Sports

Weekly pro wrestling roundup (Nov. 6, 2014)

Nov 06, 2014 at 5:54 PM

This week on the roundup, we’ll talk about a move for SmackDown, trouble with the WWE Network, an injury to a WWE Superstar and more.

** This morning, WWE announced what was long-rumored, that SmackDown would move back to Thursdays starting Jan. 15. Earlier, when it seemed like the move would happen in October, I wrote a longer post about this, but the important thing is that if the WWE is serious about increasing the ratings, they need to treat it like a real program. It has to be relevant to the story lines, and if there’s a good match, they can’t just repeat it on Raw. Otherwise, the ratings aren’t going to increase by that much.

** The WWE Network was supposed to launch in the United Kingdom on Monday. However, just 30 minutes before it was supposed to go online, the company sent out a message saying that it would be delayed until further notice. Without knowing exactly why it happened, it’s hard to take a real critical look at the situation.

According to F4WOnline, WWE had trouble in negotiations with Sky TV. However, Sky TV has denied via social mediat that hey have anything to do with the situation. Either way, it is a real bad look for the WWE to delay it so close to when they were supposed to launch. The UK is an important market for the WWE Network, especially since they need to gain subscribers quickly. It comes at especially bad time, with the WWE currently touring in the UK, and reports are that Network chants have disrupted the shows at times. So WWE needs to figure out whatever the problem is and get it launched as quickly as possible.

** On a recent WWE survey, there were a series of questions that related to the cruiserweight division. The survey asked if fans would like to see a range of cruiserweight-related programming, including a separate show on the WWE Network, or time on Raw, SmackDown or Main Event.

The Cruiseweight division is part of what made WCW Nitro such a popular show in the 1990s. The fast-paced excitement drew people to watching it, and helped the WCW mid-card.

If there was one complaint however, it was that it prevented the cruiserweights from moving up the ladder and competing in the main event. It put them on a lower level than the “true” stars. With many of the top guys who would be considered cruiserweights already in the main event picture for WWE, I really wonder what a cruiserweight division would be like.

Would it simply be guys like Adam Rose and Heath Slater competing with one another?

Obviously that would do nothing to help the product. While I truly enjoyed the division when it was on WCW, I just don’t know that it’s the right time, or the right situation, for the WWE do be doing it.

** Bo Dallas injured his foot at a show last week. He’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks, according to WWE.com.

** The Royal Rumble, to be held in Philadelphia, sold out within hours of tickets going on sale. While Philly is always a good location for the WWE, I doubt even they expected tickets to go so quickly. If anybody in the area is looking to make the trip up and didn’t get tickets, there's still a chance through the box office, as there are always tickets that go on sale as they figure out the exact stage setup.

Questions? Thoughts? Something you want to me to take a look at? Leave a comment or find me on Twitter: @TheAOster

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
Royal Rumble

Weekly pro wrestling roundup (Nov. 6, 2014)

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