In what can only be seen as a weird concept, WWE might soon be taping WWE RAW and WWE SmackDown on the same night. The usual case is that RAW will be live on Monday, if overseas it will tape earlier then broadcast later in the day. WWE has also been known to record two episodes of RAW so that they are able to go overseas and do live events at ease. SmackDown would usually tape on Tuesday and the show would air Thursday or Friday, depending on the country you live in.
This has been the procedure with WWE for years, so it comes as a surprise that it is rumored the two might be taped in the same night. WWE has been cutting costs whenever possible, and if they are able to do Supershows such as RAW and SmackDown tapings in the same night, it would cut costs down a lot. WWE might be spreading themselves thin if they did so, however.
WWE already records their Main Event show on Tuesday before SmackDown and the show WWE Superstars along with other material is recorded before RAW airs. This does not include any dark matches before or after the events or even Saturday Morning Slam when it comes back.
So if they recorded RAW and SmackDown on the same night to cut cost, they’d have record other shows in the same night as well. This would put WWE in a weird position to have 6 to 7 hours of recording time on Monday. That would certainly tire the crowd, and lot of people would not want to stay late which means WWE would have to start earlier. This also hurts WWE as many get off at 6/5c and bell time would have to start at this time, causing low attendance or filing in late in during shows, which looks bad on camera.
It appears that although WWE will, in fact, attempt this move off and on ….it will not be a regular, weekly thing. This could be done as a way to cut cost before the Holidays when talent would like to be with their families.
WWE would save money for sure if this was done. It would allow them to keep trucks off the road instead of having them drive to the next town for another taping. Gas wise, they could save thousands per year. While the Supershows will be sporadic, as mentioned there will be problems. It will be interesting to see how WWE handles them when they come up.
[IMG Credit: Google]