KrisZ Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 STAMFORD, Conn., June 25, 2012 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) and ION Television today announced a new weekly one-hour original series airing on Wednesday nights at 8/7C. WWE Main Event will debut on October 3, 2012, and feature WWE Superstars and Divas from the rosters of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown. The new show will be available in 100 million U.S. television households on ION Television, a top-rated general entertainment network that features a broad mix of critically acclaimed series, movies and original programming. “ION Television is delighted to begin a new partnership with such a successful and well-recognized franchise as WWE,” said Brandon Burgess, CEO, ION Media Networks. “As a general entertainment network with a solid foundation, WWE Main Event is a great addition to our lineup that features something for everyone. We look forward to introducing our ION audience to all of the excitement and drama WWE has to offer as well as welcoming a passionate new fan base to the network.” “WWE looks forward to this new partnership with ION Television,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO. “We are excited about producing this new television show, WWE Main Event, and bringing our fans to ION Television every Wednesday.” WWE Main Event will feature in-ring action and fit seamlessly in storylines from Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown, making Wednesday night appointment viewing for fans. The new series will offer a big arena experience with live audiences like current WWE weekly programs. About WWE: WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 600 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo. Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/. About ION Television: ION Television is a leading U.S. general entertainment network, combining high-quality programming and dependable broadcast distribution with an attitude of innovation and growth normally associated with a cable channel. Its "Positively Entertaining" network brand positioning features a formula of proven series, an expansive catalog of blockbuster movies and a commitment to introduce new original programming. Since its recent launch in 2008, ION’s reach has grown to 100 million households and has become one of the top-15 TV rated U.S. networks in record time. For more information, visit www.iontelevision.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I'd never heard of ION Television, so I Googled it and found out it's the former PAX TV. I suppose this is a step up from Touched by an Angel reruns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Are they cancelling Superstars or NXT? How many different C-shows can one company have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cox Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Alright, once somebody tells Vince that WCW used to have a show called Main Event Sunday nights on TBS, this show has to get a name change, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boondocks Kernoodle Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 No, someone will calm his nerves by reminding him that WWF had a Main Event before WCW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I actually get this channel. I sometimes watch Psych re-runs on there. That being said, if this is just going to be another C-show that doesn't really effect any of the product in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. At that point, I would rather just have NXT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Guitar Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I know Vince change's his mind depending on which way the wind is blowing. But for a long while he used to say that his ideal TV format would be 3 primetime 90 minute shows a week. Close enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted June 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I may be reaching here but I think that they may be airing house show matches here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I may be reaching here but I think that they may be airing house show matches here.It's not a huge reach: Presumably all of Superstars will be taped on Tuesdays starting next month and I can't see them taping a B-show before 3 hour Raws. So it would have to be house shows or more stuff from Full Sail, wouldn't it? I just don't get why they aren't using this as a new outlet for Superstars or NXT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Obviously they're getting money from Ion, so that's part of the driver. In addition, they're probably doing it on the cheap like Superstars and NXT are/were as opposed to big production like Raw and SmackDown. I also doubt they'll go the house show route as a way to keep costs down. It will likely be a few matches taped on the Raw and SD shows, then a good deal of recaps / replays of Raw angles and lead ins to SD. On the other hand... If the company has ideas for a new show, they really should be holding these off to populate the eventual WWE Network. You want to air "new" content. We've bounced around ideas in the past, but rolling Superstars and NXT into it are pretty obvious... so why bother with another show on yet another jobber network? I get it: cash. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 I would think that this show would feature the matches that go on after the show goes off the air. They often times have a main event once Raw or SD end, so why not just tape those and air them on this show? Throw in a dark match and the show is set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Especially since those after-show dark matches are usually involving the biggest stars in the company. I've never understood why they didn't tape those for some purpose, even if the matches themselves were house-showy and not exactly filled with hard work. What if they took the production equipment with them to just one house show a week and basically did a Coliseum Home Video taping? As long as the matches don't contradict any current storylines, they could even stick a few of them in the can and wait a few weeks before airing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Phil and I have been watching house show handhelds the last couple of days and I would never miss an episode if they were actually showing house show matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boondocks Kernoodle Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 I can't see them airing house show matches, as they would have to be professionally staged and recorded the way Raw and Smackdown are (WWE, with their emphasis on high production values, isn't going to air crappy two-camera footage from a bare arena). And that would be too much of an expense for a C-show like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostka Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Phil and I have been watching house show handhelds the last couple of days and I would never miss an episode if they were actually showing house show matches.Nor would I. Would they change the way they work the matches on the HS's with them being taped, though? Handhelds aren't meant to be viewed on tv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 They're not going to air house show stuff on a third tier program like this Main Event. If they ever go to airing house shows, it will likely be on their own WWE Network if they can do it in a low cost way (which they can). They also won't likely be going to a poor production show for Ion. It will be a Nxt / ECW thing, which aren't as upscale as Raw/SD, but still fit within what we could call the WWE Style Guide of production. I think folks are thinking too big for this show. It's on a channel in the 30s here in Los Angeles: the old UHF range. It's a jobber network. You're going to likely get some of those matches that people love on NXT, along with tons of rehash video pieces that replay the big storylines on Raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artDDP Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 I'm with John. Given how many WWE TV programs start out promising original content and then just metamorphose into a magazine show recapping the major angles I don't expect much from this show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 And those magazine shows always suck! They hang around being redundant for a few years, drawing minuscule ratings, and are always cancelled. What's the point? Every fan who was hardcore enough to catch Jakked at midnight is someone who damn well certainly watched Raw and Smackdown already. Why bother spending more than half the show on recapping old crap that the C-shows' target audience has already seen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Jakked and Metal became full recap shows once Velocity and Confidential started. They were re-named Afterburn and Bottom Line. At some point they became international shows only (edit 2005). In fact I think one of them still might be airing. so they haven't had a magazine style show in seven years at this point. Maybe they just go the easy route here and start one up again and interesting how Mania and Livewire both eventually ended up as recap shows. It always seeemed that way when WWF tried something different on C type shows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.L.L. Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 F4WOnline's note about it said.... It'll be a "B" show similar to Superstars. With NXT no longer being taped on Tuesdays, the most likely scenario is that either Superstars or Main Event will be taped before Raw on Monday, and the other show will be taped before Smackdown on Tuesday. That seems pretty definitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 That was rather predictable. So what's the deal between NXT and FCW? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Honestly, 3 more Superstars type matches a week is a good thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 That was rather predictable. So what's the deal between NXT and FCW? John NXT is basically FCW tv except it's not called FCW tv. I wonder if they are going to phase out Superstars and replace it with the long rumored Crusierweight shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 I've been making this regular viewing. As someone who almost never watches Raw or Smackdown, I love this. A good 15 minute match every week and recaps of everything else in a quick hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostka Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 It's the best of the C shows right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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