WWE: Keep A Close Eye On How PPV Changes Impact Product

The WWE’s announcement to extend PPV times has rightfully been met with a “Wait and See” response.

The last few weeks have been very important for the WWE. Announcing the deal with FOX in 2019 and their stock pricing surging closed out a list of positives for the Vince McMahon led company. There was another story that broke last week and the outcome can either go very good or very bad for the fans at home. The WWE is planning to increase the length of their PPVs and the verdict should stay out on this decision until we get to see it in play.

According to multiple reports, WWE is implementing a change to their PPV programing that will see all shows begin at 7pm, increasing upon the previous start time of 8pm. Major shows such as SummerSlam and WrestleMania have already gone through an increased time slot. This change will impact the remaining shows – pushing them out an hour. Fans can also expect cards to run beyond the usual 11pm end time. Take Backlash as an example, this show went until 11:30pm and gave fans the opportunity to have on the Samoa Joe versus Roman Reigns match a little bit longer.

At first response, it’s understandable to show concern over this change. The issue with WWE putting on longer shows is that fans do not know what type of product they will get in the end. WWE PPVs, and main roster content as a whole, has been so hit or miss in recent months.

After a show like Backlash that received such widespread hatred, it’s going to be hard to expect fans to sit through an additional hour of show if there’s a presumption that it’s going to be bad. NXT TakeOver is a prime example of WWE doing more with less. Imagine if fans were on deck to receive more high quality content along those lines each and every month. That’s something any wrestling fan would be excited to watch.

On the other side of the coin, there’s the opportunity that WWE will leverage this additional time to improve their overall storylines. With nine titles across both brands on the main roster, this does create the space for more involved storylines for multiple characters.

We’ve seen many stars and even some titles kept off of PPV events simply because it wasn’t space for their storylines and matches. Hopefully, this will change that situation but instead of them being put in situations marred with lazy booking, WWE Creative will find new ways to keep these men and women fresh and in the minds of fans watching; enticing them to sit through longer PPVs with more matches.

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It’s clear that there’s a lot of talent across the WWE roster, that’s not the issue. The problem has always been time and hopefully the move to longer PPVs will give the organization the opportunity to properly feature all of the men and women that can deliver the type of matches viewers have long clamored for. However, the WWE hasn’t built up the trust needed to create enthusiasm about this time slot change for their upcoming PPVs.