Smackdown's Big Move
I can't imagine anyone reading this blog wouldn't be well aware of this already, but I just wanted to remind everyone that WWE Friday Night Smackdown! premieres at its new home on MyNetwork TV this Friday. The big move, which apparently requires Jesse and Festus to haul some boxes around, kicks off tonight with the broadcast premiere of WrestleMania XXIV.
Lest you think you'll be getting all four hours of the awesome April show, you should be aware that the special is just an hour long, which by my calculation allows enough time for maybe three, heavily edited matches. So, sadly, you will likely not get a chance to see the wrestling clinic put on by the tag team of Ashley and Maria.
Because my Tivo doesn't offer any further information on the program, I'm actually very curious to see what the WrestleMania special will include. The Undertaker vs. Edge match is sure to be included, and I'd bet the Money in the Bank ladder match and the Raw world title triple threat match will be there too. But with Ric Flair having left the company, it's not a given his WrestleMania classic against Shawn Michaels will be shown tonight. That would be quite the glaring omission, considering the match is probably the highlight of the night in most fans' eyes, and one of the great WrestleMania memories of all time.
As for the move itself, I imagine most fans won't be much affected. The truth is I never quite got used to tuning into channel 11 (our CW affiliate here in NY) to catch Smackdown, and often found myself still looking for it on channel 9 (the old home of the local UPN affiliate.) Now with MyNetwork taking the place of most UPN affiliates throughout the country, Smackdown might actually be easier to find for me.
But it is a shame that WWE lost its alliance with a major broadcast partner in the likes of the CW. I think the difference in availability between the CW and MyNetwork is relatively negligible, but there's something to be said for the potential "corporate synergy" that came with working with CBS and Warner Brothers - the co-owners of the CW.
Then again, that potential was never much realized and in the end WWE once again fell victim to the negative stigma attached to pro wrestling. The CW's loss will most certainly be MyNetwork TV's gain. In Smackdown, the upstart network is sure to have its biggest ratings draw. And I imagine any network that boasts "Magic's Secrets Revealed" as a regular part of its line up won't consider itself too sophisticated for some Divas and chair shots.
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Comments (2)
I've got to say, I was pretty disappointed in the WrestleMania special. WWE normally does such a great job of mixing video with music, but there were only a few times tonight (the Three Six Mafia song for the Mayweather chairshots and U2 for MITB in particular) that really felt like they fit. Perhaps I was expecting something more along the lines of the awesome Mania of WrestleMania. The editing on My Network TV's part was awfully too. Twice it cut to commercial before they left the "Up Next" preview, and at least locally they placed a commercial right over top of the Undertaker's entrance. Let's not forget the minutes long "commercials" that consisted of the My Network TV logo just floating in space. Couldn't sell that time, eh guys?
I'll say my perception on this move is different than most. Locally we never had a WB affiliate so when The CW took over it just stayed on the same channel that UPN was. The My Network TV station locally is just a sister station to the local Fox channel, and while it is available at a lower digit for antenna users and I believe satellite users, if you have cable it is a high end digital channel (209). This network still has a lot to show me.
I'd be happy the edited the Undertaker's entrance out. If you've seen it once, you've seen it a million times, and its so slow its the most boring part of the show. Although as I write this I remebered that he has different entracnes for Mania, but still, no great loss.