WWE’s decision to move Main Event to Rumble is still getting people talking, and Stevie Richards isn’t convinced the move makes much sense. Looking at the bigger picture, Richards questioned why WWE would split its content across another platform and argued the company has developed a habit of abandoning its own legacy in favor of whatever’s new.
Speaking on The Stevie Richards Show, Richards said he doesn’t understand why WWE would take Main Event off YouTube unless Rumble was paying an enormous amount of money for the rights. Even then, he questioned whether a secondary show like Main Event would be valuable enough to justify the move.
“Why wouldn’t you just put it on YouTube? Main Event. Why would you? Why would you? Unless they are paying you a ton of money.”
“I don’t know why they’re betting on WWE content to put Rumble over the top, but especially when it’s the B or C show, or whatever it is… My goodness, what are we doing? Why would you fragment it?”
Richards also wasn’t convinced the deal would be worth it financially. After discussing Main Event’s relatively modest audience on YouTube, he questioned whether Rumble could realistically be paying enough to make the move worthwhile.
“No, it can’t be worth the time and the effort. And dare I say, why call it Main Event? If you’re going to go to Rumble, just switch it to a brand-new show.”
Later in the conversation, Richards and his co-host discussed whether WWE could be making moves like this to strengthen its overall media portfolio. While Richards didn’t fully commit to the theory, he admitted it was one possible explanation.
“I can’t imagine that Rumble or whoever are paying $10 million over three years to host the least-watched show in WWE’s catalog apart from the volume.”
When his co-host suggested WWE might simply be “padding the portfolio,” Richards replied: “Maybe. That as well, yeah.” The discussion eventually shifted to WWE Evolve, with Richards pointing out that the promotion has a history of replacing existing brands instead of building on them. Using Evolve replacing NXT Level Up as an example, he argued that WWE often moves on from its own history too quickly in pursuit of the next new thing.
“They don’t remember. That’s why we go back to the belts too, and that’s a whole different discussion. It’s like they just ignore legacy for just that immediate dopamine trend of, ‘This is what we got here, and this is what we got here,’ and forget about that. That was yesterday.”
Richards’ comments come at a time when there’s already been speculation about Evolve’s future following WWE’s decision to schedule Main Event on Rumble in the same Wednesday night time slot. WWE hasn’t announced any changes to Evolve, but Richards clearly isn’t sold on the company’s latest programming strategy or the direction it’s taking some of its smaller brands.
Do you think WWE is making the right call with Main Event and Evolve, or is the company spreading its content across too many platforms? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
