If you were one of the people upset at the news of Talking Smack being canceled as a weekly series, then the following news might upset you even more. Contrary to reports going around, the viewership had nothing to do with the decision to pull the show as a weekly series. At least that is what is being reported by Justin Barrasso at Sports Illustrated.
The report states that McMahon felt that the show did not serve the company’s best interests and the unscripted nature of the show ultimately played a role in its cancellation. The only problem with what Barrasso was told is that the show is not 100% canceled. In fact, WWE has stated that the show will still air once a month after Smackdown-branded pay-per-views. In a Tweet, Dave Meltzer said that the story is not true and if McMahon really wanted to get rid of the show then he would not have kept it around after PPVs.
The show probably lost viewers when it was moved from being a live show at 10 pm eastern to a tape delayed show after 205 Live. Perhaps there is truth to the SI.com report but if the show viewership was good then it would be hard to believe that McMahon would want to pull the show since the wants to keep people subscribed to the WWE Network. If anything, if he was not happy with the unscripted nature of the show then I would think that he would have just decided to change the format of the show.
If that was the case, he'd have canceled it completely instead of kept it but only after PPV shows. https://t.co/UZwJenLOD4
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) July 16, 2017
Regardless, WWE talent is not happy about the decision to cancel the show as a weekly series. Some have expressed their frustration publicly while others have said so in private. The feeling within WWE is that the show allowed wrestlers to show more personality by being themselves. The unscripted nature of the show is what got over with fans.
On Friday, WWE issued the following statement about the show: “We continuously review WWE Network’s programming line-up based on a variety of factors, including viewership and subscriber research. Talking Smack and Raw Talk will air following pay-per-view events, and Tuesday will continue to feature 205 Live.”
Perhaps, the most famous episode occurred last August when Daniel Bryan and The Miz ripped into each other. You can check it out below and scroll down for another infamous episode.
Here is the infamous episode with Rhyno as Santa Claus. If you missed it, check it out below and scroll down for some of the reaction from the WWE talent on the cancellation.
https://streamable.com/jugq0
Really disappointed about #TalkingSmack. We tried to make that show great. Guess I'll go back to welcoming my guest at this time.
— Renee Paquette (@ReneePaquette) July 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/mikethemiz/status/886038610905923586
Damn!! R.I.P #TalkingSmack
— The Usos (@WWEUsos) July 15, 2017
Also, I turn around to play video games for two days and #TalkingSmack gets cancelled?!?! We shall miss you 😭 pic.twitter.com/syINzouImr
— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) July 15, 2017
Renee Young’s other show on the WWE Network was also canceled. Click here to read more on that.
For those of you that want to catch up, here are some of the top news items from the last few days:
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- Incident on recent tour causes Roman Reigns to kick another WWE star off talent bus, Kurt Angle “secret” spoiler + more WWE news
- SPOILER: Kurt Angle’s secret might have been revealed
