How Triple H Has Changed WWE Raw And SmackDown In One Simple Graph
The Game has refocused content on the wrestling in ways not seen in recent months.
The regime change WWE has experienced in the past month has been seismic, if only because Vince McMahon ruled the company with an iron fist for 40 years.
During the past month, fans and critics have observed numerous changes to WWE programming, some small and nuanced, others a bit more pronounced. While returning wrestlers and a refocusing of storylines have gotten a lot of the attention, there is one interesting statistic worth noting.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has broken down the actual amount of wrestling on Raw and SmackDown since Triple H took over (per Cagematch's records) and found a pretty telling fact:
Raw and Smackdown since Paul Levesque took over WWE creative 4 weeks ago have had more minutes of wrestling on them than almost any episodes in the months prior. pic.twitter.com/B0MZYoOSWk
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) August 21, 2022
Keep in mind that the numbers are a per-hour total for each show. So this past week's Raw had 75 minutes of in-ring action over the course of three hours (25 per hour). The eight shows under Triple H have averaged 22.6 minutes of wrestling per hour, while the previous eight shows averaged 17.25 minutes.
That might not seem like a lot, but when you're talking about the alternative, it means less time for 24/7 division antics, senseless backstage segments, or even cutting down show-opening promos by a few minutes.
The increased focus on the in-ring product has been obvious to most, with longer matches and less silliness (the 24/7 Championship and the ridiculous chase scenes have all but vanished).
Now we have some data to show how in just one month, Triple H has made measurable changes. Whether those are actually good changes that improve the product is subjective, but it's something tangible.