On Friday, word came in that Talking Smack, the popular Smackdown Live after-show on WWE Network (that technically came on after 205 Live, not after Smackdown) had been canceled as a regular weekly program. The show will apparently continue to air following Smackdown branded pay-per-views, but for now the series dedicated to talent cutting unbelievable, unscripted promos and Daniel Bryan talking about his ding-dong is going away.
Fans were pretty upset about it after the news broke, and it appeared hosts Bryan and Renee Young heard about the decision third-hand. A new report from Sports Illustrated claims that the call to cancel the show had nothing to do with the amount of viewers tuning in each week. Instead, Vince McMahon made the lone (and final) call to pull the plug on the show, since all roads do ultimately lead through Vince McMahon.
SI‘s sources indicate that McMahon wasn’t happy about the unscripted nature of the show, and felt that the format and content did not serve the company’s best interests. Playing devil’s advocate here, I can see where he’s coming from. You can’t air five to eight hours of highly controlled, scripted television each week, and then have two of those hours be recapped by people flying by the seat of their pants with no regard for what they’re saying or why. I get it.
But NOT playing devil’s advocate, this stinks. Where else are we going to find out AJ Styles might be a flat-earther? Miss you forever, Talking Smack.
