John Pollock and Wai Tingreview WWE Survivor Series 2021featuring brand versus brand matches headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Big E and Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte.
We discuss the full show which also included 5-on-5 Survivor Series matches for brand supremacy, several segments centred around the 25th anniversary of The Rock’s debut, and appearances from Mr. McMahon to introduce the mystery of the missing Cleopatra’s Egg.
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I wrote this in my notes during the show last night but when I called in I didn’t read it exactly. Here are my written thoughts as I actually really felt strongly last night.
Bad product
I think we are all watching in morbid curiosity to see how bad it can get. I know I did tonight. I really did it to join my Friends in the BDE watchalong.
Tonight I watched what my base level expectation would be for a Monday Night Raw. There is TOO much talent and potential on the roster right now and I’d go as far to say this would be a bad Raw if this company was operating close to all cylinders. Instead there are backstage segments that look as low rent as the stuff from the 90s. Ads featuring the biggest names OF the 90s.
There are SO many commercials littered throughout the peacock presentation. I know I didn’t see a Xia Li promo as I was watching Zach Morris AC Slater ad.
There is tons of competition for “rights” fees and people actively looking to enhance presentation and engagement like FS1 and even golf which I spent 2 hours today listening to the ideas for a new league under consideration. Coming up with all kinds of ways to make viewers and fans care and feel connected to live action/sport.
I bring that up because what I saw tonight was Wwe is doubling and tripling down on an extremely stale product. Yeah Some CGI effects aside it was more of these team matches with no stakes and everyone in the t shirts again. This is making hardened fans leave and I don’t know what product WWE is developing to replacing those fans tapping out. No growth company or consumer product company stops trying to develop their offering. Wwe is trying to be a full fledged media property for business partners ambut I don’t think tonight’s product was good for ANY of their business partners. Maybe for Netflix which WWE ironically promoted on Peacock.
If WWE is satisfied at this level and are happy to take whatever the market gives them for any future rights good for them. They certainly aren’t earning it. And to John’s really good piece this weeks’s point, it’s not necessarily good for the industry.
As a shareholder and WWE stock speculator (which I sometimes am) and a viewer I have no expectation for them to grow with this as their product offering. I think I am their core audience. Whether they want to admit it or not. I think I give them more benefit of the doubt on the business side than many others. But I have to strongly conclude that This feels like a company that maybe peaked and knows it and is now just figuring out how to maintain a wishful Status quo.
I’m on the $4.99 Peacock tier as well, so I too received a lot of extra commercials inserted into the show. I did not see some of the Battle Royal entrances (it came back with Ricochet coming out), I did not see a Xia Li promo, and I did not see some of the Rock clips. I know none of these are big losses, but I still don’t like them cutting into these live PPVs like this.
Minor correction to one thing on this podcast: the credit card commercials were for Credit One, not Capital One. This mistake has been made before, as both companies have very similar logos, but I’ve read Credit One is far less reputable than Capital One (which I have used for years). Meanwhile, some of the Peacock-inserted ads were for Capital One, not with Booker T, but with current spokesman Samuel L. Jackson, and with John Travolta as Santa Claus.
Oh, in regards to this PPV itself? I was completely whelmed. Not over- nor underwhelmed. I enjoyed Becky vs. Charlotte, the men’s elimination tag, and the main event, but lots of lulls and flat matches otherwise. Watching from home, I was able to see a wave starting in the crowd during the women’s elimination tag, but they stopped once Sasha and Bianca got in the ring together.