Can WWE make a three hour Raw work? May 26, 2012

It is a true testament to how well WWE has done within the world of entertainment that they have almost reached 1000 weekly episodes of Raw.

To celebrate this achievement, WWE have decided to go permanently to three hours in duration instead of the usual two, but is this the right move?

The internet community instantly criticized the idea and made comparisons to when WCW Nitro moved to three hours – they crumbled soon after.

WWE are claiming this will be different. They are claiming that their show will include fan interaction and that we will be deciding the show’s direction.

Is this another attempt to cure lazy booking? How can a creative team work round certain storylines when fans are making choices? The obvious response is that the choices we make are not important. We’ve seen this before with shows like Cyber Sunday and Taboo Tuesday, where we get the choice of a ‘chain match’ or a ‘steel chair’ match… hardly ground breaking.

Not to say that these events weren’t fun but it needs to be done right to truly bring a new element to an already long show. People complain that two hours is too much these days, but when you take out commercial breaks Raw is barely 90 minutes long in content.

WWE have struggled to produce good three hour Raws in the past and I think this is playing heavily on people’s minds. The critics say that WWE do not have a strong enough roster to fill the extra time slot. I tend to disagree with that: the talent is there but the creative decisions aren’t.

People who hardly get on to TV could be used so much more effectively. Tyson Kidd, Alex Riley, Curt Hawkins, Michael McGillicutty, Tyler Reks, Zack Ryder, Antonio Cesaro, Drew McIntyre, Hunico, Johnny Curtis, The Usos, Justin Gabriel, Ted DiBiase, Trent Barreta and Yoshi Tatsu are all people who could benefit greatly from more TV time. However, the time has to be used wisely. If you just throw them on in meaningless matches then you will just create an hour or boredom. Use the Intercontinental and US Champions more, create number one contender matches, make these guys look like a threat to one another and keep them away from the main event scene. Use the time to give midcard talent quality builds and let them get the experience they need before they are taking on the Ortons and Cenas of the company.

I used to remember the great midcard matches including The Rock, Steve Austin and Triple H while Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and The Undertaker were competing in the main event.

The inclusion of the extra hour could be used well if done correctly. The fan interaction elements have worked on PPVs previously but only in small doses. If Raw ends up having voting polls throughout the show to see who we think will win certain matches then it’ll fall flatter than Tensai’s debut and everyone will be disappointed straight away.

However, create compelling storylines for your midcard instead of just throwing them in to squash matches with your main eventers and then you’ll actually start to produce a product where performers are gradually built up to be the competitors that they should be. Plus if you keep certain people away from the main eventers, then when they are ready to make that step you’ll have a matchup that isn’t something you’ve already seen a million times already.

At least WWE are in a situation where they aren’t going to implode if it doesn’t work out. WWE can always fall back in to the two hour slot if required and I think we need to keep a positive mind set on what could be achieved by this addition to Monday night.

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