WWE's weekly content is too densely scheduled

[Mr. Nerfect]

SmackDown just had its lowest USA Network rating ever. People say it was against giant competition, but an excuse is an excuse. People obviously prioritize other things over whatever is going on around the WWE World Title right now. This seems like a good time for me to make my obligatory "the brand split might have been a really bad idea" statement. None of the feuds in the company actually feels like a World Title feud. Owens vs. Rollins is about Triple H's affection. That could very easily be an upper mid-card feud two or three matches down on a PPV. Styles vs. Ambrose doesn't feel like a main event since both guys feel like they are trying to find footing in that scene. Styles vs. Cena feels like the real program there.

Has splitting the women up really been good for them? Becky Lynch and Natalya could really be useful as opponents for Sasha and Charlotte after they finish with each other as HIAC and have nothing to do. Bayley and Dana are about to have their 15th match and Bayley hasn't even had 15 matches yet. You've got Nia Jax, but the thing is, you're supposed to be pushing her. Everybody on the RAW side is supposed to be getting a push, except for Paige and Summer Rae, both of whom are on the shelf. Oh, you've got Alicia Fox, but you've used her for Jax already. This is where you need your Naomi's, Alexa Bliss's and Carmella's. They're there to take a beating from the elite girls while they work out who they are.

There's so much filler on the programming these days. I disagree with the Russo philosophy of "if you give them a chinlock they'll change the channel," and wrestling should have the confidence to be what it is, but a lot of the programming is a big metaphorical "chinlock" if it were. I love Goldust and The Shining Stars, but was that shit on RAW really supposed to keep people engaged? If they tune out of that, who is to say they're going to come back? The Styles/Ellsworth stuff is a chinlock. Everything is spinning its wheels along.

But we're in a PC era where you can't fire Titus O'Neil because he sucks anymore. You keep him around to keep morale up because he's a great guy. R-Truth stopped meaning anything to even your dumbest child years ago, but he's still doing his shtick because he's still in great shape. I used to be all "there's a place for all this talent, you just need to use them properly," but I think the reality of running a proper wrestling promotion means you need to say goodbye to tired acts. And it's sometimes not their fault. Guys just have a certain shelf life before you need to take them off TV and recharge their batteries. Dolph Ziggler is a great example of this. Maybe The Spirit Squad should have beaten the piss out of him, he could have taken a sabbatical and worked somewhere else (New Japan, EVOLVE, NXT, etc.) and they could actually have heat and set up something for Dolph Ziggler when people actually miss him and say "You know what I could go for? A Dolph Ziggler match?".

You often see it suggested that wrestling needs an off-season, but I don't think wrestling needs an off-season so much as talent need to be used more sparingly. Bayley is getting crushed doing her week-to-week. Even a Cesaro match is starting to mean nothing since he's been on RAW every week since the RAW after Mania. I don't just think the shows are condensed, but the talent is overexposed across them.

[Ruien]

Originally Posted by Noid Do you think the brand split has actually divided viewers, as opposed to making RAW and SmackDown can't miss programming?

Originally Posted by Noid SmackDown just had its lowest USA Network rating ever. People say it was against giant competition, but an excuse is an excuse. People obviously prioritize other things over whatever is going on around the WWE World Title right now.

Well, I don't think anyone really watched SmackDown before did they? But they did divide me. Raw has Y2J, Rollins, and Rusev but that is it. And within 3 hours that is a long pause between those wrestlers getting screen time. And from what I seen before, Rusev just gets hammered by Reigns anyways and I don't want to see that.

SmackDown has Miz, Spirit Squad, Heath/Rhyno, Bray/Harper, AJ, Cena (When he is around), and Dean. That is a ton to look forward to in a 2 hour show.

[The CyNick]

Originally Posted by Noid SmackDown just had its lowest USA Network rating ever. People say it was against giant competition, but an excuse is an excuse. People obviously prioritize other things over whatever is going on around the WWE World Title right now. This seems like a good time for me to make my obligatory "the brand split might have been a really bad idea" statement. None of the feuds in the company actually feels like a World Title feud. Owens vs. Rollins is about Triple H's affection. That could very easily be an upper mid-card feud two or three matches down on a PPV. Styles vs. Ambrose doesn't feel like a main event since both guys feel like they are trying to find footing in that scene. Styles vs. Cena feels like the real program there. Has splitting the women up really been good for them? Becky Lynch and Natalya could really be useful as opponents for Sasha and Charlotte after they finish with each other as HIAC and have nothing to do. Bayley and Dana are about to have their 15th match and Bayley hasn't even had 15 matches yet. You've got Nia Jax, but the thing is, you're supposed to be pushing her. Everybody on the RAW side is supposed to be getting a push, except for Paige and Summer Rae, both of whom are on the shelf. Oh, you've got Alicia Fox, but you've used her for Jax already. This is where you need your Naomi's, Alexa Bliss's and Carmella's. They're there to take a beating from the elite girls while they work out who they are. There's so much filler on the programming these days. I disagree with the Russo philosophy of "if you give them a chinlock they'll change the channel," and wrestling should have the confidence to be what it is, but a lot of the programming is a big metaphorical "chinlock" if it were. I love Goldust and The Shining Stars, but was that shit on RAW really supposed to keep people engaged? If they tune out of that, who is to say they're going to come back? The Styles/Ellsworth stuff is a chinlock. Everything is spinning its wheels along. But we're in a PC era where you can't fire Titus O'Neil because he sucks anymore. You keep him around to keep morale up because he's a great guy. R-Truth stopped meaning anything to even your dumbest child years ago, but he's still doing his shtick because he's still in great shape. I used to be all "there's a place for all this talent, you just need to use them properly," but I think the reality of running a proper wrestling promotion means you need to say goodbye to tired acts. And it's sometimes not their fault. Guys just have a certain shelf life before you need to take them off TV and recharge their batteries. Dolph Ziggler is a great example of this. Maybe The Spirit Squad should have beaten the piss out of him, he could have taken a sabbatical and worked somewhere else (New Japan, EVOLVE, NXT, etc.) and they could actually have heat and set up something for Dolph Ziggler when people actually miss him and say "You know what I could go for? A Dolph Ziggler match?". You often see it suggested that wrestling needs an off-season, but I don't think wrestling needs an off-season so much as talent need to be used more sparingly. Bayley is getting crushed doing her week-to-week. Even a Cesaro match is starting to mean nothing since he's been on RAW every week since the RAW after Mania. I don't just think the shows are condensed, but the talent is overexposed across them.

I find it easier to watch RAW and SDL when they have separate rosters.

My feeling is when you have one roster with two shows, you end up with only 6-7 programs going on at once, and those programs get burned out too quickly by having 5 hours to fill.

With separate rosters, you still have 5 hours, but now you get to see 12-14 programs, which gives more guys opportunity to shine. The problem as I see it right now is both rosters are thin, and it will take time for guys who were previously 5th or 6th from the top guys to become 2nd or 3rd from the top guys who are knocking on the door of the main event. Even established guys like Miz and Ziggler are essentially semi main guys on SDL, and get time to shine. In a combined roster environment, they would be 5th or 6th from the top, and get less time on a PPV to tell a story. The Ziggler-Miz storyline has been one of the best IC title programs in at least a decade.

The other advantage from a business standpoint is the additional PPVs for The Network. Content is key, and by having the brand split you now have 20 PPVs for your $10 per month, instead of 12. Thats an excellent value add message that can be sold to new and existing subs.