WWE should use cinematic matches for intermission at live PPV events

WWE finally figured out the formula for cinematic matches, and they should keep them going once crowds are back to create intermission at live PPV events.

WrestleMania 36 gave us two of the most unique matches in WWE history. In the main event of night one, AJ Styles took on The Undertaker in a Boneyard Match. On night two, John Cena took on “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House Match.

While the contests couldn’t have been more different, they both illustrated something that WWE needs to capitalize on. In making WrestleMania 36 two nights, they’ve cut down on the nearly endless and dragged out feeling that WrestleMania has come to embody.

Not only do viewers at home benefit from having that kind of break and not having to stay engaged for nearly eight straight hours, but a break would surely benefit live crowds as well. This opens up an opportunity for WWE to add intermission to their biggest, and subsequently longest, pay-per-view events.

This wouldn’t be the kind of thing WWE should do at every single pay-per-view, but the Big Four especially could benefit. Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and WrestleMania all tend to be anywhere from six to eight full hours with the Kickoff Show.

As someone who has attended both Survivor Series and Royal Rumble since this has become the standard, it’s honestly an exhausting day. When I attended the Royal Rumble in 2017, we arrived at the arena around 2:30 PM and probably didn’t escape the parking lot until 11:00 PM.

That’s over eight hours spent at a WWE event. During the majority of that time, there’s barely a hint of a break. WWE crams the event full of matches and segments from start to finish, with the exception of maybe a brief period on the Kickoff Show.

So, best-case scenario, that’s four or five hours of main card without a single expected break that would allow fans to get up, stretch, go to the bathroom, buy concessions, buy merch, anything. If you’re attending an event, you usually make one of two decisions.

Either you buy your concessions before you sit down and do your best to never get up until the show has ended, or you bite the bullet and pick a match you’re willing to miss. If WWE had a cinematic match in the middle of the show, it would be something live fans wouldn’t even benefit from watching while at the show.

They’d surely show it on the screen for fans to watch if they desire, but why not take a moment to release the pressure of being an active participant in the show? On top of that, fans can easily watch the cinematic pre-taped match after the show, probably with a better viewing experience than they’d get in the arena anyways.

It’s not clear if any of the changes WWE has had to make due to their inability to have live crowds will stick, but they’d be smart to learn from the things that have been successful and integrate them into their product in a way that benefits both at-home viewers and live crowds.