WWE To Continue Filming Live Television From Performance Center This Coming Week
As opposed to tapings chunks of TV...
Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet has reported that WWE is set to resume live broadcasts of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT from their Performance Center in Orlando this coming week.
According to Dave Meltzer, WWE was originally intending to tape five weeks of television over the coming days at the Performance Center, the programs that would run through the week of May 10. However, plans changed during the day Friday, and McMahon reportedly made the decision to run SmackDown live that night. This came after at least one show had already been taped, thus those filmed matches were apparently scrapped.
"They taped a show in the afternoon. Then Vince changed his mind, "We're going to do SmackDown live tonight", or as close to live as possible," said Meltzer. "Whatever close enough is for the contract to be live. And that's it, everyone went home. And they're gonna come back on Monday and do Raw live. Then they're gonna come back on Wednesday and do NXT, and it's going to be like that every single week.
"And people will ask, is Florida not on a shutdown? And in fact Florida *is* on a shutdown. Orange County is on a shutdown. But it doesn't matter."
The belief is that WWE is concerned that if they run so many taped shows, per the nature of their TV contracts with USA Network and FOX, that their deals may be changed, as they're required to produce a certain amount of live episodes per year.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.