There’s some speculation new Executive Director of Raw, Bruce Prichard has settled in on a new strategy for producing the three-hour flagship show each week. If true, it’s an interesting way to go but the question exists, can he sustain it?
Wade Keller was talking about this during his Raw review podcast and about how the show seems to be different since Prichard took the reigns. While the pieces were set in place by Paul Heyman, Prichard has upped the pace of the matches, but most significantly created a gimmick or “calling card” for every show.
This week it was “Championship Monday” where multiple titles were on the line, and the return of Rey Mytserio was heavily promoted. The week prior, it was Christian confronting Randy Orton and potentially getting physical after many years away. In fact, the entire show was built around just a few minutes and a match that never actually happened.
The plan for each show moving forward seems to be to really find "that thing" that will boost ratings because the moment being promoted is billed as “must see.”
Keller and his co-host asked the question, is this sustainable? How long and how often can Prichard come up with the moments fans feel like they can’t miss? What will he come up with next week? What about the week after? More importantly, what happens when he runs out of those big ideas to promote?
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Strategy
While on paper this seems like a great way to market Raw each week and boost ratings in the short-term, what’s lacking is the logic behind the show. Raw consistently seems to ignore the rules around the brand invitational or who makes the actual matches. There's a lot being glanced over as the shows are structured.
Just this past week, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre set the main event for Extreme Rules on their own. So too, Big Show took a stand on principle when he was a bully at WrestleMania 36. What about Sasha Banks who challenged Asuka but isn’t a Raw Superstar?
Can his strategy work? Or, will it fizzle out and isn't something that builds towards the future?