WWE Network has made some money in the past year but they have also made some tough cuts. Legends With JBL was axed along with Talking Smack and a few other shows might not be coming back for a financial reason. Edge and Christian had a show that totally reeked of awesomeness, but it might have been canceled as well.
The seven-time WWE Tag Team Champions revealed on a recent episode of their podcast E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness that their popular WWE Network show “Edge and Christian’s Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness” probably won’t be coming back. This is due to financial reasons as WWE Network apparently continues their attempt to keep as much money as possible. We can only assume there are more cuts to come. It is true some shows have practically no budget like Ride Along and Table For 3 but who knows how far WWE Network is willing to go in these cost cutting measures.
Bryan Alvarez recently opened up about the subject on an episode of Wrestling Observer Live when he was asked why WWE Network cancels all the best things. “There’s a difference between what you consider the best thing and what people are actually watching on the WWE Network. I mean, the WWE Network it seems weird because the network was running shows featuring WWE talent. I know people look at [Talking Smack] and go, ‘well how much could it possibly cost to run [Talking Smack], blah blah blah.’ Well, the thing is it does cost money all of these shows cost money.”
“We know that there have been — I know people that have appeared on some of these network shows and they’re not doing it for free. They’re flown out, they’re paid — these things cost money. And even though it’s WWE running a WWE Network with WWE stars they’re just like real television. If there is nobody watching a show or the viewership is not great the show can get canceled. It seems weird, but it’s what happened. I mean [Talking Smack] got canceled, Renee Young’s show got canceled. If you look at the, we talked to Chris Harrington yesterday — if you look at the WWE financials, a lot of shows have been canceled and that’s why the WWE Network went from losing millions of dollars last quarter to becoming profitable — pretty profitable actually here in this quarter.”
“So yeah, that’s why [I think there will be cuts to WWE’s roster], yeah I do. I don’t know for sure, but I do because WWE is cutting costs in a lot of different areas to try to bring up the profitability of the company So they cut shows on the network and made more money. There’s probably a lot of talent that they’re not using that may end up I don’t know — going to New Japan, who knows where they’ll end up going.”
WWE already gives fans six hours of pro wrestling a week if you count NXT and with the addition of the Mae Young Classic and the future weekly United Kingdom show, it might be impossible to stay current on everything as soon as it happens. As time goes by fans might see even more cost-cutting measures, so if you have a favorite WWE Network show it might be a good idea to watch it, tell your friends, and let WWE Network know you love it. Becuase you never know how long a cool thing will last.
It’s been a busy week full of news. If you’d like to catch up on some of the top stories from this week, check out some of the links below:
- GFW hits a few snags trying to file trademarks on Broken Universe
- Is WWE planning on making some releases soon?
- Steve Austin’s beloved Hershey The Wonder Dog has passed away
- AJ Styles tells who’s idea it was for him to win the US Title at MSG House Show
- WWE could be sending main roster stars to NXT in next Superstar Shake-Up
- Latest updates in the on-going Hardy Boyz/Anthem Sports negotiations
- Seth Rollins and Reby Hardy respond to Donald Trump banning transgenders in the military
- Alberto El Patron remains suspended from GFW despite being cleared in Orlando airport incident
- Rumor Killer On Paige Arrest Warrant Story
- Road Dogg responds in epic fashion to all those #FireRoadDogg tweets
- This is personal…Reby Hardy rips on Jeff Jarrett, Ed Nordholm and Global Force Wrestling again
- AJ Styles was supposed to win his match against Kevin Owens at WWE Battleground
- Update on possible SummerSlam plans for The Great Khali
- SummerSlam plans for Big Cass, is he working out as a top heel?
- Kurt Angle receives praise for his acting in Jason Jordan story line
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Wrestling Observer Live with a H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription
