Beyond the programs honoring Dusty Rhodes, WWE Network really is coming into its own with programming, giving fans more than just an extensive library of PPVs, Raw, Nitro and Saturday Nights Main Event to lure them. During the first half of 2015, WWE has aired three wrestling specials, in addition to its periodic NXT: Takeover events King of the Ring, Elimination Chamber and Beast in the East. These WWE specials were met with various degrees of success, but each has its charm and is an indication that WWE is planning to use the Network more often to entice fans to purchase the subscription-based service. While KOTR was a hastily convened, one-hour program, it basically tested the waters for two future Network exclusives: Elimination Chamber and Beast in the East. The Chamber was a last-minute PPV, a Sunday house show turned into a full-blown major event, bringing back a well-known gimmick match that has been bypassed earlier this year. Likewise, Beast in the East was a Tokyo house show that featured a Brock Lesnar squash and an NXT Championship match. (Although it took place after the June 30 deadline for this column, it was announced in June and matches were known then too.) Both showed what the Network can be for WWE: an opportunity for fans to catch some exclusive, quality, in-ring action. It will be interesting to see if WWE will toss out a few more of these types of events as 2015 rolls on.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.
