Question:
Are you happy with the unbroken cycle of WWE programming that we currently have, where there is no off season or break?
Or would you like to see WWE take on the more common model of TV programming and start having a break/off season and every year is broken up into seasons (preferably starting two/3 months after Wrestlemania and then ending with Wrestlemania)?
My view: Personally, I’d like to see WWE adopt a model of breaking up their years into seasons…because it helps the writing staff more than the wrestlers, it gives them time to write without the short timeframe and pressure. It also allows them to plan out storylines better and give us a better payoff when it comes to PPV’s and Wrestlemania itself.
Anyway, would like to hear your opinions
I do feel like one of the best things about the WWE is that it exists on TV while it is so much not … of TV. Does this make sense?
I don’t really care about television. I maybe watch the Daily Show / Colbert (and, yep, these aren’t really shows with off seasons either), but in terms of shows I go out of my way to watch, I think WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown are the only things on TV that can claim my time in such a fashion. I don’t care about televised sports at all. I don’t really care about comedies. I really do not care about dramas. For all intents and purposes, I don’t like television shows.
I like WWE programming. After give or take fifteen years of occasionally loyal fandom, I think I have come to this conclusion: part of the bad writing is what makes it something I love. You know how people will rent I’m Gonna Get You Sucka just for the cheese value? Ok, maybe only I do that, but you know what I mean. Some people have niche value in bad entertainment. Isn’t this why KISS is still popular?
Half of the time, this is what I appreciate in the WWE’s corner of the professional wrestling world. The campy-ness of the entire endeavour. The other half of the time they get everything right and I love it for the sake of loving it. That’s where schlock like the aforementioned movie or band falls short. They’re just bad for the sake of being bad. Wrestling is the best of both worlds to me. Wrestling can create dizzying highs like characters such as the Rock, Mankind, Austin, Undertaker, MITB CM Punk, John Laurinaitis, Booker T as an announcer, etc… and it can create maddening lows like 4 months of Funk is on a roooolllll!, the Divas Division, the Rock, John Cena 60% of the time, 5/7/2012 CM Punk calling Big Johnny a “toolbox,” (I’m pretty sure only my little sister uses that insult) etc. It’s like a litmus test. Can you handle this shit? Can you really? Do you really want to watch this every week? We didn’t think so.
I’ve always felt privileged as a wrestling fan. When my friends are bored because Bones or whatever is on a break from May-October, I’m gearing up for SummerSlam in a month. When my friends talk about how the Office sucks and isn’t worth watching anymore, I think, “haha, more than half of Raw was fucking shit last week, can’t wait to see what they have in store next week!!” WWE isn’t television in my mind. It doesn’t play by the rules and I don’t think it should be judged based on those rules. WWE is above it.
NOTE: In terms of keeping the athletes healthy, I do wish some kind of time off could be afforded to the more active players. I definitely think something to keep the guys who could hurt themselves at any point they’re on my television screen (a fact that is exacerbated by the rigorous schedule) safe is something that needs to be explored and experimented with.
(Source: tomwatcheswrestling)
