Big Update On WWE & USA Network Relationship

How happy (or not) is the USA Network with WWE right now?

by Andrew Pollard
Big E
WWE.com

With the first night of WWE's 2021 Draft now in the books, there's an update on the current relationship between WWE and the home of Monday Night Raw, the USA Network.

In reports from Mat Men's Andrew Zarian and Fightful, WWE had been in communication with both USA Network and FOX ahead of the Draft. Of course, in addition to USA being the home of Raw and NXT, FOX these days houses SmackDown.

For the USA Network, these reports state how USA enjoys the "unique nature" of the brand split and are believed to be keen to see said split continue. USA Network higher-ups are also realistic in understanding that Raw can't feature all of WWE's top stars and that there has to be a relatively even split between Raw and SmackDown when it comes to the roster.

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In regards to NXT - well, NXT 2.0 - USA Network has responded positively to the relaunch of the former black and gold brand. The initial bump in viewership for the first NXT 2.0 show has received praise from USA, as has the increased production value now seen in NXT. In particular, two segments of that NXT 2.0 relaunch that garnered a strong reaction from USA were the debut of Bron Breakker and the wedding of Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis.

Despite this praise, USA Network is very much aware of the drop in viewership for NXT 2.0, and USA is concerned that the rate of viewership decline is more extreme than that of any competition. Still, USA is more focussed on improving the consistent quality of programming right now rather than being too consumed by dwindling ratings.

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Interestingly, these reports also add how USA has become tired of WWE using "scapegoats and shortcuts", which includes the likes of RAW Underground, changes to brand split rules, and WWE generally being WWE and changing things on the fly.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.