The WWE Network: Session 3 – Too Much Wrestling

For tennis enthusiast, there is the Tennis Channel. For golf aficionados, there is the Golf Channel. For speed junkies, there is the SPEED Channel. Now, for all the wrestling fanatics, there will soon be The WWE Network. If you have read my first session on the WWE Network, I am on the fence regarding this channel, because I feel that we will eventually hit a point when we will have too much wrestling. The essence of a wrestling match is 2 people in a ring battling to pin the other down for a 3 count. Regardless of who is in the ring and how great their ring psychology is, the essence of wrestling is still the same. How much of that can we really watch? If that’s all they have in the morning, noon, and night, then eventually, I have no motivation to stay tune on the channel.  

One argument for a pure wrestling channel like the WWE Network is that there are existing channels that do feature a single sport like the Tennis Channel. One difference between these single sport channels and the soon-to-air WWE Network is that those other channels are separate from the entity that runs that sporting event that they feature. This dynamic allows for a variety of shows that relate to that channel’s theme. The Tennis Channel airs the various tournaments ran by the ATP and ITF. The Golf Channel airs various tournaments ran by the PGA, LPGA, and other golf organizations. The SPEED Channel airs various races ran by NASCAR, Formula 1 and other car-racing related programming. But what about the WWE Network? Apparently, the WWE Network will air only WWE Programming. WWE Programming is primarily centered on RAW and Smackdown. As a result, this channel can possibly be a 24 hour/7 day a week promotion for RAW and Smackdown. I already get annoyed that out of a 2-hour wrestling show, I’m only getting about 40 minutes of pure wrestling. So much time allotted to recapping last show, recapping a previous pay per view, and promoting an upcoming pay per view that I only get a handful of promo-to-wrestling matches. Now amplify that with everyday of the week, what variety do we really have? 

Another argument for the WWE Network is that we will be able to watch classic matches of the past. When we think about TV production, good wrestling TV shows really started around the mid-1980s. Prior to that, TV production value wasn’t necessarily that great. Those wrestling promotions that were able to video tape their matches had to do it on a low budget. As fun as it is to watch an old-school wrestling match, how tolerable is it to watch bad video production? Plus, many wrestling fans today are ignorant of past legends so what would motivate this current generation of wrestling fans to spend time watching the WWE Network? 

 As much as I am a wrestling fan, I don’t know if I can watch wrestling 24 hours/7 days. Nor do I think I can watch endless commercials of RAW and Smackdown and whatever upcoming pay per view that’s coming up. Unless there is a variety of shows that are interested and unique, then the only reason I will tune into the WWE Network is to watch RAW, Smackdown, and Superstars, and that’s it.