Zayn & Adrian Neville in building for their championship match at the final NXT special of 2014 MIGHT have gone past that point and the contract signing between Zayn & Owens for their match a few weeks back for the NXT Takeover: Rival special. In each case, the additional time was not only warranted, but the time was really put to good use in that they were hyping the matches rather than talking about themselves, how dominant they are, sucking up to the fans, etc.

Most of the time, I don't think 20+ minute promo segments are necessary. I certainly don't believe that every single episode of Raw should start out that way, it's a formula that's been beaten to death that sometimes hurts the energy of the show before the show really even has chance to get started.

 

[Sweettre15]

@Jack Hammer: I see, however I do think WWE could get more accomplished in developing all their angles if they spread apart those times they used for 15-30 minutes of talking by spreading it apart to give the midcarders, tag teams, and divas all time to talk or be in various angle-developing segments along with 10-15 minute matches.

If they did that then they could develop several feuds and gives a lot of people a good amount of ring time too without giving too much to only a few guys in both areas.

Hell, what If from time to time, they opened the show with a high energy match to get the crowd's adrenaline pumping and then follow it up with a cliffhanger segment before commercial break?

Even that would be better than time waster promos knowing they also have ample commercial breaks.

 

[OYDK]

I don't mind the long winded promos if somebody can keep me captivated for the majority of it, or if it works towards a nice build for a feud. My only problem is, I would like to see other people other than HHH or John Cena have the opportunity to go out in front of the crowd and just shoot the shit. Remember when Ryback had his little segment and just talked to the crowd for 15 minutes? A lot of people liked that because it worked to show his depth.

I think you're right in you need backstage segments because that's when the wrestlers can just "be themselves" in kayfabe. There's not enough of those nowadays and again I think it's because Cena and H take up about 30-35 minutes a night on their weekly promos.

There's also the scripted problem, meaning the only guys who don't have their promos scripted (HHH, Cena, Bryan) are basically the only ones who have the opportunity to cut a decently long promo. For the rest of the guys it's maybe 3 minutes of scripted crap. They need to get rid of the scripts first and foremost...

But yeah, it seems Raw NEVER starts out with a match nowadays. I remember during the RA Era, I enjoyed Smackdown more than Raw because it always got me excited with the opening match, and they were GREAT matches. Angle/Benoit, Mysterio/Guerrero, Tajiri/Kiddman to name a few.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Most of the time, I don't think 20+ minute promo segments are necessary. I certainly don't believe that every single episode of Raw should start out that way, it's a formula that's been beaten to death that sometimes hurts the energy of the show before the show really even has chance to get started.

For sure, especially when the opening segment almost always involves the same characters. I think Triple H is terrific, yet watching him come out to the ring at the beginning of the show and knowing he's going to be there for so long can really stall the momentum before it even starts.

Mix it up. Do the Authority stuff, but keep it shorter.....and don't be afraid to open the show with something else if Trips & Stephanie don't really have anything pertinent to say. Always having them announce an "earth-shattering" event sounds too Dixie Carter-ish for my taste.

At the same time, I like the OP's idea of starting with backstage segments ....sometimes involving up-close-and-personal vignettes with two tag team partners talking to each other......providing, of course, they're given something worthwhile to present.

I can even see occasionally beginning the show with.....wonder of wonders....a wrestling match!.....which is interrupted by someone with an ax to grind.....although that shouldn't be used too much, as they already have plenty of matches cut short by this type of interference.

The point is, don't do the same thing every week. Make the announcer's table more of a "news update" center with Michael Cole cutting into an ongoing match by telling us: "There's something going on in the parking lot, by God! Let's get a camera out there. Holy shit!"

 

[The Yes Guy]

Ok. I agree. 20 minutes is a bit too much. But RAW should always start with at least a 10 to 15 min promo. It sets things up perfectly for the rest of the show.
What most of the guys here said about starting with a horrible promo (That it brings down the energy of the show and the crowd as a whole) is also true about starting with a horrible match.
Then again, we should not forget that promos always get a better reaction from the crowd as opposed to a match.(I'm talking bout a crowd in general and not a wrestling crowd like Philly or NYC) So this gets the crowd involved and sets the night up.

And you're spot on about having more backstage segments. Nothing more to say there.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It is almost like 20 Minutes has become the biggest heel on the roster. It is a rallying complaint of members of the IWC. I wouldn't put it past Vince and HHH to continue to do this just to garner heat. Not that I'm giving them credit necessarily but it makes me think.

The beginning of Raw should either surprise, interest me or both. Everything thereafter should do the same and entertain me the whole way. There is no set formula for that does this. Raw has some formulas. They have to do it for the paying audience in attendance but there is nothing set in stone. I'm rambling, I don't care what they do, I just want to be entertained.

 

[L@RISANO]

I don't mind the long winded promos if somebody can keep me captivated for the majority of it, or if it works towards a nice build for a feud. My only problem is, I would like to see other people other than HHH or John Cena have the opportunity to go out in front of the crowd and just shoot the shit. Remember when Ryback had his little segment and just talked to the crowd for 15 minutes? A lot of people liked that because it worked to show his depth.

I think you're right in you need backstage segments because that's when the wrestlers can just "be themselves" in kayfabe. There's not enough of those nowadays and again I think it's because Cena and H take up about 30-35 minutes a night on their weekly promos.

There's also the scripted problem, meaning the only guys who don't have their promos scripted (HHH, Cena, Bryan) are basically the only ones who have the opportunity to cut a decently long promo. For the rest of the guys it's maybe 3 minutes of scripted crap. They need to get rid of the scripts first and foremost...

But yeah, it seems Raw NEVER starts out with a match nowadays. I remember during the RA Era, I enjoyed Smackdown more than Raw because it always got me excited with the opening match, and they were GREAT matches. Angle/Benoit, Mysterio/Guerrero, Tajiri/Kiddman to name a few.

Not directed at you, but when guys like Ryback and those of his ilk do get the chance to cut a longer than normal promo, the usual is to bash them for the 1/2 times they mess up on a word(Cesaro 4 ropes? anyone?) whilst the reactions as well aren't encouraging... what that says to Vince et al, is that he is right about such guys not 'connecting' well, and then the normal guys like Bryan, Cena and HHH get reactions from the crowd regardless... thus, it is no wonder, those same people will always eat up loads of mic time, whilst others who could use it to build character and connect with the crowd won't get the required chances.


At the end of the day, IF programming is to get better, then WWE have to realise that there is, contrary to popular opinion all around, a load of talented guys on the Main Roster, without looking at NXT, who just need chances with which to 'connect' with the audience.
With multiple guys to get behind, it can only mean much better programming overall.

Isn't that why the AE and even the initial stage of the RA eras were so well received?(Stone Cold, Rock, HHH, Y2J, Taker, Foley, Benoit, Eddie, Angle... and that is only scratching the surface)
Now, the talents may not be the same quality, but they are far from rubbish and personally, have been the best set of talents I have seen in years, ie., Reigns, Bryan, Rollins, Ambrose, Wyatt, Ziggler, Ryback, then in NXT there is also Owens, Zayn, Balor to come up... amongst others.. ntm, Orton and Cena still there...

 

[SoulTrain4]

There's no reason for 20 minute promos, it's almost never necessary.
Less is more in the talking department, more is more in the wrestling department.

They desperately need to freshen up the opening, start the show with action like the old days and then work in promos intermittently.

I don't see why anyone would complain about longer matches for undercard guys or promos so they can try to get over instead of forcing them to rush everything they are doing so HHH or Cena can talk about nothing for a quarter f the show.

The 3 he format wouldn't be that bad if it were better utilized.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

If anything, they should do away with 20+ minute matches on television. Watching random guy vs. random guy for 20 minutes is boring, not to mention it makes it nearly impossible to stick two guys together in a feud a few years down the line who haven't already worked 20+ minute matches against one another.

If the promos were consistently awesome, no one would care. But this really isn't an era of great talkers or great creative. Raw should go back to two hours and have less of the talking scripted. None of that will happen any time soon, though.

 

[mlp420]

The problem isn't the promos, it's that they don't lead to anything significant. The long promos worked well years ago because there was so much going on that they really set the show up well. Now we're sitting through 20 minutes and all we get out of it is a tag match main event.

 

[rmp0012002]

The long promo's just ramble. I'm old school and a good promo guy can get his point across in a very short time, you don't need Triple H and Stephanie out there stroking their egos. Something like Edge getting mic time when he retired is totally acceptable and a simple intro as a guest host, as long as they're wrestlers, is ok as long as it's not rambling. I know they have to kill three stupid hours by stuffing it with useless filler but with the big roster wouldn't it be better to have those guys in the ring earning their pay, even if it's a squash.

 

[BuriedByCena]

I love the 20 minute promo's. Sue me.

I just wish they would switch it up more often on who kicks of the show. Instead of HHH/Authority/Cena starting every show, why not have Bray Wyatt, Ziggler or Ambrose kick off the show? They have proven themselves to be good enough on the mic when given the chance. Why not Miz TV to kick off RAW? Miz is solid on the mic.

How about Mizdow next week does Miz TV to kick off RAW and Miz goes berserk? Maybe Miz is late for the show, so Mizdow does it. Miz can show up later all angry that the spotlight was stolen from him and that Mizdow was supposed to pick him up at the airport or something. So much potential to elevate a mid card feud to something people want to see.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Honestly those segment are still probably the most enjoyable part of the show.

In fact I think they should have more to further midcard storylines. I get that the main storyline gets more time, but c'mon, give the poor tag team divison/midcard a plot and 5 or 10 minutes to move it forward through promo/backstage-segments.

 

[Sweettre15]

Man I was thinking for all the time they use for 20 min promos, if those times were divided, you could use 3 minutes from that for a horror inspired segment to progress Wyatt's feud with someone.

For hypothetical sake, Dean Ambrose finds Wyatt's barnyard with a crow bar in hand and he starts kicking the door down to that barn

Ambrose: Bray, come out come out! I know you're in there you son of a b!!tch!

He finally kicks the door Open and sees a dark lair with a table next to the wall filled with lit candles

Ambrose (whispering): What the.....

A mysterious "wind" blows out all the candles, A demonic sounding voice says "RUN!" and the door slams shut

Commercial break....

The show comes back from commercial break

Michael Cole and co tell us that more happened during the break and we see the skit continue

Ambrose sees Wyatt's lantern on that table but Wyatt is right behind him and sneaks him causing a brawl between the two and when Ambrose starts getting the upper hand, he sees a flash of an old lady sitting on the rocking chair that causes him to retreat with a spooked reaction on his face

Dean Ambrose(whispers while retreating): What the hell was that?

That's just one example of the type of segments we could be getting if Vince wasn't just booking the show based around how he can simply make the show accomodate commercial breaks and nothing else. Hell I even booked the segment around the inherent commercial break