2015 will mark the 10 year anniversary of Monday Night RAW returning home to the USA Network after its stint on Spike TV previously. An excellent thing about the USA Network is the promotion the channel provides for the WWE. This is especially evident in light of WWE Week—Monday Night RAW following the TLC Pay-Per-View, a live episode of SmackDown, the always popular Tribute to the Troops, movies starring WWE stars such as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Santino appearing in the film, Jingle All The Way 2. One of the highlights of the content of WWE Week was the promo for the impending move of SmackDown from Friday to Thursday nights.

One of the common facts about the WWE is that SmackDown is filmed on Tuesdays and during its history it aired on either Thursdays or, for almost 10 years now, Fridays. While the move may be confusing to some, it’ll be interesting to see how a new night will effect the SmackDown audience. While Friday nights are commonly spent going out with friends, etc., and celebrating the start of the weekend, it also served as an excellent alternative to those who wanted to relax when their work week is initially finished and enjoy some good WWE programming. Will more people be at home to watch SmackDown on Thursday nights? What about the fall when the regular football season picks up again and not only will Monday Night RAW compete with Monday Night Football, but so will SmackDown compete with Thursday Night football.

This is also a world in which spoilers run rampant and what happens on SmackDown is usually known before it airs. Only time will tell, but from the commercials advertising the new schedule, change looks exciting.

-Celine

It’s something that has been more noticeable as of late. On the December 5th edition of SmackDown, between Lana’s excellent delivery of her nasty persona and Dean Ambrose’s “I-don’t-care” vibe, the promos cut during the show were excellent. However, while it may have just been me, there was definitely something off about that interaction. After Lana announced that Rusev would not be competing tonight, the crowd seemed quite. When Ambrose made a comment joking about how Lana was batting her eyelashes at him flirtatiously, the crowd didn’t generate a pop. While that didn’t define the entire night and those moments far from define an entire crowd, it made me stop and think about how important the audience is to live spectacles.

Every time the WWE Superstars and Divas go out to the ring, it is evident that they feed off the energy of the crowd. Whether they receive a loud pop greeted with cheers and applause or they are welcomed with a roar of boos and thumbs down, those reactions motivate the Superstars and Divas to bring their personas to life in a way that would fit that characterization even more. When the crowd gives no reaction, the steam is taken out from under anyone who wants to go over as a top face or heel. If you win a title and no one cheers, the element of the fanfare after a victory is taken away from that experience with a lackluster crowd. The same goes for a heel who says a disgusting, nasty, and evil comment. If no one gasps or boos, was the comment really that horrible to begin with?

This can occur beyond wrestling as well. Musicians vibe off of the excitement of the crowd at a concert. People who are on-camera participants in live television shows, whether it’s a taping of a daytime talk show or a late night talk show, a sketch comedy show, or even a taping of a sitcom, get instant feedback of whether or not what they’re doing is working. If no one says anything, it leaves people wondering if things are going good or bad in that moment. Especially in an era when not everyone can have tickets and when it’s looking exciting and optimistic for the future of entertainment, remember that the audience means as much to the performers as the other way around. Cheer that face (or boo him/her) and boo that heel (or cheer for them). Get excited, get loud, and make some noise. The Superstars and Divas themselves appreciate it too.

-Celine

One of my favorite nights of the WWE year is the Slammys. One thing about the Slammys is that it’s an excellent reflection of the highs and lows of the past year (which is still not even completely done yet). From shocking moments such as the Undertaker’s streak ending at WrestleMania and the WWE debut of Sting to happy moments like The Rock’s return to the WWE in New York and the tragedy of the untimely passing of the Ultimate Warrior days after his Hall of Fame induction, the deserving people won awards.

There was emphasis on the new generation, with a renewed interest in Dolph Ziggler in light of his Survivor Series victory, awards going to Dean Ambrose and nominations including the likes of Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt. Roman Reigns was Superstar of the year, showing that there’s still a want for him in light of his injury, and Diva of the Year AJ Lee gave a shout out to such NXT and newer WWE Divas as Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Paige. Speaking of Charlotte, the NXT Women’s Champion made her WWE TV debut as well. Such a push for the new generation was exciting to see on one of the biggest nights of the RAW calendar year. Here’s to an excellent new year and the rise of even more up and coming young stars.

-Celine