Time For An Overhaul

[nbieclkl91]

I just got to thinking, with the WWE Channel debuting early next year, the WWE is going to need a whole new format of how they present their shows and also when they will play them. So, I made up an idea of how I would like to see the new channel debut and what each show would offer.

Monday: WWE Monday Night RAW (Keep it the same)

Tuesday: WWE NXT (Turn this into an all FCW Talent show. By this I mean, have the complete roster of FCW be on TV every week and just name the brand NXT rather then FCW. This way, the WWE Universe can easily see the new talent in the WWE. Have an NXT Championship and even an NXT Tag Team Championship and NXT Diva's championship.

Wednesday: WWE Tough Enough (Reality Show)

Thursday: WWE Superstars (Pretty much keep it the same, 3-5 matches with lower-card talent who don't appear on RAW/Smackdown as much.)

Friday: WWE Friday Night Smackdown! (Keep it the same)

Saturday: WWE Movie Night (ie. The Marine, bla bla bla. Or even a movie featuring an upcoming Guest Star.)

Sunday: WWE PPV or Movie Night

Now inbetween all this stuff (during the day), there could be new original shows (Like turn Zack Ryder's "Z True Long Island Story" into a 30 minute episode, have WWE Cribs, a day with a WWE Superstar, WCW/ECW re-runs, weekly recap show like WWE Experience or something, new original WWE Cartoons for kids, WWE DVD's like The Rock, etc.) I even heard about a possible cooking show with Big Show?

Bottom line is there's lots of ways to make this channel great so I'd love to hear your opinions!

 

[InterestingDrug]

Honestly I dont think Raw or Smackdown leave their current homes. WWE makes too much money from NBC Universal to be severing their relationships. If they restricted their product to only their own channel, viewership would go down and not be as diverse. (Plus what would happen to Burn Notice!!?!?!? lol)

I think they will do a replay of Raw and SD, but the remainder of the time will be filled by WWE archives and some other original programming. Great idea on movie night. That makes complete sense.

If WWEnet would show WWF Superstars from the 1980s daily in sequential order, that would be great. Classic PPVs could be shown on Sunday nights. Another idea is hour blocks of focusing on just one wrestler. I'd love to see a full hour of The Missing Link or Don The Rock Muraco.

Mondays they could even show classic WCW Nitro while Raw is on.

There's so much potential here.

 

[shitsngiggles]

First I want to see Smackdown go live, I'm fed up with spoilers that are too interesting to avoid reading

So I would switch Smackdown to Tuesday first of all and put FCW on Friday night instead.

The NXT brand I think as it has been done has been a huge flop I think, I only watched a few episodes of it and it was like a game show to me which sucked. The storylines they try using on that show are poor.

So yeah maybe keep the NXT brand but use it for FCW and have that on Friday night.

The rest sounds like a good idea. Except the movie bit, if they only wanted to use WWE studios films that wouldn't work, they would need something else like you mentioned with guest star's films or something like that.

Definately want to see more classics from WWF/WCW/ECW so they need to be a big part.

I also want to see the more edgy stuff again, like the big cage and HIAC matches, the hardcore matches, etc. Some emphasis on the greatest tag teams, champions, factions etc.

They already have a ton of video so they should easily be able to pull it off.

I also want a Smackdown replay on at some point incase I miss anything.

I always seem to watch the last 90 minutes of raw live, and the first part on the replay the next day. But maybe I just need to get a PVR......

 

[InsomGTS]

RAW will stay on USA. Too big of a platform to ignore. They'll probably show re-runs on WWE network.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

I want Smackdown live on...maybe Wednesdays. Tuesdays is too soon and Thursday hopefully will have Tough Enough.

I dont think WWE should make FCW a televised show. Take some stars, redo NXT, and make NXT a breeding ground for guys that are too good for FCW, but are not near ready for RAW or Smackdown. Eventually NXT becomes what ECW used to be before it was canceled.

As far as movies, skip that. I know its bound to happen, but lets say Saturday nights are old PPVs. Im not saying DONT SHOW a movie ever, just sprinkle a movie here and there. WWE doesn't have enough movies to do Saturday night movies right now. Maybe if they showed DVD collections like Undertaker or Bret Hart.

I would LOVE to see older, early episodes of RAW, Smackdown, WCW Monday Nitro, ECW, etc...to relive those days would be great.

As for original programming...what if we saw some behind the scenes stuff like building the ring, setting up the arenas, what they do when they're not performing...like inside stuff without giving away too much. I dont want to see Orton and Henry going over the match or what moves they're going to do.

 

[trashboy]

All I want to see is reruns of old shows.. i don't want filler crap like behind the scenes or cooking with Big Show.. give me some old Nitros, Raws and ECWs and I'll be happy..

I do like the weekend movie thing though.. but they don't have enough movies to do much before we start seeing the same ones played over and over.. unless you meant every movie that has ever had a wrestler in it instead of just limiting it to WWE Films.. we could get some Santa With Muscles on that bad boy

i just hope this channel gets added to our cable, instead of having to pay extra for it

 

[TheSammichEater]

I really like the movie idea! They keep increasing their number of films so that could definitely work in the long run. The only questioning part is movies like Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia where a former wrestler like Kennedy/Anderson is the star and are no longer in the company

Reruns, showing of special DVDs would be good too

The only thing is, what will they air during Raw and SD? They surely can't compete against themselves by airing something else. At first I thought maybe air Raw and SD on both USA/Syfy along with WWE Network but that would potentially take ratings from the main networks

I'm really excited for the network to come on air...I just hope to find it somewhere thats available to me

 

[Azane]

I could see it now, WWE opens it's own network, pulls it's shows off major networks, and watch RAW's ratings dip literally 90%


Mirror broadcasts (with Sifi and USA's permissions), reruns (the WWE library is huge now), FCW, NXT, all those shows that are fun to watch when you wanna see botches. The terrible movies that take 15m of Raw time to advertise (You'd think they'd can that crap after they had to make fun of The Chapperone themselves after it bombed, and took over an hour of RAWvertising with it)

I'd love to see a pregame, postgame, Kind of like Reaction was for impact, maybe air them exclusively on WWE networks, so you don't miss a ton if you don't get it. I think that's the largest flaw I see with WWE network, if they allienate people who don't get the network, much like when Smackdown went major and I didn't get UPN, I eventually quit watching WWE until the brand split since I'd miss half the product, or with Xplosion storylines affecting iMPACT when a very small crowd was able to see Xplosion.

A lot of their older DVD packages could be aired too, I'd love to see some of their Hall of Famers careers being aired on daytime television, not to mention it'd be a good experience for the kiddies to get brainwashed with the legends.

 

[InterestingDrug]

I could see it now, WWE opens it's own network, pulls it's shows off major networks, and watch RAW's ratings dip literally 90%

Anyone with any business acumen would know that this would be bad for business. Pulling RAW from USA will not happen.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Neither Raw or SmackDown! will be leaving their current spots on the USA & Syfy networks for a while. If I'm not mistaken, Raw still has at least 4 years left with its current deal with USA and I'm not sure how long the deal with Syfy was.

I remember reading way back, well over a year ago, that Raw & SmackDown! wouldn't be part of the WWE Network. It'd be a HUGE mistake for WWE to even consider trying to break the deals with NBC Universal because both Raw & SD! are huge hits on their respective networks. The WWE Network is still very much in its infancy and there's no way that WWE will take their two hit shows and try to place them on a fledgling network. The WWE Network is going to have to show some consistent, long term success and interest with fans willing to pony up some extra dough to have it as part of their cable or satellite program. That in and of itself is going to take years.

Besides, the WWE Network isn't supposed to be just about wrestling oriented programming. It'll be a huge mainstay but I remember reading that they want to be more than a wrestling channel and have original programming like television dramas and comedies as part of the line up. The foundation for the network really hasn't even been laid so Raw & SD! aren't going anywhere for years to come at the very least.

 

[RicoLen]

Neither Raw or SmackDown! will be leaving their current spots on the USA & Syfy networks for a while. If I'm not mistaken, Raw still has at least 4 years left with its current deal with USA and I'm not sure how long the deal with Syfy was.

I remember reading way back, well over a year ago, that Raw & SmackDown! wouldn't be part of the WWE Network. It'd be a HUGE mistake for WWE to even consider trying to break the deals with NBC Universal because both Raw & SD! are huge hits on their respective networks. The WWE Network is still very much in its infancy and there's no way that WWE will take their two hit shows and try to place them on a fledgling network. The WWE Network is going to have to show some consistent, long term success and interest with fans willing to pony up some extra dough to have it as part of their cable or satellite program. That in and of itself is going to take years.

Besides, the WWE Network isn't supposed to be just about wrestling oriented programming. It'll be a huge mainstay but I remember reading that they want to be more than a wrestling channel and have original programming like television dramas and comedies as part of the line up. The foundation for the network really hasn't even been laid so Raw & SD! aren't going anywhere for years to come at the very least.

That doesn't mean that Raw & Smackdown couldn't be aired a week later on the WWE Network, or some deal like that. I'm not even sure that there's a reason it couldn't be broadcast simultaneously on both networks.

At the very least I'm sure we'd see Raw & Smackdown on in syndication. If not, there's almost no reason to get the WWE Network channel. The biggest draw right out of the box would be to see old episodes of Raw & Smackdown.

Not saying you're wrong. I'm sure your right that Raw & Smackdown won't get pulled from USA & Syfy, but I think there's more to it too.



Personally my biggest wish of all in the WWE Network, is that Bobby The Brain Heenan makes a full recovery and is able to host a late night talk show. I would gladly watch Heenan over ABC (Kimmel), NBC (Leno), CBS (Letterman), or TBS's (Conan) talk shows. Poor Heenan needs to recover fully and get back on television where he belongs. He's the best talent the WWE's ever had and he'd be perfect for a late night talk show job. So long as we can understand him, unfortunately I think his throat cancer has ruined his ability to talk clearly and be understood. Still, that's my biggest wish for the WWE Network's television lineup. Bobby Heenan is a better talent than any of those late night talk show hosts.

 

[TheyCallMeJ]

I would like to see like sit down interviews about like their favorite matches or moments and also like a little pop up during a match the wrestler was in and give a little insight on it things like that will make the network a hit and it will be different then just watching the rerun of events have the wrestlers do commentary on their matches ex. Chris jericho on breaking the wall breaking the code him and striker did alternative commentary little things like this will the network a success because we will tune in to hear what they have to say

 

[TempestH]

I think that reruns of RAW and Smackdown should be shown on the WWE Network. Those who miss the show on Monday can watch it on Tuesday as the lead in to NXT.

NXT: Rather than making NXT a glorified ECW or rebranding it into FCW, I say make NXT exclusive to NXT alumni only (regardless of how over they are or how far they've been pushed), with special appearances by former NXT pros who can occasionally bring in ratings for star power (i.e. having Miz & R-Truth crash the show or something). Guys like The Usos and Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks have no business being on NXT when they've never been Pros and could perfectly be doing the same thing on Superstars.

Superstars: Make it a two hour show similar to WCW Saturday Night. Have it feature undercard wrestlers, and give them mic time and actual feuds. Superstars should be headlined by a more over midcarder such as Zack Ryder or

WWE Films, as well as made for TV versions of films that have featured WWE Superstars (i.e. the various films that The Rock has starred in) could be shown on Saturdays.

I like the idea of Z!TLIS, but not as a 30 minute show. Maybe as a 15 minute Adult Swim-esque show.

With WWE having its own network, they wouldn't n eed to clutter RAW or SmackDown with segments. If a new WWE Film is coming out, they could have a 30 minute or even an hour long "The Making Of..." special

Also a WWE Cribs show.

Another idea could be a "1 Day With" kind of thing. The main character could spend the entire day hanging out with a WWE Superstar. The main guy could be an FCW guy who can work on his talking ability as well as getting the opportunity to interact with one of the guys on the main roser.

 

[daddyJ_t]

i love this formatt and have a list of some movies jus for movie night. not jus limit it to movies featuring a wrestler as the star but open it up to all movies with wrestlers in it to broaden the spectrum. here is a few movies i can suggest...
ready to rumble
princess bride
predator
they live
batman and robin
all of hogans disney crap
wrestlemaniac
spiderman
jingle all the way
rocky 3
and many many more. all of they movies have a wrestler appear in them and jus having the rights to air them will draw ratings. alot of people may be confused by some of the movies, but maybe do a 10-15 highlight before or after the movie featuring the wrestler jus to introduce the character to people. the possibitlies are endless, jus gotta tie the movies or tv shows to wrestling somehow. hell maybe even show the episode of x-files with rvd in it

 

[rge2010]

Yeh lets get one thing straight, Raw and Smackdown wont be leaving their current channels. Re-runs is the best you will get on the WWE Network.

As for showing WWE movies, that's fine. But they have only done like 8 or something so won't be long before they are repeated.

WWE have detailed so many Superstars in their DVD's. Each one has around a 1 hour documentary. These would make fantastic viewing - Jake The Snake, Bret Hart, Macho Man, Mr Perfect, etc etc.

PPV's is a nice idea. Love that. Can show WWE PPV's from the 'start of time'. Doubt you will get WCW PPV's but you never know.

I'd like to see a News Programme 'like' CSR talking about all the discussion points in WWE. A 60 minute round up show of Raw and Smackdown would also be good. Over here in the UK we have WWE Experience which is perfect if you don't catch the shows.

I think WWE Superstars will be shown on here. Still been taped for Europe, and think it is going back on WWE.com. Makes sense to show this on WWE Network.

I would love to see them make some 'Top Ten' type programmes. Top Ten matches of Wrestlemania, top ten promos of all time, top ten most shocking moments, etc etc.

Cooking programmes? Wouldnt be interested but they will need day fillers so makes sense to have that shit on then.

 

[chadmarkmurray]

I like the idea of them doing it like this;

Monday: WWE Monday Night RAW (on two networks, this one could show an hour later or the Major network version could have no adverts/ Televised dark matches.)

Tuesday: WWE NXT/FCW with like dark matches from Raw (Heat/Velocity style thing)

Wednesday: Tough Enough

Thursday: WWE Superstars (Maybe do a full card with superstars from Raw, Smackdown, FCW and NXT all available to appear though obviously it's a lower tier showcase.)

Friday: WWE Friday Night Smackdown! (same as Raw)

Saturday: WWE Movie Night (All the films featuring WWE current superstars, legends and alumni whilst also up-coming films of guest stars)

Or Saturday Night's Main Event.

Sunday: WWE PPV/ Movie Night

Inbetween: From The Vault, Reality Shows: Where are they Now?; Cribs; WWE Music Hour. (Feat. Fozzy, The Luchagores, Guest Stars etc.)

 

[TheSammichEater]

Something else I have thought of is if anyone has every watched the Big Ten Network, they'd probably seen something about "The Journey" which follows basketball teams around for a season. People have said do a "day with a superstar" but why not a journey for superstars? See how they live going from show-to-show, PPV-to-PPV, missing the family, the hard times and stuff like that. I know it could become controversial but still cool at the same time.

I don't know how I feel about WWE sitcoms...will it be written by WWE people or by new writers who specialize with sitcoms? I don't see how the WWE writers will do with an actually TV show

 

[Dagger Dias]

They would need to make sure there are no time conflicts between Raw. The same goes for Smackdown and other more important shows. Other than that, it really doesn't matter because they can put just about anything in the other timeframes and fans will still watch. They have a LOT of space to fill with 168 hours per week. They could create movies and tv shows starring the wrestlers to fill the voids left in the schedule after they insert several reruns of old shows like Nitro or Saturday Night's Main Event. I would have them show at least one PPV rerun for free each day whether that be from Oldschool WWF, WCW, ECW, or more recent WWE shows. I'm sure they have plenty of people working on a team as we speak on how to come up with a constant lineup of WWE programming to fill this channel. I still think it's an extremely bad idea but we will see what happens.