It seems every week I real when WWE holds a TV taping, more specifically a Raw taping, I hear about “chaos” backstage. These reports do not seem to happen with AEW or even other WWE brands such as NXT. What is it about Raw where there is always chaos?
TVs are always stressful for every show and every promotion. Even more so when shows are on live television and in front of a live audience. When we were first got word there was chaos at this week’s Raw tapings, I reminded everyone there is always some degree of chaos. Three hours of TV is a lot to write each and every week, especially when trying to build to a major pay-per-view. Airing from tape and without a live audience can help control some of the urgency but it also forces promotions such as WWE and AEW to think outside of the box to develop things that will still engage the audience.
With Dominick Mysterio facing Seth Rollins at SummerSlam, when will Rey return to TV?
There are plans for Rey Mysterio to rejoin the Seth Rollins angle alongside his son. However, no date has been set for his return. Mysterio is not going to AEW, they were willing to sign him, but he will be staying with WWE. It is not known if Mysterio has officially signed a new contract but it is going to happen and you can expect him at some point before, during or after SummerSlam.
When do you think Bayley and Sasha Banks are going to turn on one another?
Surely you noticed the dissension on this week’s Raw when Banks offered Bayley up to Asuka.
Bayley argued with Sasha Banks after she made the “surprise” announcement on Raw that Asuka had to beat the SmackDown Women’s Champion next week on Raw for a title shot at SummerSlam against Banks. This is the slow burn of all slow burns as we’re going to see Bayley vs. Banks at some point, I do not have a clue when. I expected it two months ago. WWE would be absolutely insane not to do a program between them after teasing it for months on end. As for Bayley, her stock is at an all-time high in WWE. Vince McMahon is very pleased with her work lately and wants her featured as prominently as possible. I do think there is a chance she loses on Raw but only to setup the Asuka vs. Banks rematch.
AEW Dynamite did over 900,000 viewers this week on TV. This was despite going up against the returning NBA and despite no live audience. Do you think they will soon challenge Raw and/or SmackDown in viewership?
The feeling in the AEW locker room is they had the momentum they needed to explode viewership heading into the spring and the COVID-19 pandemic happened. This slowed momentum but due to strong financial backing from the Khan family, it did not stop their TV or ability to remain consistent with viewership. The fact Dynamite not only continues to keep their audience but build on it without fans in attendance is a very positive sign. Competing with Raw and/or SmackDown is always going to be an uphill climb with NXT airing head-to-head against them. As long as the shows air on the same night in the same timeslot, I do not see either show doing numbers at the levels of the aforementioned WWE brands.
The next installment of Ask WNC is scheduled to run on Monday, August 10, 2020.
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