Original Content:
I was worried about a lot of the WWE Network's "original content" when they started advertising shows that looked a lot like long-running YouTube series. Take WWE Countdown for instance – they already do a top ten feature every weekend, and while a fun way to kill three minutes, it's not "original content" material. Thankfully, in the first few minutes of watching the very first new, exclusive program on the WWE Network, I was hooked.
WWE Countdown is the most accessible of the new shows. As you can probably guess, they take a fan-friendly topic – Best Entrances, Best Catchphrases, etc. – and rank them from ten-to-one. On it's own, the concept probably takes about five minutes, but they supplement the list with dozens of interviews from current Superstars, former Superstars, legends and random people associated with the business.
During WrestleMania Rewind, they take a look at one particularly iconic match at a given WrestleMania PPV, and spend an hour going as in-depth as possible about it. One of the episodes looks at Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan, and spends a lot of time talking about their individual careers and the paths they took before colliding at the Pontiac Silverdome. After a thorough history lesson, they end the show by actually showing the match from start to finish, and ended with a few words from Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper and even Hulk Hogan himself.
The "WWE BEYOND THE RING" series takes a little less effort – it's just a handful of their most popular documentaries. "THIS WEEK IN WWE" is a really cool feature that I don't personally use, because I watch every show, but if you just want to catch up with an entire week's worth of content in half an hour, not to mention lots of Renee Young, this show is for you.
The level of care that WWE has put into these new shows is incredible. The production is top notch – they didn't slap together a few scenes haphazardly, but really spent time picking the right moments, the right people for interviews, and I don't think there's been a single time I thought about changing the "channel". Much like Total Divas, which admittedly may not be everyone's cup of tea, WWE really went all-out to make it feel special. I'm excited for more shows to come, like Legends House, the Monday Night Wars series, and more to be announced.
NXT Exposure:
NXT isn't just WWE's developmental promotion that runs out of Florida, it's one of the best wrestling television shows running today. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out on some great matches every single week.
The WWE Network is now the exclusive home of NXT every Thursday night. This means that all those Superstars in training now have a place where people can go and watch their stuff, whenever they want. This is all a part of WWE's slow-moving and massive plan to farm their own product from the ground-up, but with NXT as good as it is, I'm not complaining.
Where as hundreds of thousands of people may never watch El Generico on the indie scene, a lot of them will watch Sami Zayn on the WWE Network, just because the show is on. On the other hand, newer wrestlers who come up exclusively through WWE's training facility will have a chance to show off – if they're good, they'll get over with the fans; if they're bad, we'll tell them. It's both a safe environment and a pressure cooker. NXT is a training facility, so if somebody screws up it's not the end of the world, but since it's now a major hook for the WWE Network, those who are ready to shine every single week are going to be promoted through the ranks a lot quicker.
All those benefits for the future of the WWE aside, I just love NXT on the WWE Network because it's a great show. And, in the interest of full disclosure, it's nice to support the company instead of pirating NXT from torrent websites.
