WWE is always looking to expand their “WWE Universe” as they like to say. Broadcasting shows like Raw and Smackdown to over 150 countries every week is incredible and WWE Network is a great deal for their most passionate fans, but there have to be ways for WWE to grow even more.
Any loyal WWE fan knows that the company loves shilling their social media all the time. They talk about Twitter relentlessly while encouraging their talent to continue rivalries on there. On Facebook, they do things like Triple H being interviewed after NXT Takeover events. That’s not all they’re doing with Facebook, though, because they could sign a deal with them.
There’s a new report from Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet that says WWE is interested in working with Facebook in producing a weekly show exclusive to Facebook Live.
The plan for WWE’s Facebook show would be for it to air on Facebook Live immediately after Smackdown goes off the air on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. That would mean 205 Live would have to take place at another time, possibly before Smackdown begins. Maybe 205 Live would have a 7 p.m. start time on WWE Network and run for about 45 minutes with no commercials like it usually does. That may not be a bad idea, as the crowd might get into the matches more if it happens before Smackdown. That’s how WWE used to tape their version of ECW in 2006 and the years that followed.
As for the content of this new potential Facebook Live show, Pro Wrestling Sheet notes that it’s probably going to be a combination of Raw and Smackdown talent competing in matches against eachother to see who the superior brand is as they bust out their “brand supremacy” term. Satin also wrote that a source told them a mixed tag match idea was thrown around featuring men and women teams too, but it’s not known if that will actually happen.
If this Facebook Live show was about one hour in length that would mean WWE wants their fans to watch four hours of content on Tuesday nights after putting on three hours of Raw on Mondays. That means a weekend like this past Survivor Series would have 2.5 hours of NXT Takeover, six hours of Survivor Series counting the Kickoff Show, three hours of Raw on Monday and then four hours of content on Tuesday with three different shows. That’s 15.5 hours of content over four nights. It’s already crazy to watch all WWE content without this Facebook live show, but if WWE is going to get paid by Facebook to produce then it’s hard for them to turn it down. Money talks, as they say.
In case you’re wondering, WWE’s main Facebook page has 38.6 million Likes, and if you add up all the pages for their various shows as well as talent then there are millions more. Putting a wrestling show on the platform would open up the talent to a huge audience that could lead to more success for the company. It’s easy to see why WWE likes the idea even though more wrestling shows seems like too much.
