WWE Matches are TOO DAMN LONG!
WWE matches are too damn long these days. I know on RAW they have 3 hours to fill, but a match that has very little, if any, significance going over 5-10 minutes with a commercial break is just ridiculous! Here is how the WWE can significantly improve their product by reducing the length of most of their matches.
1. Let me start by saying that big PPV, gimmick, and title matches should stay long. Those are the matches where a story can and should be told. Its ok if these matches go 10-20 minutes plus. All other matches should be less than 5 minutes.
2. Thanks to technology, we live in a time where our attention spans are very limited. Long matches, combined with commercial breaks and no major consequences, tend to drag on and are hard to pay attention to. COMMERCIAL BREAKS ARE MOMENTUM KILLERS! Shortening these matches and eliminating commercial breaks will keep the audience captivated.
3. Shorter matches will create more time for other talent. Both shows have talent that rarely get to be on TV because of time restraints (Ty Dillinger), or they are thrown into segments with a dozen other superstars (I'm looking at you SmackDown) where they get little to no time to stand out. Shortening matches will allow for more talent development and TV time.
4. Below is a match length comparison from the first RAW of each year in 1998, 2008, and 2018. Commercial Breaks were not included in match length, but the number of Commercial Breaks were accounted for:
1998: Average Match Length: 3:58 minutes,
# of commercial breaks during matches: 1.
2008: Average Match Length: 4:43 minutes,
# of commercial breaks during matches: 2.
2018: Average match Length: 8:03,
# of commercial breaks during matches: 7!
Match lengths, on average, have more than doubled in 20 years and the # of commercial breaks that take place during a match on RAW has increased by 7! Longer matches are not creating a more entertaining product.
5. Shortening matches could also lead toward talent durability. Less time wrestling in the ring will lead to a decreased possibility in getting injured. Also less time wrestling will lead to less bumps being taken and a longer shelf life for talent.
Now some may argue that shorter matches are not good. They may argue that a story can not properly be told in such short a time. I say, there is some validity to your argument, but many matches don't need a compelling or proper story, they just need to be entertaining. It's called sports entertainment not sports story telling. Also, some matches are booked to serve alternate purposes like furthering a feud, building heat, etc., they don't need to be super long, just get to the point. Once again, I'm not against all long matches; PPV, gimmick, and title matches should be longer, however, most other matches should not.
Above are just a few reasons why shorter matches are the way to go. Its no doubt to me that having shorter matches is one piece of the puzzle that will make WWE better. There are many other pieces, but shorter matches is a big one. Shorter Matches = A Better WWE