5 Habits WWE Has to Break Ahead of AEW TV Debut, SmackDown Move to Fox

For the first time in a long time, WWE will have stiff competition, with another network airing a weekly wrestling show.

All Elite Wrestling's program on TNT will debut on October 2. It will run against NXT, which will begin airing for two hours on the USA Network in the same time slot. And meanwhile, SmackDown will be making its much anticipated move to Fox on October 4.

WWE, for all its bluster, sees AEW as threat; it is addressing the upstart promotion as such. WWE's name and brand recognition give it a distinct advantage. But once lapsed fans and curious newcomers tune in, WWE must give them a reason to stick around.

Here are five poor habits WWE has to break ahead of AEW's television debut and SmackDown's move to Fox. Best foot forward, everyone.

Opening the Show with a Monologue

Not so long ago, Raw and SmackDown opened with pyro. It was loud and colorful, and it got the live audience on its feet. It also provided a jolt of energy if WWE decided to book a monologue or an interview as the first segment of the show.

Today, there's no more pyro, but the in-ring monologues stick around. And unless it includes a legend along the lines of The Rock or a plot twist that rivals Bayley's recent heel turn? Less talking, more action. Start the show with a match, perhaps a high-flying exhibition that sets the tone for the rest of the evening.

An Issue of Pacing

One quirk about AEW that's obvious from its pay-per-views is that every performer is attempting to steal the show. Multiple matches go on for 20 minutes or more. There's little sense of narrative pacing, where a 15-minute match is followed by a two-minute squash or a comedy match, which gives the audience a chance to breathe. The wrestlers are going hard on each outing.

Will NXT stick its old-school method of strategic booking? AEW fans might consider switching to NXT if the show has the sort of lengthy, epic confrontations the upstart promotion is getting a reputation for putting on. For at least the first couple of weeks, NXT might try to beat AEW at its own game.

Commentator Blues

Credit: WWE.com

Commentary can make or break a show. And if NXT and Smackdown are promoted as sports entertainment, then they should be treated with that sort of respect and professionalism. The commentators' job is to discuss the story in the ring and add context to why it's happening and why it's important.

Would it be too much to ask if the commentators could also call out the wrestling moves as they are performed? It establishes a common vocabulary across all shows, and it allows new fans to get acclimated to the product and treat it with a proper degree of seriousness and legitimacy.

This should be treated as more than two men play-fighting. It should be presented as an athletic endeavor with the weight of history and formal jargon.

A Buried Tag Division

At Clash of Champions on September 15,  Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins will defend the Raw Tag Team Championships against Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler. Four singles wrestlers competing for a championship aimed at teams tells you everything about WWE's opinion of tag team wrestling.

It is unlikely to show the kind of smooth transitions and psychology that is unique to tag matches. It's a singles match with multiple participants.

Meanwhile, AEW has the Lucha Brothers and the Young Bucks leading its tag division. WWE needs to give its tag team division back to tag team wrestlers instead of making it a storage closet for singles wrestlers with not enough to do.

Low Stakes

And lastly, nearly every WWE match should have a qualifying reason for existing. Maybe it's for a spot in a No. 1 contender's match. Maybe it's for the right to choose the stipulation at the next PPV. But giving everything contractual stakes beyond "he/she hates him/her" provides continuity from one show to the next.

It gives the audience a reason to tune in next week. And it builds toward a coherent PPV card instead of one that feels thrown together and rushed at the last minute.