WWE might be changing the times of future three-hour special episodes of Raw, moving it from 8-11pm to 9-12pm. The earlier hour always does a comparitively low rating, which brings down the overall rating of the show. The belief is that by instead adding a later hour they will keep the audience with them since the show will start at the same time as usual.
Some more backstage information about the WWE draft… Triple H moving to Smackdown was decided upon after the MyNetwork TV deal was reached, with the network being assured that the show would be marketed around him and The Undertaker as the two big stars. Back in April WWE had Triple H, Undertaker, Edge and Vickie Guerrero film network promos and sign non-disclosure agreements to keep everything secret. Batista was not brought in to tape any of the ads, which indicates that the decision to move him to Raw was perhaps made about the same time.
In the midcard, Trevor Murdoch was requested to be moved to Smackdown by Michael Hayes. He’s a big fan of Murdoch’s work and the impromptu singing gimmick. Kofi Kingston’s move to Raw was also made ahead of time, with the consensus being that he has done very well so far but can now get a bit more exposure.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 03 July 2008 (subscribe here)
