Three Hour Raw.... Again.....

[Trivia247]

Ok I need to ask this. For seems to be the past six or so weeks, we've been having a Raw that has been 3 hours, every other week... First being Old School Raw, the second being King of the Ring, now the third being Slammies. It is apparent that the USA network is Oking this extra hour for wrestling. So I am wondering, does this mean these three hour shows are really test runs for the possible concrete three hour raw?

If this is the case does this mean Smackdown may also get three hour as well? Or is that show doesn't get the same priority due to less viewers than the USA network.

 

[Sully]

Possibly. I think it's simply coincidence though, they should have spread out the king of the ring and Old School a little bit, but the Slammys are nothing new.

I wouldn't mind a full 3 hours of Raw each week. It would give an extra hour for WWE to develop unused talent, possible feuds, and better segments. On the down side though, it would also take away money for PPVs. WWE would be losing money, and we could see an increase in Pay Per View prices, and quality do to financial issues with the times. Then again, the extra hour would also mean more commercial times, so WWE pretty much pay for the extra hour.

It's all pros and cons, and it's doubtful whether or not WWE would actually do anything with the Raw air time if it came down to finical issues. Superstars and Crew would also have to be payed bonus for the extra hour they are there too. In the end I think WWE would experience more money being lost then gained, and it wouldn't be worth making Raw a simply extra hour.

 

[cboedeker2]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I really do like having Raw be 3 hours because I'm just that crazy about wrestling, however, having a "special" 3-hour Raw really doesn't seem that "special" when they're doing it every other week. Part of the reason that Saturday Night's Main Event has the success that it does when WWE does is because they don't over-do it. Personally, I would LOVE for Raw to be 3 hours long every Monday, but as already stated, it would introduce some new problems. One thing that I've noticed during Raw, at least in my market, the repeating of commercials over and over and over and over and over, week after week, is annoying as is. Now, imagine if they had to get more sponsors. More annoyance. Although I do not see paying the wrestlers any more than what they normally get as being a problem, because from what I understand, wrestlers are paid on a per-show agreement, with the top-tier stars getting cuts of merchandise and gate sales. What I would like to see is WWE going after a wider variety of advertisers. Not only would this give us a wider variety of commercials and MUCH less annoyance during the show, but it would also bring in good amounts of money, AND allow for us to enjoy 3 hours of Raw every Monday.

 

[Richard]

No, I don't think RAW will be put into a concrete 3 hour show time length. It's just this general time of the year with WWE, they've done this the last few years I've noticed, had quite the number of 3 hour RAWs close together towards the end of the year, it's just what they do and I wouldn't look too far into it.

If they made RAW 3 hours, then how would any of their 'special shows' be special? I think it would be best to stay at 2 hours and have the 3 hour special shows to give another reason to watch, more wrestling than usual.

 

[bltz524]

I dont think it has anything to do with them going full time 3 hours a week. But if they did i hope they do 3 hours on RAW and 2 hours on Smackdown, dump Superstars and have both brands unite. Also make roster cuts, make it so the roster isnt completely over crowded. But i know there is just a 1% chance of this happening but id love if they did.

 

[akpolarbear]

3 hours raws are okay every once in awhile but your right with them being more and more. As for raw going 3 hours... oh yay. Anyone else remember Nitro 3 hours shows ? They would need to bring more lower card and mid card wrestlers up and make it a good 3 hours. We already get enough interviews and yapping as it is now. Leave it at 2 hours and listen look to your companies history for ways to improve it's future. As it was once said " Those that don't remember the past, are condemned to repeat it".

 

[Stephen11]

I doubt that. I feel like it's mostly just bad planning and limited scheduling for these 3 hour events. Even if it was testing grounds for 3 hour RAWs, they wouldn't go on with it. The rating for hour 1 of 3 has always been significantly lower than the normal rating. I've found some of the 3 hour RAWs boring but if they could past the pointless promos and get some actual wrestling with the lower card then I can see it working even though it's extremely unlikely.

 

[D-Man]

I think we're merely seeing a coincidence, much to our enjoyment. I enjoy longer Raw broadcasts and I don't think I'm alone. They normally spark some fresh concepts and allow more time for storyline build-ups. The influx of three-hour Raws on the tail-end of 2010 have been nothing short of spectacular, in my eyes. However, I think we'll be seeing the two-hour formula return for a while into 2011 but I'm sure that ideas of more three-hour Raws could be swimming through the minds of WWE management and USA Network. After all, I think I heard that the ratings have jumped during the longer broadcasts and that's the name of the game. As long as more viewers are tuning in, we'll see more of that type of formula.

 

[deshbo]

If they gonna do 3 hour shows they need to start showing more wrestling than talking, and it will be good to see more wrestlers wrestling than seeing the same people over and over all night long. Keep it fresh and keep us in suspense instead of we easily predicting what gonna happen next. That will give chances to see wrestlers they have on the rosters get a chance to show there face and what talents they have.

 

[Megatron Was Robbed 91210]

The standard 12 Pay-Per-Views a year already cost a lot of money. With 13 PPV's having gone on during 2010, I like the fact that they're reimbursing us for spending on that one extra three hour pay-per-view (HIAC) by giving us three themed RAW's with an extra hour each. For buying that extra 3-Hour event, they've matched us those 3 hours, spread across three events, free of charge. So while I can't answer whether it's a test run or not (My guess would be no), I'm fairly satisfied.

 

[Dzone]

It looks like a mere coincidence BUT we, as the speculating IWC bunch, need to make a few preposterous theorys about the 3 hour shows... I'll start it off!

Title Unification(!) seems even more likely now because the 3 hour show could turn out to be a supershow with a merging of RAW and SD!, it could also explain a few of the SD! job cuts! *<-- there I started it off*

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that it's probably just a coincidence and I don't look for Raw to go to 3 hours on a permanent basis at all. The recent influx of so many 3 hour Raw specials in such a short period of time could be the result of just a little poor timing and I think that the Slammys could feel a bit more special if they had the time to spread these specials out a little.

However, I've really enjoyed the last couple of 3 hour Raws. Old School Raw was just plain fun and I was very pleasantly surprised at how seriously the WWE treated it. It was fun seeing a lot of legendary wrestlers. The Raw featuring the return of the KOTR was also lots of fun because there was just a lot of things going on and the KOTR tourney actually felt like it mattered for the first time in a very long time. I think that one big commonality between these two is that the WWE treated both shows seriously, thereby making the viewer feel like its worth their time to tune in. I'm hoping that they treat the Slammys this Monday in a similar way. I think that the last 3 hour Raw was the Viewer's Choice episide and it was extremely lame, especially the first hour. Had it not been for the original Nexus beatdown of John Cena, the entire show would've been a waste.

Like others, I'm thinking that the WWE may have been testing the waters a little with these 3 hour specials. I'd love to see Old School & KOTR Raws become annual events. I think it might work out best if the WWE spread them out a little. Wouldn't bother me if they were made commercial free as well.

 

[Pepperami]

I seriously doubt this is anything to do with testing the waters. We have had these one-off specials for years. If Raw went permanently to a three-hour broadcast, there would simply be too much air time. I think more is better, but if it ever did happen, all there would be were more adverts and time-filling segments, and I don't want to see that. It would also take away the exclusivity of any Raw specials. I mean what are they going to do, make them a 4-hour broadcast?
The storylines would either move too quickly or there would be too many storylines to follow. It would be chaos.

With that in mind though, I was watching the 1995 Royal Rumble yesterday, and each of those matches were 15 - 20 minutes long. Now I'd like to see longer matches and less of the 5 minute wham-bam matches you see on Raw today.

 

[SullivanSmith]

OK, before I get to my post, I just want to say hi and I'm glad to be here and all that good stuff. Nice to be a part of another wrestling community as I've recently returned to fandom after a few years off.

While I loves me some WWE, I'd hate it if they went to a 3rd hour. WCW tried this with Nitro and it just got old after a while. It's sort of like, IMO, when you go to a concert of a band you really love. And then they do an encore. And then another. And then yet ANOTHER. Eventually you're like "you know, I really have ti go to bed and get up for work in the morning. Can we wrap this up.

I'm all for the occasional 3-hour show - it gives it that "special" feel. Personally I'd like to see more programming like NXT spread across the week - online only without having to rely on a cable channel or network.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

The thing is, USA doesn't have anything else to air. They've been airing Elf nightly as well as House/Psych/Monk reruns when they don't have new episodes of things to air. USA can afford to OK these episodes of Raw a lot, because it brings in ad revenue, and it potentially brings up ratings, because viewers think it's a "special" episode of Raw.

 

[LSN80]

Its the third 3 hour Raw in the last 2 months, thats hardly overkill. The shows were all important and themed as well: Old School Raw, King of The Ring, and now, The Slammy's. The awards take up about an hour of viewing time, so that allows the other two hours to push the PPV.

I think it would be a good idea to go to a three hour Raw every Monday before the PPV. Often, the "hard sell" of the main event prevents the undercard matches from receiving a proper build. a 3 hour Raw before every PPV would rectify this situation. I have no problem with the 3 hour Raw, even the frequency of which they've been doing it. They've served a purpose, and havent felt like they were lagging. Thats good tv, honestly.

 

[ABMorales787]

No. It's pretty much just a random coincidence. It happened last year. We had the 3 hour Raw Thanksgiving special the Slammy's and ended with January 4th. In 2008, there was the Slammy's again and the 800th Raw episode. Not a big deal. It seems to be a pattern that happens in the years end.