The Pro Wrestling Post: WWE Sat mornings, Rock-Cena in prime time, Vince talks UFC ratings

Welcome to another edition of The Pro Wrestling Post.  This week we look at the WWE’s return to Saturday mornings, NBC shows Rock-Cena later this month and Vince McMahon calls out the UFC.

WWE returns to Saturday AM

The LA Times reports that the WWE will have a half hour Saturday morning show named the “WWE Saturday Morning Slam” on the CW network.  The show is part of a 5 hour block of children’s programming called “Vortexx” which targets young boys.

The creation of new programming is the creation of Haim Saban and his company, Saban Brands.

Via LA Times:

The half-hour show, which debuts Aug. 25, marks the return of WWE to Saturday morning children’s television after an 11-year absence. Saban Brands hopes to exploit the wrestlers’ popularity among children to lift the Vortexx lineup of shows, which feature action-charged characters, including those from the Power Rangers and Yu-Gi-Oh brands.

Via WWE:

WWE Saturday Morning Slam packs the riveting in-ring action, the larger-than-life WWE Superstars, and the WWE’s entertaining brand extensions into the fastest, most energy-filled half-hour on television. WWE Superstar profiles, behind-the-scenes footage and an exclusive WWE match every week will all combine to make WWE Saturday Morning Slam the perfect destination for the youngest viewers in the WWE Universe. The show will also include highlights from WWE’s Be a STAR anti-bullying campaign and other community initiatives.

The WWE press release is here.

Payout Take:  The thought is to leverage the WWE character popularity to attract fans to the other shows in the block.  For the WWE, it could help its consumer division with its t-shirts, toys and other products targeting youth.  While it’s unlikely we’ll see a “Rock and Wrestling” cartoon like the 1980s, the show will attract a youthful demo that may equate to a future audience for Raw and Smackdown.

Rock-Cena on NBC August 25th

The WWE announced that Wrestlemania 28’s main event, John Cena vs. The Rock will be televised on network TV August 25th.  It’s the fourth year in a row that NBC has aired Wrestlemania highlights.

Payout Take:  The airing comes right before the fall season during a dead period for network television when ABC’s “Wipeout” is the most entertaining original show during the summer. The network showing should attract some additional eyes with The Rock participating.

McMahon calls UFC ratings “abysmal”

During the fanfare for the WWE’s 1000 RAW episode, the Hollywood Reporter interviewed Vince McMahon.  When asked how does the UFC’s PPV business stacked up against the WWE, McMahon differentiated the two organizations citing that the UFC is a sport while his is entertainment.  He did cite the UFC ratings as “abysmal.”

When asked by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani about McMahon’s comments, White passed on saying something about the WWE and stated that he has a good relationship with McMahon but Uncle Vince is a competitor and that’s how he’s “built.”

Payout Take:  White paid a visit to WWE headquarters a while back and holding his tongue shows the respect he has for McMahon.  It says a lot considering White usually will say and tweet whatever he feels.  The Hollywood Reporter’s questions revealed that it did not know much about the UFC and WWE as it cited the UFC PPV numbers as “big.”