Should WWE Ditch the 3rd Hour of RAW?
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I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but disagree with it cutting back down to 2 hours. There have been a bunch of good matches and promos recently that probably wouldn't have fit into a 2 hour segment. But yeah, it would be even better to let the lower-card/developing wrestlers get some shine, build some character, and showcase more of a variety for the company. ? is dull. It's the same people in every PPV.I think that they should. They won't though and only because USA gives them a lot of money to have that 3rd hour. It's "good for business". An easy way for them to keep some extra revenue coming in an era where they have to make as much money from everything BUT wrestling as possible since the industry is pretty much dead outside of that promotion & wrestling has very little mass appeal in 2013. I do think even creative realizes how much it ruins the pacing of the show though.
It would be one thing if the extra 40 min was actually used to give the lower card talent some storylines and character development. But it's just used like the other 20 minutes of the hour; for shilling. Whether it's eating hamburgers on live TV or yapping about the WWE App, Make A Wish and Be A Star campaigns it's all just more advertising. It's superfluous and doesn't enhance the product in any way.
You have red hot angles losing momentums between segments because the segments are TOO spaced out and have a bunch of filler in between them derailing their impact. You need to give segments time to breathe yes but you do so by building up other storylines not just giving us matches we don't even care about because their is no real storyline behind it to at least build some suspense. It just feels like random exhibition matches in a video game. Completely takes away from the product by ruining the pacing especially since it isn't even allowed to get some shine on the rest of the roster anyway.
Take the Night of Champions build up for example. Does it make sense that WWE with 3 hours or RAW, 2 hours of Smackdown and other ? like Main Event has had such a shoddy built up for the one gimmick PPV where all the championships are on the line?
The only championships that remotely have some kinda storyline build up are the WWE title and the Divas championship. Nothing going on with the US Championship despite that belt being around the waist of one of their main players right now. Same with the tag championships which are such an afterthought that the challengers for the belts will be determined in the pre-show before the PPV. The IC belt isn't even a factor in the storyline leading up to it's defense at the PPV. That storyline's central narrative is CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman. How is any of that excusable when they have so much TV time to give all those storylines real credibility with proper build up especially leading into the PPV that must be ordered by the fans because it's focus is title defenses in the first place?
This is why the 3rd hour hurts the product much more than enhances it IMO.
The time element isn't the problem. WWE just simply needs to utilize their time (however long that may be) better.
Don't abandon the concept, evolve the product.
That.
