sek69 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 I rarely agree with Vince Russo's opinion on things ("Matches need to be shorter!" "You have to do whatever it takes to get viewers no matter what!"), but other than saying that on the most recent episode of JR's podcast, he did actually say something that I've seen echoed elsewhere and couldn't agree with more - the 3-hour RAW concept is a short-sighted money grab that is hurting the company's ability to seem "cool," "must see," or any other buzz word. If I'm not mistaken, it also is hurting the show's rating (as you are averaging out the ratings of 3 hours and not 2 - in theory, this wouldn't be a problem if the show's hours were all earning the same rating or even improving as the show went along, but when you lose hundreds of thousands of viewer with each half hour, it's no wonder nobody aside from NBC/Universal was interested in TV rights). At this point, I'm not sure WWE will ever go back to 2-hour shows, but, man, in the long run, I think it would do wonders for their ability to make it seem like a relevant broadcast (and potentially also have the effect of boosting interest in SmackDown, which seems like such a wasteland/dumping zone show). Like the WWE Network, the short-term loss is undeniable...but in the long run, there is so much more potential for wrestling to "heat up" again if they can find a way to leave the audience wanting more. Right now, the audience is getting way more than it wants and the ratings and subscription numbers show it. I agree with you 100% re: three hour Raws. All WWE sees is extra money for another hour, but the long term effects are going to be way more damaging than whatever extra cash they get. A bad Raw a few years ago was just a bad Raw, now it's an intolerable waterboarding to endure without DVR'ing it first and fast forwarding past all the horribly written and/or acted angles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FedEx227 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 The 3-hour Raws have also made it easy to break the habit. I've probably watched at least a few minutes of every Raw since 1997 because, well, it's Monday and why not? These 3-hour chores have made it just that, a chore. Now instead of, hey, why not it's Monday, it's ugh...it's Monday. That's not good. People can give an hour or two hours to something they may not love but still want to try. Three hours is an awful lot to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 The more I watch the gif and her crazy overreaction, I'm guessing it's intentional to make her look like an idiot but the announcers (SHOCKINGLY!) didn't bring that up. more than anything I'm just mad that they basically gave Alicia Fox's gimmick to a far shittier wrestler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 It says a lot that an hour of NXT feels more substantial than 3 hours of RAW. I mean RAW at this point is outright insulting to fans, not respecting their time at all. They could get so much more out of that 3 hours if they cared to. They have one of the most talented rosters ever assembled at this point (including NXT) so there's no excuse for having 3 out of 4 shows in a month being absolute dogshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo's Roomie Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 I don't watch Raw live anymore, so it's not a fair comparison, but I feel like the show was far shittier in the guest host era, and the Evolution era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 I don't watch Raw live anymore, so it's not a fair comparison, but I feel like the show was far shittier in the guest host era, and the Evolution era. I think the guest host stuff was a definite nadir but at least you had ECW and Smackdown that had interesting things going on and good matches every week. Now, you don't even get many good matches pop up on Raw anymore and the whole feel of the shows has never been more "scripted", for a lack of a better word. And that's saying something for WWE. I also don't watch it live though; I gave up with that a couple of weeks after Mania but the amount of things that I actually watch is shrinking week after week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 Wasn't the extra hour forced on them by USA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 If their situation is like WCW's, going back to two hours will be impossible. WCW made that move and it cost them millions of dollars because they had to refund so much ad money. Sadly, once that door is opened, it's pretty tough to go back without paying a heavy price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FedEx227 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 I don't watch Raw live anymore, so it's not a fair comparison, but I feel like the show was far shittier in the guest host era, and the Evolution era. It definitely was shittier in those eras. It's nowhere near it's worse point whatsoever. The problem is, a bad show now comes with another full hour of commitment. My biggest point is it's not that it's so bad you can't stand watching it, it's just boring and meaningless. Nothing matters, a beatdown this week leads to nothing next week, matches don't mean anything, you don't get title switches or really anything tangible that would make you want to watch the show on a weekly basis. I could live with this IF they were instead shuttling important things onto the Network (let's say Main Event is where the important matches were so if you want to see them buy the network!) but that's not happening either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 USA definitely wants the 3rd hour and it was their call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 USA definitely wants the 3rd hour and it was their call and paid WWE fuck all for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Holy shit! How good was that Jericho/Kane match with all that struggle, wicked stiff strikes and interesting spots. I was thinking TINDERRRRRR Break and I pick me head up and Jericho had Kane in a nasty cravat trying to take him over. Kane hits back and throws Jericho up in the air. I was hooked. Jericho was laying his shit in. Kane who usually is pretty light and was hitting Y2J pretty damn hard. We even got hardway blood from the chin. I loved the dropkick counter to the flying clothesline. The tease and payoff with the exposed turnbuckle was awesome. I loved how urgently they both worked this. They came off like two guys trying to win a match rather than going through the motions and hitting their spots. It was really good action/reaction type wrestling. If you glanced by it, give it a second look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Jericho said on his show that it was Kane's shoulder that split his chin.Thats nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 I don't know about the rest of you, but WWE's new belief that there's no reason for a wrestler to sell a beating/injury from the previous week because the fans won't remember is quickly becoming my most hated quirk. You're flat out saying your fans are too stupid to notice the guy who got destroyed last week is now walking around fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Reading the last page of this thread got me thinking of Raw's JTS moments. Celebrity hosted Raws The Mystery GM Raw going three hours The entire roster walking out because they were afraid of Miz/Truth and things being 'too crazy' I can't think of anything else post 1996. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 McMahon's Millions ending with the stage collapsing on Vince? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 McMahon's Millions ending with the stage collapsing on Vince? PAUL PAUL I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 McMahon's Millions ending with the stage collapsing on Vince? PAUL PAUL I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS Who the hell was supposed to be responsible for that? Or was it just a way to get rid of that segment in the craziest way possible? 2008 WWE was fucking weird, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Very interesting interview to Zayn, Steen, Devitt, Neville and KENTA http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/wwe-nxt-sami-zayn-adrian-neville-fergal-devitt-kevin-steen-hideo-itami-interview-26641720 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Was just coming to post that. Looks like Steen and Devitt keep their names, which is cool. Glad they mentioned Adam Cole, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 McMahon's Millions ending with the stage collapsing on Vince? PAUL PAUL I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS Who the hell was supposed to be responsible for that? Or was it just a way to get rid of that segment in the craziest way possible? 2008 WWE was fucking weird, man. 2008 was a fantastic year for WWE I thought. The roster was stacked with Cena, Undertaker, Edge, Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, HHH, Orton, Ric Flair, Batista, Umaga, CM Punk and JBL on a full time basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Very interesting interview to Zayn, Steen, Devitt, Neville and KENTA http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/wwe-nxt-sami-zayn-adrian-neville-fergal-devitt-kevin-steen-hideo-itami-interview-26641720 Definitely looking more interesting. https://twitter.com/WWE/status/512976420247961600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Hopefully it's not just something related to Slam City or 2k15... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Reading the last page of this thread got me thinking of Raw's JTS moments. Took me a minute to recognize the JTS acronym as "jump the shark," because - to be honest - I've never really looked at wrestling in those terms. Almost every episode of Raw in its long history has had one or more embarrassing moments. That's wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Crackers Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 For a second I just thought he left out the second "T" from JTTS or Jobber To The Stars. Wrestling Bubble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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