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Do you suspect in the future they will do both SmackDown and RAW shows in international markets such as the UK, Australia, and anywhere else they may do a PLE outside of North America? Bonus: Do you suspect RAW on Netflix would air these shows early or hold off until 8 PM Monday?
They have already done with it with Smackdown. I think it’s a matter of time with Raw. For instance, if they do WrestleMania in London, I expect both TVs to be held there as well. It just makes sense (and dollars). As for the Netflix question I have no idea what they will do and I won’t guess.
What do you think of Netflix moving forward with the “Mr. McMahon” docuseries not long before RAW debuts on the platform? I’d imagine this was discussed in some form with WWE since, even though Vince is gone for good, it will be hard for this to produce anything but negativity on the company. But obviously, Netflix doesn’t want to start off their business relationship on a sour note. It’s certainly going to be an interesting watch and perhaps more interesting fallout.
First and foremost, I know it’s hard for people to really grasp but Vince McMahon is gone from WWE. He’s in their rear view mirror. The company has new, and much better, owners. Whatever comes out of the docuseries at the end of the day, it’s about the former owner. It’s like The Washington Commanders in the NFL. They don’t shy away from what former owner Daniel Snyder did. TKO isn’t tied to Vince’s actions either. My hunch is that they are running the series to try and get wrestling fans waiting for Raw to sign up early. If so, I have no issue with it. I know for a fact that at least one major news outlet was working on a Vince story since I gave them a ton of background, so Netflix may as well get the eyeballs for the series before someone else does.
Since Paul Levesque took over, various wrestlers under Vince McMahon have been reinvented and become much more compelling thus turning into much bigger stars. If you were to give an award to Biggest Breakout Star since Paul Levesque took over, who would it be? Dominik Mysterio changed from bland babyface son of Rey to the most despised weasel in WWE since Bobby Heenan. Sami Zayn changed from comic relief goof heel to the biggest catalyst in the Bloodline story to super beloved babyface. Drew McIntyre turned from a cartoon character babyface into possibly CM Punk’s greatest rival and dark reflection of Punk. Then you have LA Knight, Jey Uso, Chad Gable, and others. But if you were to pick one, who gets that award?
Some of the people you mentioned were already there or on their way, like Drew. I will go with Dom. He is just so, so good at his character and the people love to hate him. He went from being someone that no one care about to being someone that they love to hate. Plus, he has improved a lot in the ring too. The 1A here would be Liv Morgan. Her heel turn has been fantastic but as you mentioned, HHH has done magic with a lot of talents and that’s why WWE is in the place that it’s in.
On his podcast, Bruce Prichard would talk about let “me up matches” on PPVs. They were little unimportant matches between marquee matches to give fans a breather so they’d be pumped up for the next big match. Paul Levesque doesn’t have those anymore on these 5-7 match PLE’s but there’s so much space between the matches in the form video packages, announcements, and big fight introductions, do you prefer all that as an adequate breather between the matches?
Absolutely! I love that they go to video packages and I can take in what I just saw. Like with Punk vs. Drew, I wouldn’t have wanted a match right after that. It isn’t needed and it put the people that had to follow in a bad position. By letting things cool down organically, the crowd can get live again for the next match, in this case The Terror Twins vs. Dom and Liv. I am a big fan of every match on a show meaning something so I am fine with eliminating the fluff matches. Less is more.
I know AEW likes to call the wrestlers they sign “Game Changers” but would the most legitimate game changer signing be Lee Fitting for WWE?
Lee Fitting has added so much to the WWE presentation. He has been a game changer for sure. Much like the booking got stale under Vince McMahon, the production got stale under Kevin Dunn. It happens as creative people get older a lot. Fitting’s fresh set of eyes have added so much to the product.
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