Hear me out, WNZ readers. I know the question may seem to be a bit of an odd one, considering the titular PPV isn’t exactly new. It will be, however, new to the WWE Network later this year (in a live sense). Now, WWE has done a some Network specials from time to time, but outside of the tournaments this year, nothing recently. And, furthermore, they have not (yet) announced that Starrcade will be on the Network-though we assume it will be, considering the hype they have been giving it. It just seems like a no-brainer.
So, if our assumption is correct, and they do indeed broadcast what was once just a simple Saturday house show on the Network, the thought hit me: will it be the start of a new trend? Should it be?
Look, I have at times said that WWE has too many PPV. At times, I’ve even advocated for the reduction of the WWE PPV schedule. But, as you all might have suspected, I have about zero influence with the suits in Stamford. So, the schedule has not been reduced. And now, I am actually suggesting for….more?!? Well, not exactly more. Think of it as some of these “specials”. I presume Starrcade, if it makes it to air, would be more of a special, and less like a PPV. That means I don’t expect a ton of SmackDown hype, other than “hey, tune in. And if the event does air, I expect it to show on air as more like a house show would-which, in my mind, could actually be pretty cool. I grew up seeing a lot of low budget wrestling, indies and such. Even ECW. Meaning the focus and attention was always on the in-ring bits, less on the lighting and pyro and the like. I think WWE could pull off specials, starting with Starrcade, that embrace that look and feel, without encroaching on or adding to the usual Sunday PPV fare.
So, if Starrcade IS the start of something, what else could we see come back? Well, the first one that jumped up was Halloween Havoc, though obviously they will miss out on that one this time around. World War 3 would seem unlikely for two reasons-first, it’s too similar to the Royal Rumble, and second, in this day and age, I tend to think that name would not fly. WCW and ECW have plenty of show names and themes that WWE now owns and could easily resurrect for things like these Saturday specials. And then again, why couldn’t they revive one of my old favorites-Saturday Night’s Main Event, perhaps the first television I used to stay up late for as a kid. The point here is, as much content as WWE has for the Network, they are already running constant house shows, and it wouldn’t be all that difficult to wrap some name around random ones and air them on the Network. It gives their network more fresh content, and it could also help boost house show ticket sales too, if folks see that house show action is as good (or better) than the main TV productions.
WNZ readers, would you like to see more of these (assuming Starrcade is on air?)
